Blog

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...

Battle of Bannockburn 1314 - Scottish Wars of IndependenceAfter the death of Edward I, his ineffectual son, Edward II, abandoned the war against Scotland. During the following seven years, Robert I the Bruce, united Scotland under his rule and forced the English out of all the castles north of the Tweed River except for Berwick and Stirling.  When these tow remaining English castles came under siege, Edward II marched north with a strong arm...