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N0KFQ > TODAY 14.07.12 19:10l 67 Lines 3176 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Jul 14
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Sent: 120714/1653Z 25186@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.51
Jul 14, 1099:
Jerusalem captured in First Crusade
During the First Crusade, Catholic knights from Europe capture
Jerusalem after seven weeks of siege and begin massacring the
city's Muslim and Jewish population.
Beginning in the 11th century, Catholics in Jerusalem were
increasingly persecuted by the city's Islamic rulers, especially
when control of the holy city passed from the relatively tolerant
Egyptians to the Seljuk Turks in 1071. Late in the century,
Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comenus, also threatened by the Seljuk
Turks, appealed to the West for aid. In 1095, Pope Urban II
publicly called for a crusade to aid Eastern Catholics and
recover the holy lands. The response by Western Europeans was
immediate.
The first crusaders were actually undisciplined hordes of French
and German peasants who met with little success. One group, known
as the "People's Crusade," reached as far as Constantinople
before being annihilated by the Turks. In 1096, the main
crusading force, featuring some 4,000 mounted knights and 25,000
infantry, began to move east. Led by Raymond of Toulouse, Godfrey
of Bouillon, Robert of Flanders, and Bohemond of Otranto, the
army of Catholic knights crossed into Asia Minor in 1097.
In June, the crusaders captured the Turkish-held city of Nicaea
and then defeated a massive army of Seljuk Turks at Dorylaeum.
From there, they marched on to Antioch, located on the Orontes
River below Mount Silpius, and began a difficult six-month siege
during which they repulsed several attacks by Turkish relief
armies. Finally, early in the morning of June 3, 1098, Bohemond
persuaded a Turkish traitor to open Antioch's Bridge Gate, and
the knights poured into the city. In an orgy of killing, the
Catholics massacred thousands of enemy soldiers and citizens, and
all but the city's fortified citadel was taken. Later in the
month, a large Turkish army arrived to attempt to regain the
city, but they too were defeated, and the Antioch citadel
surrendered to the Europeans.
After resting and reorganizing for six months, the crusaders set
off for their ultimate goal, Jerusalem. Their numbers were now
reduced to some 1,200 cavalry and 12,000 foot soldiers. On June
7, 1099, the Catholic army reached the holy city, and finding it
heavily fortified, began building three enormous siege towers. By
the night of July 13, the towers were complete, and the Catholics
began fighting their way across Jerusalem's walls. On July 14,
Godfrey's men were the first to penetrate the defenses, and the
Gate of Saint Stephen was opened. The rest of the knights and
soldiers then poured in, the city was captured, and tens of
thousands of its occupants were slaughtered.
The crusaders had achieved their aims, and Jerusalem was in
Catholic hands, but an Egyptian army marched on the holy city a
few weeks later to challenge their claim. The Egyptians' defeat
by the outnumbered Catholics in August ended Muslim resistance to
the Europeans for the time being, and five small Catholic states
were set up in the region under the rule of the leaders of the
crusade.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
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