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| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
July 2007 Stats for The Big Picture.
From commenter A.M. Whittaker:
Upon reflection, I could only wonder how the Crusades could come about; what sparked this reaction from Christians who are supposed to love their enemies and be committed to peace?
I shall list the various reasons...1. 613 Persians capture Damascus and Antioch
2. 614 Persians sack Jerusalem
3. 633 Muslims conquer Syria and Iraq
4. 635 Muslims begin the conquest of Persia and Syria
5. 635 Arab Muslims capture the city of Damascus
6. 636-637 Arab domination of Syria
7. 637 Arabs occupy Ctesiphon
8. 637 Jerusalem falls to Muslim forces
9. 638 Caliph Umar I enters Jerusalem
10. 639 Muslims conquer Egypt and Persia
11. 641 Islam spreads into Egypt
12. 641 Muslims conquer Alexandria
13. 649 Muawiya I leads raid against Cyprus sacking the capital Salamis-Constantia
14. 652 Sicily is attacked by Muslims
15. 653 Muawiya I leads raid against Rhodes
16. 654 Muawiya I conquers Cyprus
17. 655 Battle of the Masts
18. 661-680 Mu’awiya moves capital from Mecca to Damascus
19. 662 Egypt falls to the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates
20. 667 Sicily is attacked by Muslims
21. 668 First siege of Constantinople
22. 669 Muslim conquest reaches Morocco
23. 672 Muslims capture the island of Rhodes
24. 674 Arab conquest reaches Indus River
25. 698 Muslims capture Carthage
26. 700 Muslims raid Island of Sicily
27. 711 Muslims conquest of Sindh in Afghanistan
28. 711 Battle of Guadalate
29. 712 Conquest of Andulusia
30. 715 Muslim conquest of Spain
31. 716 Muslims captured Lisbon
32. 717 Cordova becomes capital of Andalusia (Spain)
33. 719 Muslims attack Septimania in Southern France
34. 721 Muslims cross the Pyrenees
35. 722 Battle of Covadonga First defeat of Muslims by Christians
36. 724 Muslims raid southern France and capture Carcassone and Nimes
37. 725 Muslim forces occupy Nimes, France
38. 730 Muslim forces occupy Narbonne and Avignon
39. 732 Battle of Tours (Christian Victory)
40. 735 Muslim invaders capture Arles
41. 750 Abbasids move capital to Baghdad
42. 756 The Emirate of Cordova is established
43. 759 Pippin III ends Muslim incursions in France
44. 792 Hisham I calls for a Jihad Thousands heed his call to cross the Pyrenees to subjugate France. Many cities are destroyed
45. 813 Muslims attack the Civi Vecchia near Rome
46. 816 The Moors support the Basques against the Franks
47. 827 Sicily is invaded by Muslims
48. 831 Muslims capture Palermo and make it their capital
49. 838 Muslim raiders sack Marseille
50. 841 Muslim forces capture Bari (in Italy)
51. 846 Muslim raiders attack areas near Ostia and Rome. Some enter Rome and damage the Churches of St. Peter and St. Paul. The Leonine Wall is built to discourage further Attacks.
52. 849 Battle of Ostia (Christian Victory)
53. 850 Perfectus, a Christian priest in Muslim Cordova is executed – one of the first of Many
54. 85111 young Christians are executed for insulting the Prophet Muhammed
55. 858 Muslim raiders attack Constantinople
56. 859 Muslim invaders capture Castrogiovanni slaughtering several thousand
57. 869 Arabs capture the island of Malta
58. 870 Muslim invaders capture Syracuse
59. 876 Muslims pillage Campagna in Italy
60. 879 The Seljuk Empire unites Mesapotamia and a large portion of Persia
61. 884 Muslims invading Italy burn the monastery of Monte Cassino to the ground
62. 900 The Fatimid Dynasty assumes control of Egypt
63. 902 The Muslim conquest of Sicily is completed when the Christian city of Toorminia is captured
64. 909 Sicily comes under control of the Fatimids
65. 909 The fatimid Dynasty assumes control of Egypt
66. 909 Muslims control all the passes in the Alps between France and Italy – cutting off passage between the two countries
67. 920 Muslim forces cross the Pyrenees, enter Gascony and reach as far as the gates of Toulouse
68. 972 The Fatimids of Egypt conquer North Africa
69. 981 Ramiro III, king of Leon, is defeated at Rueda
70. 985 Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir sacks Barcelona
71. 994 The monastery of Monte Cassino is destrpyed a second time by Arabs
72. 997 Under the leadership of Almanzar, Muslim forces march out of the city of Cordova and head north to capture Christian lands.
