The Siege of Jerusalem (7 June – 15 July 1099) was the climatic battle of the First Crusade resulting in the Crusaders taking the city of Jerusalem and founding the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Background[]
By the 1070s, most of what was considered the Near East at the time, had been conquered by the Seljuk Turks, becoming a new influence of the region. Ruling over a vast population of different ethnicities and religious denominations. 20 years later, the First Crusade was underway as Crusaders set out from Western Christendom to reclaim the Holy Land as early as 1096. They became a major presence in Northern Syria by 1097 onward and conquered Antioch. The Crusaders then took power in Edessa before moving to take Jerusalem.[1] The city of Jerusalem itself had been occupied by the Faṭimids of Egypt since August 1098.[2]
Siege[]
On the morning of 7 June 1099, the Christian Army of Crusaders who had been camped outside Jerusalem prepared for the siege. Godefroy de Bouillon and Raymond de Toulouse led the final assaults and were successful as the city fell relatively quickly. Upon entering the city, the Crusaders brutally massacred the Muslim and Jewish occupants in the city,[2] overrunning and captured it.[3]
Aftermath[]
The Crusaders' conquering of Edessa, Antioch, and Jerusalem, laid the foundations of what became the Crusader States in the Near East.[1] They founded the Kingdom of Jerusalem and crowned Godfrey de Bouillon the first king.[4]
The Crusader's influence was continually resisted by the Seljuks who felt threatened by the Crusaders control of the regions. The Crusaders won many following battles against the Seljuks, which further resulted in a growing instability of Seljuk power and authority. Common folk felt torn between two evils and whom to support, with some groups rebelling against the Seljuks while others joined them. The Assassins themselves were persecuted by the Seljuks, and in 1105 the newly appointed Sultan, Muhammad I Tapar declared the Assassins the Seljuk's main enemy and not the Crusaders.[1]
Influence[]
The events of the siege inspired French artist Émile Signol to paint an oil on canvas recreation of the last day of the siege in 1847.[5]
By 2016, the Templar Grand Master and Abstergo Industries CEO Alan Rikkin had Signol's painting hung in his office.[6][7]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed: Initiates (first mentioned)
- Assassin's Creed (film) (painting only)
- Echoes of History (mentioned only)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Echoes of History – Assassins vs Templars – Episode 5: The Assassins & The Crusaders
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Assassin's Creed: Initiates – Timeline: 1099 – "Siege of Jerusalem"
- ↑ Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia
- ↑
Kingdom of Jerusalem on Wikipedia
- ↑
Émile Signol on Wikipedia
- ↑ Assassin's Creed (film)
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Into the Animus