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The Taking of Antioch in 1097 (The First Crusade) After a difficult four month march through hostile territory, the Crusader army reached the plain outside of Antioch, which stood on the bank of the Orontes River. In command of the strongly defended city was Turkish Chieftain Yaghi-Siyan. A long siege set in that it was as difficult for the Christians to endure as the Turks, with hunger and disease weakening both sides. Finally a garrison ma...

Jerusalem Conquered 1099 (The First Crusade) In January, the First Crusade under Raymond IV of Toulouse, Robert of Normandy, Godfrey of Bouillon, Robert of Flanders and Tancred of Taranto began the long march south from the rolling point of Antioch. By June, the Christian Army of 12,000 knights and 11,000 foot soldiers reached Jerusalem. The city was held by a Moslem garrison under the caliph Al-Mustali of Cairo since the displacement of the...

After the fall of Jerusalem, there was no one left save the conquerors. The massacre had taken the lives of all the Jews, many having been burned in the synagogue where they had taken refuge. All the Moslems were dead. Any Christian pilgrims had been expelled before the siege had begun. The Moslems would never forget or forgive the behavior of the Crusaders. Jerusalem was a Holy City to them as much as it was to the Christians. With sacred shrine...