73. 997 Muslim forces burn Compostela to the ground
74. 1004 Arab raiders sack the Italian city of Pisa
75. 1009 The Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem is destroyed by Muslim armies
76. 1009 Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah orders the the Holy Sepulcher and all Christian buildings in Jerusalem be destroyed
77. 1012 Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah orders the destruction of all Christian and Jewish houses of worship in his lands
78. 1012 Berber forces capture Cordova and order that half the population be executed
79. 1015 Arab Muslim forces conquer Sardinia
80. 1064 The Seljuk Turks conquer Christian Armenia
81. 1070 Seljuk Turks capture Jerusalem and begin persecuting Christian Pilgrims
82. 1071-1085 Seljuk Turks conquer most of Syria and Palestine
83. 1071 Battle of Manzikert
84. 1073 Seljuk Turks conquer Ankara
85. 1078 Seljuk Turks capture Nicaea
86. 1084 Seljuk Turks conquer Antioch
67. 1086 Battle of Zallaca
68. 1088 Patzinak Turks begin forming settlements between the Danube and the Balkans
69. 1090 Granada captured by Yusuf Ibn Tashfin
70. 1091 Cordova is captured by the Almoravids
#1
#2Dear Frank,
I wasn’t sure what source this originally came from since I had been sent this via someone else - but I did check it against some reference books and my military history book listing battles throughout history.
Since I am more interested in getting things correct, could you elaborate on any discrepancies.
Are there any other issues you would also like to address?
A.M.
#3Dear Frank,
I’m new to this and I didn’t know about the site you referenced as well as who Ben Domenech was.
I contacted a local historian for a timeline of the Crusades and received a longer version of what I posted. Interestingly enough I live in the Virginia/Washington area.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
However, I did check these dates and events against the reference sources I had available and they did check out. I considered this a timeline table. Dates are dates and events are events no matter where you get them.
Again,are any of these dates or events incorrect or are you simply pointing out that this might have been plagerism?
Please advise.
AM
#4Frank, while it is good blogging practice to provide links to document information sources, the absence of a link in a single comment, is a far cry from plagiarism. As Whittaker has noted:
I’m new to this and I didn’t know about the site you referenced as well as who Ben Domenech was.
I contacted a local historian for a timeline of the Crusades and received a longer version of what I posted.
In any case, thanks for providing a link documenting this info.
#5I guess if they can justify themselves with medieval history so can we. In fact, we probably need to know this stuff just to understand their messages.
Now, all we need is resolve, for them to respect us. I just hope it doesn’t take another 800 years to stop their expansion.
#6Great point, ast. The enemy is composed of minor states run by failed cultures. We have to stop Iran from getting the bomb, and after that, all we have to do is get a little tougher—we have to control the border, require assimilation of immigrants, severely restrict immigration to free countries of radical Islamists, and keep up the military pressure on terrorists and those who fund and support them.
One of the things I learned reading Bernard Lewis is that this struggle isn’t new. The Islamic tide reached its height in the 1400s and they have lost consistently ever since. What’s new is that oil has made them feel rich and powerful again and the old Jihad snake oil is being sold. When they started losing wars back 500 years ago, they thought all they needed was western weapons and military techniques and they’d recover. It hasn’t worked out that way, but they think that if they just can get a nuclear weapon they could start winning again.
They don’t really understand or believe the horror of such a battle, and they mistake our desire to avoid it as a form of weakness. In some ways, they’re right. A lot of the West is whistling past the graveyard, hoping that they’ll be satisfied with blowing up Tel Aviv, but these letters from Ahmedinejad signal something pretty scary, if the mullahs running the show really are behind him. He’s basically laying the groundwork for launching a just Jihad according to Islamic Law. We are about to be taught another lesson about complacency as he sends a bunch of suicide bombers off to keep us busy while he builds his atom bombs.
#8Great stuff as always, Ast. I’m going to quote this in a post.
Update: the post quoting you is here.
#9Comment from Malta:Malta was liberated from the muslims in 1090 by the norman Roger
Regards
E.Muscat
#10What we call The Crusades was Western Europe playing defense for over 90% of the 1000 years of Muslim expansion. Places like Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary do not remember the Crusades as expansionist Christianity. They remember it as the only times they had any help. These countries absorbed the damage and protected Europe for centuries.
