January 8 –
Battle of Mount Cadmus: The French crusaders under Louis VII are defeated by the
Seljuk Turks. The vanguard led by
Geoffrey de Rancon ignores orders to pause and moves too far ahead, losing touch with the main army. The French are attacked by the Turks with the
baggage train (almost 10 km long) unprotected. Louis is able to escape the fray under cover of the darkness.[2]
March – The French crusaders are left in Adalia; lack of available shipping obliges Louis VII to divide his forces – the knights and best troops accompany him to
St. Symeon. Large numbers of pilgrims and non-combatants try to continue along the coastal road. Continually harassed by the Turks many French and Germans are killed. Less than half of them arrive in the late spring at
Antioch.[3]
March 7 – King
Conrad III recovers from his wounds and leaves
Constantinople with his household. He is well supplied with money by Emperor
Manuel I Komnenos and uses these funds to recruit pilgrims to augment the forces that remain to him. Conrad and his re-equipped Crusaders sail with a Byzantine fleet to
Palestine. The fleet is scattered by storms and lands in different ports.[4]
March 19 – Louis VII and his wife, Queen
Eleanor of Aquitaine, are welcomed at St. Symeon by Eleanor's uncle
Raymond of Poitiers and all his household. Raymond escorts the French crusaders to Antioch, where for the next days festivities are held. He urges Louis to accompany him on a expedition against
Aleppo but Louis refuses and prefers instead to finish his
pilgrimage to
Jerusalem.[5]
April – Southern French crusaders under
Alfonso Jordan of Toulouse arrive by sea at
Acre. Alfonso dies suddenly at
Caesarea, resulting in the accusation that he has been poisoned by
Raymond II, Count of Tripoli. Most of the Provençal forces turn back and return home. Meanwhile, an unknown proportion of northern European naval crusaders (from
England and
Germany) arrive at Acre.[6]
April–May – Louis VII and the French crusaders remain in Antioch, but there are rumours of an incestuous affair between Eleanor of Aquitaine and Raymond of Poitiers. Louis, alarmed for his honour, departs with his army to Jerusalem in late May. Meanwhile, Conrad III with his chief nobleman are welcomed by Queen
Melisende and her 18-year-old son, co-ruler
Baldwin III at Jerusalem.[7]
June –
Mu'in ad-Din Unur, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of
Damascus, prepares for war and strengthens the fortifications of the city. He sends an urgent request for military assistance to the Zangid ruler
Sayf al-Din. Unur orders his troops to destroy the water sources in areas that the Crusaders must cross. Seljuk governors of frontier provinces station scouting parties along the road to Damascus.[8]
June 24 –
Council of Acre: Conrad III, Louis VII, Melisende and many other nobles join in a war council near Acre. They decide that Damascus rather than
Edessa will be the primary target of the
Second Crusade.[9]
July – The Crusaders under Baldwin III join forces with the Crusader armies of Louis VII and Conrad III (all together some 50,000 men) at
Tiberias. They march up the
Jordan Valley and cross into Zangid territory.[10]
July 24 – Zangid forces under Sayf al-Din arrive at
Homs. Mu'in al-Din Unur sends a letter of ultimatum to the Crusader leaders to lift the siege of Damascus. Meanwhile,
guerrilla attacks demoralise the Crusaders.[11]
July 28 –
Siege of Damascus: The Crusaders are forced to withdraw from their siege of Damascus after only four days. First Conrad III, then the rest of the Crusader army, decides to retreat to Jerusalem.[12]
September – The French crusaders raid the province of Damascus, in reprisal for the failure of their siege. Mu'in al-Din Unur takes his forces to the
Hawran to protect the harvest and its transport to Damascus.[13]
February 1 – A small Crusader fleet of Genoese and English ships sets sail from
Lisbon for the
Holy land.[15] The Anglo-Flemish Crusader fleet takes
Oran.[16]
Following the uprising of other cities in the region of
Meknes (modern
Morocco) under al-Massati, the population of
Ceuta rebels against the
Almohads.[21]
^David Nicolle (2009). The Second Crusade 1148: Disaster outside Damascus, p. 54.
ISBN978-1-84603-354-4.
^Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, p. 227.
ISBN978-0-241-29876-3.
^David Nicolle (2009). The Second Crusade 1148: Disaster outside Damascus, p. 55.
ISBN978-1-84603-354-4.
^Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, p. 228.
ISBN978-0-241-29876-3.
^David Nicolle (2009). The Second Crusade 1148: Disaster outside Damascus, p. 56.
ISBN978-1-84603-354-4.
^David Nicolle (2009). The Second Crusade 1148: Disaster outside Damascus, p. 71.
ISBN978-1-84603-354-4.
^Baldwin, M. W. (1969). The First Hundred Years, p. 510. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
^David Nicolle (2009). The Second Crusade 1148: Disaster outside Damascus, p. 83.
ISBN978-1-84603-354-4.
^Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, pp. 231–232.
ISBN978-0-241-29876-3.
^
abDavid Nicolle (2009). The Second Crusade 1148: Disaster outside Damascus, p. 16.
