I have a few updates after this, but I'd really like to change the title. Is there a way to do that without contacting a mod, or will I have to do so? I've decided to change the tone of the TL a bit compared to what I had planned, so a title change is something very important to me.
Sorry it's been so long, but now that I've recovered from the beginning of school panic, I'm finding time to write again. Roma Eterna!
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1158:
-Alexios gathers his army and journeys east, to Antioch. For once, Latins are pleased at the sight of an approaching Greek army.
- Nur Zengi is starting to become known as the Infidel of Damascus. Since his victory against Mu'in and his conquest of Damascus, the ambitious emir has consolidated his realm and gathered an enthusiastic army. He has also been gathering allies, creating an alliance with the Fatimids and several agreements with the Persians to his east. He has also grabbed many more lands belonging to the Kurds, creating a Zengid realm stronger than ever before seen.
Meanwhile, Jerusalem has faltered. Baldwin III and his mother, Melisende, has been engaged in a constant power struggle over the past decade, that had many times nearly erupted into civil war. It most likely would have, if not for the intervention of the notable Archbishop of Tyre, William*.
Up until 1158, there had been an uneasy tension where the two had split the Kingdom. Finally, in the early part of that year, Melisende had died, and Baldwin returned to Jerusalem to "mourn" (take power for good). The Zengi and Fatimids decided to invade before he could move to consolidate the realm.
-Now, Baldwin, King of Jerusalem, continually tries to raid and delay the army of his enemy "The Infidel of Damascus". However, a second invasion from Egypt forces him to face one of his foes, and he chooses the Emir of Damascus, proclaiming he would defeat the invader or die trying.
Giving battle,however, proved much harder than avoiding it. Zengi was more than willing to lead Baldwin on a chase across Outremer, skirting ever close to the city. When the Latin King finally did give battle, his troops were much more exhausted and he did not get to pick the terrain.
The two armies met near the town of Hebron and the Latins were finally able to see their enemy. However, it was not a melee as the Latins had hoped, but a skirmish. Arrows penetrated the Christian Knights and Footmen, turning it into a systematic massacre. After 4 hours of hell being rained down upon them, Baldwin attempted to retreat.
However, this was when the moors finally met them. The Christian ranks fell into disarray, particularly the center, which collapsed in the massive Arab onslaught. By the end of the battle, the left and center where all either fled, captured or dead. The right, however, did manage to retreat into Jerusalem, with an injured King Baldwin on their side.
The survivors of Hebron rapidly did whatever they could to fortify the city, but it would prove to not be enough. By the end of the year, the city fell. The Infidel of Damascus gave the Holy City over to his troops for three days, during which time thousands of Latins were massacred and churches looted.
Painting depicting the fall of Jerusalem.
Throughout Christendom, the effects were felt. The Pope had already declared a crusade, and now he received an even more massive response. From Norway to Naples, men took up the sword and cross and came to Antioch, which the Emperor of Rome had left open for the rightful warriors of Christ.
When the news reached Alexios, who was now in Tripoli, all feuds he had with the Latins seemed to dissapear. William of Tyre remarks on the Emperor's response:
"A lesser man might have torn his clothes and wept, but Alexios Komnenos steeled himself and said nothing. When his brother Isaac sought a response, he merely replied: "Then we will have to take it back." Never will I forget the look in that Greek's eye on that black day. I knew then that the mohammedens had an enemy terrible to behold, one who fought for our Lord."
William may have been more than a little biased, however, especially considering the rewards Alexios would heap on him later. Regardless, this historical text does give us some indication on the abrupt mending of Latin-Roman relations brought about by Imad Zengi.
It was when christian morale was at its lowest that it scored one of its greatest victories. A Fatimid force nearing fourty thousand had invested Acre, hoping to take and fortify the city before the crusaders and Romans arrived. However, the city held out, and in a classic example of sword-and-anvil tactics, the Romans attacked the Egyptian camp just as the defenders of Acre sortied. The Fatimids were smashed, and once news hit Cairo the young Caliph Al-Faiz was soon found dead, dying before the age of ten. This triggered even more of a sucession struggle in the collapsing Fatimid Caliphate, effectively ensuring there would be no second Egyptian invasion.
Despite this victory, the war was not close to over. The Infidel of Damascus sat in Jerusalem and the Emperor of Rome sat in Acre. The former was still reorganizing after the chaotic capture of Jerusalem, and the latter gained reinforcements every day. There were still more battles to be fought.