Also from Bernard Lewis: Islamic histories did not record the Crusades as such until recently. The invasions were often only part of tribal wars amongst themselves, and several factions actually allied with the Christians from time to time for reasons of their own. Only when Muslims began to study in the West in the 1800’s did they “discover” the Crusades.
#11Ok, some basic history here. Romania was in fact part of the old Greek empire of Byzantium, the Eastern Roman Empire. This was eventually taken over by the Turks, who were converted to Islam only late and could not in any way be described as Islamicist.
The list you give is completely one-sided and does not include any mention of the massacres of Jews in Spain by Crusaders, nor the sacking of Granada, the last Moslem Kingdom in Spain. I suggest that you try and obtain a more complete list, and please note also that the ‘Persians’ listed were in fact the Sassanid dynasty and were Zoroastrian, in fact losing their kingdom to the Moslems.
I think you need to go back and look at the basic liberties accorded to citizens by Islam as compared to the crude and barbaric European kingdoms of the day. Especially note how the First Crusade sacked Jerusalem and slaughtered everyone regardless of race or creed (contemporaries noted those who fled for sanctuary being slaughtered in the temple, and up to their ankles in blood), while when it was recaptured by ‘Saladin’ he restrained his army from pillage and plunder.
The Crusades were triggered by the Byzantine Emperor calling for assistance versus the Turks after the disaster of Manzikert where treachery by one half of the Byzantine army caused the loss of most of their Asian provinces (Themes). In the years that followed, various petty Christian Princedoms and fiefs variously allied with and against Byzantium, Armenia, Damascus and Egypt, both for and against fellow Christians.
Steven Runcimans 3 volume history of the Crusades is a very good overview. I suggest you read it.
regards
DM
#12The Crusades were triggered by many things, not least among them the refusal to allow Western Christians to visit Jerusalem.
Petty Muslim Princedoms allied with Christians as well. Odd you should leave that out. As to the rights accorded people of other faiths: after slaughter, those who would accept dhimmitude were left alone. That is perhaps an advance over what has been the norm in the world, including Europe, but it is hardly exciting.
There is now a consensus that both sides exagerrated the slaughter at Jerusalem, each for their own purpose. I believe the number is now at 30,000 rather than 60,000, with the difference believed to have slipped away.
As to the Turks, yes I will grant that they might have been expansionist even if they had not been Muslim. Much of what we attribute to Islam is simply Islamic language covering the same old tribalism. Fair enough. Do you think my figures of Europe “playing defense” for over 900 years of the “Middle-eastern” expansion of 1000 years inaccurate?
#13Great list but why Crusader kill more Jews than muslim. After all it was because of Jews people our beloved Jesus was put on cross.
#14Congratulations, Shahid, you’re officially a racist.
#15I read over the petition. In signing, the Palestinian would be saying that he was of sound mind and body and was making the request for transfer free of pressure or duress. Of course, there was no way that they would leave without being pressured to do so. These families had been there hundreds of years, as farmers, primitive artisans, weavers. The Military Governor prohibited them from pursuing their livelihoods, just penned them up until they lost hope of resuming their normal lives. That’s when they signed to leave.
Naeim Giladi
#16So every thing malevolent that people say about muslim. They are not racist. Thank you for the title.
#17Muslim is not an ethnicity. Arab is an ethnicity. A Muslim is one who follows the political ideology of Islam, which, judging by your statement on another thread on this site, includes wanting to destroy the state of Israel.
Shahid, you’re skating on thin ice here. Your comment in #13 is intolerable. Quit while you’re ahead or get off this site.
#18shahid, I know that your comment in #15 is the common belief in the Muslim world of what happened to the Palestinians. I submit that it is not so. My simply contradicting you is unlikely to persuade you. I would suggest, therefore, that you start with the uncontested facts, such as what and who the population of Palestine was in 1900, 1920, 1940, and then 1948 and following. Then read the UN resolutions creating the State of Israel at the time, and the debate leading up to that.
These things, in and of themselves, without having to encounter a single Jewish or pro-Israeli source, should modify your views somewhat as to who the current Palestinians are, and why they were not taken in by Jordan, Syria, etc.
#19vik I have never said Isreal has no right to exit. Isreal has every right to exit. And I as American would be first to fight on behave of Isreal.
#20comment # 15 Naeim Giladi is leading American Orthdox Jew leaves in New York and this are his view. Not mine. Can some one email me Isreal’s consituttion. Please.
#21vik I have never said Isreal has no right to exit. Isreal has every right to exit. And I as American would be first to fight on behave of Isreal.
