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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...

The Flemish, economically allied to England, was discontented with French rule. Burdened with heavy taxes during the reign of Charles VI, the people of Flanders took up arms under the leadership of Philip van Artevelde. During the uprising a large number of peasants and townspeople gathered en masse at Roosebeke in East Flanders. Here they were attacked by a strong force of mounted French knights commanded by the Count of Flanders, Louis II de Ma...