The Babylonians scaled the walls of the city [Jerusalem] with the help of fortified towers. The Babylon Mystery: Nebuchadnezzar, Discovery
I have found that even Judaism is not a B.C. religion. It did not exist in the B.C. So when we talk about ancient Jerusalem – there was no ancient Israel. Jerusalem, yes, but no ancient Israel. Jordan Maxwell, Project Camelot Conference September 2009
First of all, Arafat is wrong. Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, will never be divided, and will remain the capital of the State of Israel, the capital of the Jewish people, for ever and ever. Benjamin Netanyahu
The Templar Army began its gruesome desert march towards Tiberius without water or shelter. Weak and disorientated. That evening was when Saladin’s forces closed in to surround them. In the attack that followed ... it was the worse single military disaster in the Holy Land. The surviving Christian knights were sold into slavery. Decoding the Past s1e17: The Templar Code, History 2005
Saladin took the city a few months later. The Christians fought back under Richard the Lionheart, retaking the city in 1229. But held it only briefly. In 1244 the Turks recaptured Jerusalem, effectively bringing an end to Christian rule. ibid.
Two warriors came to prominence. Two warlords who would use Jihad as their rallying cry. Nur-ad-Din was a powerful leader who in 1146 took control of parts of what are now Syria and Jordan. A deeply religious man he immersed himself in the study of the Koran ... Nurd-ad-Din’s interpretation of Jihad resonated with his subjects who were eager to defeat the Europeans ... His deputy: a young warrior who was also a devout student of the Koran: his name was Saladin ... The reigns of power were taken by Saladin who began immediately to plan an assault on Jerusalem ... The night before the assault the Muslims set the grass around the Crusader camp aflame. By dawn the Crusaders were enveloped in choking black smoke. As the sun rose over the battlefield the Islamic army attacked. After half a day of fierce battle in the searing heat the Crusader army lay devastated. This was a turning point in the history of the Crusades. Emboldened by his victory Saladin turned his attention to claiming Jerusalem. Decoding the Past s2e10: The Koran, History 2006
Richard’s early encounter with Saladin’s forces resulted in decisive victories for the Christians. But taking Jerusalem proved much more difficult. Saladin’s armies were strong, and the open ground around the walled city made it difficult to mount an effective attack. The Muslims and the Christians were at a stalemate. On the 2nd September 1892 both sides agreed to a truce. ibid.
He [Saladin] realises he cannot actually capture Jerusalem. He didn’t have control over the landscapes surrounding Jerusalem ... And then he makes a retreat. Professor Shimon Gibson
When the Crusaders captured Jerusalem the first thing that happened – there was a bloodbath of almighty proportions. They slaughtered everybody, Christian, Jew, Muslim alike. It’s not a pretty event. Dr Tim Wallace-Murphy, co-author Custodians of Truth
When the Christians captured Jerusalem there was a bloodbath. And the horses were knee-deep in blood. They slaughtered everybody – Muslim, Jew, Christian, without mercy. Dr Tim Wallace-Murphy
From the Christian perspective the first crusade was a startling, almost a miraculous, success. Against all the odds the first crusaders managed to travel to the Holy Land and retook the holy city of Jerusalem. Dr Thomas Asbridge, Templar researcher, University of London
The Pope proclaimed a new Holy War against Islam. For control of the most hallowed site in the Christian cosmos – the sacred city of Jerusalem. Dr Thomas Asbridge, The Crusades 1/3: Holy War, BBC 2012
The story of the Crusades is remembered as a tale of religious fanaticism and unspeakable violence. Of medieval knights and Jihadi warriors. ibid.
From the summer of 1096 between sixty and a hundred thousand Christians – men, women and children, set out to walk some two and a half thousand miles. ibid.
The Pope created an anti-Islamic onslaught, peppered with propaganda. ibid.
I think most people joined this Crusade because they earnestly believed that the coming campaign would cleanse their souls of sin. ibid.
The Crusaders decided to divide their army in two. ibid.
Lack of water became a real issue. ibid.
Christian numbers were severely depleted by an epic journey. ibid.
The Muslim world finally appeared to unite. ibid.
