July 11

1174: Amalric I who had been King of Jerusalem since 1162 passed
away.  During his reign most of the Jews
were expelled from Jerusalem; a ban that would last until 1175.

1244:
“Khorezmian Turkish horsemen launch an
attack on Jerusalem, s…

July 10

48 BCE: In his
war with Pompey, Julius Caesar barely avoids defeat at the Battle of
Dyrrhachium.  A month later, after
regrouping his forces, Caesar defeated Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus.  While neither of the Roman leaders were…

July 8

1099: In a
move reminiscent of Joshua at Jericho, during the First Crusade 15,000 starving
Christian soldiers march in religious procession around Jerusalem as the Muslim
defenders look on. This seemingly desperate move is part of the preparati…

July 4

925: Moslems
raided Oria as part of their attacks on Italy. Ten rabbinical leaders were
killed and many others were taken into captivity, including 12 year old
Shabbetai Donnolo, who later achieved fame as a physician

1187: Guy de
Lusignan (Ki…

JUNE 30

713
CE: In Spain, Visigoth nobility which had held out against the invading Moslem
forces, throughout the winter of 712 finally surrendered to the Arabs. A
majority of the remaining Goths and Hispano-Roman people who lived in the newly
acquire…