June 1

987: Hugh
Capet was elected King of France making him the first of the Capetians.  During this period, power lay with the nobles
and the leaders of the Church.  Among
other things this meant that the kings were unable to do anything t…

May 31

1279 BCE:
Ramses II (The Great) (19th dynasty) becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. If you
accept the contention that Moses lived from 1391–1271 BCE, Ramses would be the
Pharaoh who came to power after the Exodus. During his reign he reasserted
Eg…

May 26

1096(1st of
Sivan): The Crusaders massacred the Jews of Neuss, Germany

1135:  Alfonso VII of León and Castile was crowned
in the Cathedral of Leon as Imperator
totius Hispaniae, “Emperor of all of Spain”. At the start of his
reign, he cur…

May 24

1218:  The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.
The driving forces behind the crusade were two Popes who broke new ground in
the mistreatment of the Jews – Innocent III and his successor, Honorius
III.   One of their mo…

May 22

334 BCE:  The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great
defeated Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. This was the first
step of a “journey” that would lead to the turning Egypt and Asia Minor (a
territory that included Jerusal…