That sounds like the opposite of what you posted here:
So if United Nations decide to creat a mexican country within USA I am sure you would not mind because it would be legit. And ofcourse Mexican can buy land and creat Mexican country it will be legal too. Palestine do not have problem with Arab Jews they have problem with European Jews who live thier own country and come to Israel.
#22Dear Shahid,
As per comment #13:
This notion that the Jews were to blame for the death of Jesus has been a common, but erroreous one. It has contributed to the slaughter, torture, and ostracism of millions of Jews throughout history. (And yes, it is a primary reason that so many Jews were murdered and persecuted by the Crusaders.)
Vatican II and Pope John Paul II have publicly apologized for this error. Two synods of the American Lutheran Church have publicly rejected the writings of Martin Luther concerning the Jews. Baptists everywhere are embracing their Jewish sisters and brothers and supporting Israel.
Agaim. Jesus was a Jew and preached within a Jewish context.
The Jews are still recognized as G-d’s chosen people by both Jews and Christians.
#23Vik your comment #21 Quote from my earlier writing does not contratic Please do not tell me you are from non english speaking country. What I was tring to explain is that we should not support Isreal blindly. Even Jew do not support their Gov blindly. So why we are being more loyal than king himself.
Comment # 22 some sensible writng. atlast. thanks whittak I could not have said it better.
Can someone email Isreal’s consitution if not then ask your self Why?
#24You live in Memphis, and visit the mosques there; perhaps you have met with Maher and Haitham Ghawji, or Rafat Jamal Ghawjii, or Enaam Arnaout? These would be prominent muslims from Memphis that you might know.
Or, maybe you are part of the muslim brotherhood. You did mention it. You appear on ejobs in Romanian or Bulgarian...perhaps you are Bosnian? I am working to uncover and expose your public domain background, and the more I discover about you, the more convinced I am that you are a danger to us. Your list of websites you frequent is as appalling as your stated HATRED OF JEWS.
I wanted to ask if you were one of the ones demonstrating at the University against Brigitte Gabriel? I see where you emailed the authorities protesting her free speech rights at the University of Memphis. In fact, I am amazed at what a variety of forums you enter...the sindh/punjab sites, the Iraqi sites, the American sites...who really are you, a self-styled jihaddi poster child?
#25In response to #20, Shahid, you are a willing spokesperson for al-jazeera’s complaint that only Jewish people can be citizens of Israel. http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/article_full_story.asp?service_ID=11320 - 36k -
HO HUM.................(and I emphasize HO)
Article 144
The Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran must be an Islamic Army, i.e., committed to Islamic ideology.
Article 23
The investigation of individuals’ beliefs is forbidden, and no one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief.
Article 151
In accordance with the noble Qur’anic verse:
(Prepare against them whatever force you are able to muster, and horses ready for battle, striking fear into God’s enemy and your enemy, and others beyond them unknown to you but known to God… [8:60]).
All Iranians are required to engage in the armed defence of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The possession of arms, however, requires the granting of permission by the competent authorities.
WELL, IF I AM A JEWISH IRANIAN, I MUST WEAR A YELLOW STAR ON MY OUTER CLOTHING, even though Article 23 says I cannot be taken to task for my beliefs...BUT, being Iranian, I MUST ALSO ENGAGE IN THE DEFENSE OF those who make me wear the yellow star, BUT I WILL NOT BE AFFORDED A WEAPON.
BUT NOT TO WORRY…
Article 22
The dignity, life, property, rights, residence, and occupation of the individual are inviolate, except in cases sanctioned by law.
My dignity is inviolate >EXCEPT< in cases sanctioned by law.
#26O Shahid, maybe I was obtuse in my example...How about the Arab’s version of a Constitution, in Syria?
The people (arabs only...no Kurds allowed) are the ultimate source of national sovereignty. (WHAT IS THAT??)
Power is divided into the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The President of the Republic has executive as well as some legislative powers.
The President, proposed by the Ba’th (Arab Socialist Resurrection) Party and then nominated by the People’s Assembly, is voted into office by national referendum to serve a seven-year term. He may delegate his powers, at his sole discretion, to his vice presidents.
The President is the Head of State, the chief executive, and the secretary of the ruling Ba’th Party. He appoints and dismisses the vice presidents, the prime minister, deputy prime ministers, other members of the Council of Ministers (the cabinet), and top civil servants and military officers. The Council of Ministers, headed by the prime minister, are all responsible to the president.
The President of the Republic is the commander in chief of the armed forces and can declare war. He promulgates the laws approved by the People’s Assembly. He may veto these laws. He has the right to dissolve the People’s Assembly, in which case a new Assembly must be elected within 90 days from the date of dissolution. He may not do so twice for the same reason.
