THE CRUSADES

Originating as a call from Pope Urban II to ensure access to shrines and sites in the Holy Land, the First Crusade was marked by a series of massacres and atrocities directed against Moslems, Christians and Jews, culminating in the violent sack of the the city of Jerusalem in 1099. By the time this had taken place, the Crusading army had already fractured into a number of opportunistic land-grabs which saw the institution of a number of 'Crusader Kingdoms', centred on the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The Fatamid caliphate fought back against this intrusion into their holy sites and in 1187 , General Saladin routed the Christian army at the Battle of Hattin, capturing the True Cross and ending Christian control of Jerusalem. The response from the West was the Third Crusade led by the infamous RIchard the Lionheart. Despite his best efforts, Jerusalem remained in the hands of the Moslems and was fated to remain so.

Further Crusades were planned and launched but to no avail, and the Christian military presence increasingly devolved to the military orders operating from their imposing castles and fortresses.

Figure Format
Infantry (four figures to a strip), and Mounted troops (three to a strip), are based in file for cutting and rebasing. Foot Command strips, are included in all Line Infantry packs at a rate of four strips of command to twenty of line. I can vary this proportion on request.

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The Saracens First Crusade (Normans)