The First Crusade's conquest of the city of Maʿarrat al-Nuʿman was noteworthy for at least two reasons, one fairly blasé and the other definitely not. On the blasé side, Maʿarrat al-Nuʿman was an important waypoint along the march from Antioch to Jerusalem, and the Crusaders couldn't get from the former to the latter without capturing … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Crusaders capture Maʿarrat al-Nuʿman (1098)
Tag: history
Today in Middle Eastern history: General Allenby comes to Jerusalem (1917)
In a sense, if you’re into this sort of thing, there are some parallels you could draw between the British army’s capture of Jerusalem and the Crusades. I mean, Edmund Allenby was technically a European Christian, and there he was, on December 11, 1917, marching into having successfully conquered the city that had been the … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: General Allenby comes to Jerusalem (1917)
Today in European History: the Russians capture Plevna (1877)
Although they’ve settled into a kind of love-hate rut nowadays, historically relations between the precursors of modern Russia and modern Turkey have tended not to be so great. Consider that the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, two of those precursors, fought a whopping 12 wars against one another between the second half of the … Continue reading Today in European History: the Russians capture Plevna (1877)
Today in Middle Eastern history: the First Intifada begins (1987)
In contrast with the Second Intifada, which Israeli politician Ariel Sharon deliberately provoked when he and 1000 Israeli police officers marched on to the Haram al-Sharif in September 2000, the First Intifada (the Arabic word means “popular uprising”) began almost by chance. On December 8, 1987, an Israeli Defense Forces truck crashed into a line of cars stuck … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the First Intifada begins (1987)
Today in European history: the Mongols sack Kyiv (1240)
Historians often cite the 1240 Mongol sack of Kyiv as the final end of the Kyivan Rus’ federation, but as with most things there's more to the collapse of the Rus’ than one solitary event. For nearly two centuries prior to 1240, the balance of power in the Rus’ federation had been shifting gradually away … Continue reading Today in European history: the Mongols sack Kyiv (1240)
Today in European history: the Battle of Sinop (1853)
Apart from the Charge of the Light Brigade (the actual charge, but also the poem), the Crimean War (1853-1856) is best known as the first “modern” war, in that it was during the Crimean War when later military staples like rail, telegraphs, trenches, and rifled firearms and artillery first got tested in a major engagement. Oh, … Continue reading Today in European history: the Battle of Sinop (1853)
Today in Middle Eastern history: the Battle of Hama (903)
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a fairly small, radical—apocalyptic, really—and highly militarized Islamic sect carves out a chunk of territory, including a sizable piece of Syria, in which to establish its own very wealthy political entity that could be described as revisionist, expansionist, and even irredentist. They specialize in hit-and-run attacks on … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Battle of Hama (903)
Today in European history: the Council of Clermont (1095)
The title of this post is a bit misleading. The Council of Clermont actually ran from November 18 through November 28, 1095, so November 27 is the anniversary of neither its beginning nor its end. It is, however, the anniversary of the day on which Pope Urban II (d. 1099) got to the main point … Continue reading Today in European history: the Council of Clermont (1095)
Today in European history: the Treaty of Granada (1491)
The end of the "Reconquista" came on January 2, 1492, when the last Muslim ruler of Granada, the Nasirid Sultan Abu Abdullah Muhammad XII ("Boabdil" to the Spaniards, for whom "Abu Abdullah" was apparently too hard to pronounce), went into exile in Morocco. But by that point his departure was a formality. Boabdil was obliged … Continue reading Today in European history: the Treaty of Granada (1491)
Today in Middle Eastern history: the Battle of Montgisard (1177)
Although he’s considered a great military leader, largely for having retaken Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187, Saladin’s career as a general was not without its setbacks. Richard the Lionheart defeated him a few times during the Third Crusade, for example, though ultimately that crusade failed to achieve its goal. And there’s also the 1177 Battle of Montgisard, … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Battle of Montgisard (1177)
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