Certainty: 3 Baldwin of Edessa demanded aid from Baldwin I outside Beirut against a Turkish siege Certainty: 3
1111
Certainty: 2 Huge but unsuccessful attack by Sharaf al-Din Mawdud on the county of Antioch Certainty: 2
1115
Certainty: 2 Tughtakin of Damascus helped forge a coalition against Bursuq Certainty: 2
1119
Certainty: 2 Ilghazi attacked the principality of Antioch Certainty: 2
Certainty: 3 Preliminary skirmishing & reconnaissance before the battle of the Field of Blood Certainty: 3
Certainty: 2 Battle of the Field of Blood (general factoids) Certainty: 2
Certainty: 3 Roger of Antioch & most of his forces killed at the Field of Blood Certainty: 3
Certainty: 3 Developments before the arrival of Baldwin II Certainty: 3
Certainty: 3 Baldwin II & Pons of Tripoli arrived in Antioch to stabilise the situation after death of Roger Certainty: 3
Certainty: 3 Second battle of Danith: no victory to either side
Ilghazi, Tughtakin, Bochard and Dubais were the core of the Muslim army, with Turcoman raiders who could not be trusted to stay present once they had booty. They met near Tall-Danith and prepared all night for the battle, trying for an early-morning surprise, as at the Field of Blood, making a noisy attack wiith many missiles. The Christians were awake and ready, having Pons on the right, the Antiochenes on the left and Baldwin in the centre, with infantry to the rear. Evremar carried the Cross, unarmed yet unwounded. They withstood the first Muslim attack, but then suffered losses, especially among the infantry, and were thrown into confusion in hand-to-hand fighting. Pons' troops were mixed with those of Baldwin, despite heroic fighting from the two leaders. But the Muslims too had heavy losses, and eventually abandoned the battlefield, disbanded their forces and did not return. Baldwin held the field [evidence for Fulcher of Chartres of a Christian victory], but not securely, having lost a royal standard, and being forced to go to Hab for provisions overnight before returning to the battlefield in the morning. After gathering the dead and and tending the wounded, he found that he had lost 500-700 infantry and 100 knights, while 2,000-3,000 Turks died. Neither side could really speak of victory. He sent his well-known ring to Antioch to confirm to the patriarch and the princess (Baldwin's sister) that the Christian side claimed victory. Baldwin sent Evremar of Caesarea with the True Cross back to Jerusalem [though one version sends it to Antioch first], but remained himself to organise Antiochene affairs. Before returning to Jerusalem he made a triumphant entry into Antioch, arranged the succession of the fallen, ensured their widows married suitable husbands and garrisoned fortresses
Certainty: 2 The fate of Christian prisoners in Aleppo
Some prisoners from the Field of Blood were still held at Aleppo at the time of the second battle of Danith, and new prisoners were added. The first news reaching Sulayman ibn Ilghazi, castellan of Aleppo, was that Ilghazi and Tughtakin had been defeated and killed. This caused rejoicing among an opposition group in Aleppo - thus puzzling the Frankish prisoners. Later, Christian heads were thrown into their cell to confirm a Muslim victory, but the truth became known secretly. Then Ilghazi and Tughtakin themselves arrived, exhausted and without weapons, and began to drink, while spreading news that there had been a great victory and seeking to terrify the prisoners. Robert fitzFulk was passed between the two, each asking the other to kill him. Finally Tughtakin beheaded him and had a cup made from his skull. [Usama claims that Ilghazi asked Tughtakin to scare Robert into raising his ransom price, and Tughtakin replied that beheading was a good way to scare him.] Tughtakin wanted to slaughter all the prisoners in a kind of purification ritual, but Ilghazi reminedd him that they still needed money and ways to put pressure on the Franks. But death by mutilation continued. As the two got more intoxicated martyrdoms became more bizarre, in front of most of the people of Aleppo. A man they thought was a priest was killed at once. 37 were killed at the same time. Sanson of Bruera saw a vision of 24 comrades, and all these were killed. The killing was interrupted by the arrival of a horse, a gift to Ilghazi. One corpse moved itself from one place to another, astounding everybody. Much of the narrative is written as an eyewitness report by Walter the Chancellor
1121
Certainty: 3 Defeat by David IV of Georgia of a massive Muslim invasion led by Ilghazi Certainty: 3
1122
Certainty: 2 Joscelin went to protect Antioch from Ilghazi; but the latter died before any battle Certainty: 2