The Muslim garrison was thrown into a state of utter confusion, and soon Antioch’s remaining gates were thrown open and the Crusaders poured in. In the half light of dawn a chaotic slaughter began. ibid.
The besiegers had become the besieged. ibid.
They overran the Holy City ... They unleashed a rampaging torrent of barbaric and indiscriminate slaughter. ibid.
The Crusaders were wading through their enemies’ blood. ibid.
In July 1192 Richard the Lionheart, King of England, valiant crusader knight, stood with his Holy Warriors preparing for a strike on Jerusalem. Thomas Asbridge, The Crusades 2/3: Clash of Titans
Jihad literally means struggle, but in the Middle Ages this could represent a fight against internal impurity or a sacred physical struggle – a Holy War, and its message could be spread by poetry. ibid.
Saladin was quickly becoming the premier Muslim leader in the East ... He united the disparate Muslim factions into a coherent army. ibid.
The Christian army marching in the height of summer was being led into a waterless killing zone. ibid.
Jerusalem was back in Muslim hands. ibid.
In June 1191 Richard the Lionheart sailed down the coast of Palestine. ibid.
The Third Crusade had achieved a categorical victory. ibid.
During Richard’s long absence from home his brother John had been plotting to take control of England. ibid.
Against his better judgment the Lionheart began a second advance having effectively lost control of his Crusade. ibid.
The Lionheart failed to lead the third Crusade to victory. ibid.
Two centuries of religious war. Dr Thomas Asbridge, The Crusades 3/3: Victory & Defeat
These Christian outposts were ruled by bickering warlords. ibid.
The power and wealth of the Hospitallers. This is a monument to rival anything in the Middle Ages ... Like their Templar brethren, they embraced the Crusading ideal. ibid.
Commercial contacts between East and West blossomed. ibid.
Louis was determined to bring Jerusalem back into the Christian fold. ibid.
Louis IX was the perfect Crusader King. ibid.
The Mongols and the Mamluks are the big players. ibid.
Jerusalem was stormed in 1099. The entire population of the holy city was put to the sword. Jews and well as Muslims. 70,000 men, women and children perished in a holocaust, which raged for three days. In places men waded in blood up to their ankles and horsemen were splashed by it as they rode through the streets. Desmond Seward, The Monks of War
Almost one thousand years ago Richard I, King of England, set out to war. Not for power or wealth but for God. This was a new kind of war. One that still casts its shadow today. For it would pit Crusader against Jihadi. East against West. Richard the Lionheart: Warriors
Saladin’s scorched earth tactics began to work like a cancer in the Crusader army, spreading dissension. Richard, as the only King among the commanders, led the crusade in battle. But he was not in political control. Important political decisions were taken by the Council of War, a body made up of all the different factions. ibid.
The retreat from Jerusalem was a humiliation for Richard. During the next six months he tried everything to make amends, moving down towards Egypt and attacking Saladin’s supply routes. But without the French he never had enough men to strike a decisive blow. ibid.
Savagery and piety. Conquest and colonisation. The Normans used every weapon in their armoury to re-shape Norman France and the British Isles. They were powerful rulers and state builders. And their legacy can be seen all around us. Professor Robert Bartlett, The Normans III: Normans of the South, BBC 2010
In 1099 an international force of 10,000 soldiers stormed through the streets of Jerusalem. This would be the most divisive part of the Norman inheritance: the first Crusade. Among the leaders were Norman knights, including the son of William the Conqueror. As the Crusaders tore through the Holy City they cut down thousands of Muslims. According to one chronicler the slaughter was so great men waded in blood up to their ankles. ibid.
On their way to Jerusalem the Crusaders arrived at the capital of the Byzantine Empire – Constantinople was one of the greatest cities of the medieval world. ibid.
Bohemond established a new Norman state – the principality of Antioch. ibid.
On the night of 10th July 1099 the Crusaders attacked in force from both north and south using battering rams and siege towers. For two days the conflict hung in the balance. Then the Crusaders broke into the city. Tancred was amongst the leaders. Pillage and massacre followed. The Crusaders rampaged though the city seizing gold and silver as they went. The slaughter of the Muslims was savage. Chroniclers record that thousands were killed. ibid.