The President cannot be removed from power except for high treason. Impeachment proceedings may be initiated through a petition signed by one-third of the members of the People’s Assembly voting openly (the people the President appoints and dismisses!) or by a petition of two-thirds of the Assembly members voting at a special closed session. The President can be tried only by the Supreme Constitutional Court, of which he is a member.
SCHIZOPHRENIA, defined.
Lest we remain ignorant of how an Islamic Constitution reads, “Article 113 of the constitution grants the President broad emergency powers and those powers have been in effect in Syria since the 1963.”
#27"on-muslim minorities within an islamic state do not enjoy rights equal to those of the muslim majority....although most of the Constitutions of modern muslims states guarantee against religious discrimination, most of these Constitutions also provide for the application of Shar’iah. As such, these Constitutions sanction discrimination against religious minorities.”
Abdullahi A. An-Na’im
Human Rights Quarterly,Vol. 9,No. 1(Feb.,1987),pp. 1-18
Muslims argue that they are entitled to mistreat religious adherents around them in ways that marginalize them, expose them to brutal dictatorships without right of redress, etc. Today we see the vociferous march of militants in Nazareth to intimidate the remaining Christians.
Screaming and yelling and brutality have gained ground for islam, though its ideas and customs are inferior and backward in every way. In Europe these same tactics are underway, to push and scare Christians out of their homes, forfeiting them to militants. So far, with Europeans, this
is working.
Let the militants come here, and try to push and scare us out of our homes, AND they WILL FIND the USA has armed itself, by the Second Amendment to our Constitution. Our big families of Winchesters,Glocks and Armalites, the Colts and the Barettas will be meeting them at our doors.
#28The Israelis are working on a Constitution:
The Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee of the Knesset towards drafting a constitution for the State of Israel. The Committee seeks to create a constitution that represents all members of Israeli society.
#29It is amazing how muslims keep all of us on the defensive, answering their insults and accusatory questions.
#30
#31For some reason this didn’t come out correctly on # 28
The Website for the Israeli constitution is:
#32julie, it is similar to the diversionary tactics of the Soviets. To any question about the Gulags or liquidations, the reply would be that “you have black people who are political prisoners in the US, too.” It is not so much intentional manipulation (though that was often the case) as it is an intense tribalism, an inability to perceive one’s opponent’s true intentions because what it would reveal would be damaging to one’s own tribe.
The Arab world does not hate us (and Israel) because of our successes. They hate us because of their failures. To see that would mean leaving the tribe, and who knows where that might lead, eh?
#33I viewed your blog yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I agree with your remarks about looking realistically at one’s own failures...as the picture might cause one to leave his own secure tribal surroundings…
However, for me, personally, I find much meaning in the Book of Genesis, where Ishmael’s (descendants are) characterized by the God of Abraham, as “his hand will be against his brother.” muslims fight each other far more often in history than they group together and fight those outside of islam. My take on this description in Genesis is that they will hate us until the end of the world, no matter what we do to appease them.
Our overarching problem is that the maniacal tyrants are getting the bomb and that they are attempting to group together against civilization at this point in history. It matters not so much why they hate us, but that they are having partial success in unifying, and are close to getting WMD.
#34ONE WORLD ONE PEOPLE
stop your hate
- a Muslim Christian Jew.
take that and smoke it, losers, I’ve seen better arguments in grade six. Adults acting like children. Jews Blaming Muslims, Muslims blaming Jews.
You make me sick to my stomach.
#35Khal, that’s an odd comment. Why do you say, “Stop _your_ hate?” You know that the vast majority of people who blow up trains, planes, buses and restaurants, do it in the name of Islam. Why don’t you protest against Muslims who blow up public places in the name of their religion?
#36khal,
I’ve personally requested (on another thread) some answers to questions brought up by this blog to clarify Islamic doctrine.
All I’ve seen are Muslims who write in and complain about the tenor of this blog, but no one has really contributed anything positive or substantive.
No Muslim seems to want to directly address these issues.
No Muslim seems to want to share experiences or views within his/her community.
Perhaps if Muslims contributed content rather than condemnation of this blog, the tenor would change.
But instead there’s accusation instead of illumination; declaration instead of dissemination of information.
How are we supposed to alter our perceptions?
How are we to handle these important issues which are affecting our country and world?
We need facts and honest answers in order to establish a fair exchange.
Ben Domenech’s legacy of rightwing plagiarism lives on thanks to A.M. Whittaker. Well done!