ISBN978-1-84603-354-4.
^Picard C. (1997). La mer et les musulmans d'Occident au Moyen Age. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, p. 73.
^McGrank, Lawrence (1981). "Norman crusaders and the Catalan reconquest: Robert Burdet and the Principality of Tarragona 1129–55". Journal of Medieval History. 7 (1): 67–82.
doi:
10.1016/0304-4181(81)90036-1.
^Chibnall, Marjorie (1991). The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English, p. 148. London, UK: Basil Blackwell.
ISBN978-0-631-15737-3.
^Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges, p. 391. Greenwood Publishing Group.
ISBN978-0313-33538-9.
January 8 –
Battle of Mount Cadmus: The French crusaders under Louis VII are defeated by the
Seljuk Turks. The vanguard led by
Geoffrey de Rancon ignores orders to pause and moves too far ahead, losing touch with the main army. The French are attacked by the Turks with the
baggage train (almost 10 km long) unprotected. Louis is able to escape the fray under cover of the darkness.[2]
March – The French crusaders are left in Adalia; lack of available shipping obliges Louis VII to divide his forces – the knights and best troops accompany him to
St. Symeon. Large numbers of pilgrims and non-combatants try to continue along the coastal road. Continually harassed by the Turks many French and Germans are killed. Less than half of them arrive in the late spring at
Antioch.[3]
March 7 – King
Conrad III recovers from his wounds and leaves
Constantinople with his household. He is well supplied with money by Emperor
Manuel I Komnenos and uses these funds to recruit pilgrims to augment the forces that remain to him. Conrad and his re-equipped Crusaders sail with a Byzantine fleet to
Palestine. The fleet is scattered by storms and lands in different ports.[4]
March 19 – Louis VII and his wife, Queen
Eleanor of Aquitaine, are welcomed at St. Symeon by Eleanor's uncle
Raymond of Poitiers and all his household. Raymond escorts the French crusaders to Antioch, where for the next days festivities are held. He urges Louis to accompany him on a expedition against
Aleppo but Louis refuses and prefers instead to finish his
pilgrimage to
Jerusalem.[5]
April – Southern French crusaders under
Alfonso Jordan of Toulouse arrive by sea at
Acre. Alfonso dies suddenly at
Caesarea, resulting in the accusation that he has been poisoned by
Raymond II, Count of Tripoli. Most of the Provençal forces turn back and return home. Meanwhile, an unknown proportion of northern European naval crusaders (from
England and
Germany) arrive at Acre.[6]
April–May – Louis VII and the French crusaders remain in Antioch, but there are rumours of an incestuous affair between Eleanor of Aquitaine and Raymond of Poitiers. Louis, alarmed for his honour, departs with his army to Jerusalem in late May. Meanwhile, Conrad III with his chief nobleman are welcomed by Queen
Melisende and her 18-year-old son, co-ruler
Baldwin III at Jerusalem.[7]
June –
Mu'in ad-Din Unur, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of
Damascus, prepares for war and strengthens the fortifications of the city. He sends an urgent request for military assistance to the Zangid ruler
Sayf al-Din. Unur orders his troops to destroy the water sources in areas that the Crusaders must cross. Seljuk governors of frontier provinces station scouting parties along the road to Damascus.[8]
June 24 –
Council of Acre: Conrad III, Louis VII, Melisende and many other nobles join in a war council near Acre. They decide that Damascus rather than
Edessa will be the primary target of the
Second Crusade.[9]
July – The Crusaders under Baldwin III join forces with the Crusader armies of Louis VII and Conrad III (all together some 50,000 men) at
Tiberias. They march up the
Jordan Valley and cross into Zangid territory.[10]
July 24 – Zangid forces under Sayf al-Din arrive at
Homs. Mu'in al-Din Unur sends a letter of ultimatum to the Crusader leaders to lift the siege of Damascus. Meanwhile,
guerrilla attacks demoralise the Crusaders.[11]
July 28 –
Siege of Damascus: The Crusaders are forced to withdraw from their siege of Damascus after only four days. First Conrad III, then the rest of the Crusader army, decides to retreat to Jerusalem.[12]
September – The French crusaders raid the province of Damascus, in reprisal for the failure of their siege. Mu'in al-Din Unur takes his forces to the
Hawran to protect the harvest and its transport to Damascus.[13]
February 1 – A small Crusader fleet of Genoese and English ships sets sail from
Lisbon for the
Holy land.[15] The Anglo-Flemish Crusader fleet takes
Oran.[16]
Following the uprising of other cities in the region of
Meknes (modern
Morocco) under al-Massati, the population of
Ceuta rebels against the
Almohads.[21]
^David Nicolle (2009). The Second Crusade 1148: Disaster outside Damascus, p. 54.
ISBN978-1-84603-354-4.
^Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, p. 227.
ISBN978-0-241-29876-3.
^David Nicolle (2009). The Second Crusade 1148: Disaster outside Damascus, p. 55.
ISBN978-1-84603-354-4.
^Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, p. 228.
ISBN978-0-241-29876-3.
^David Nicolle (2009). The Second Crusade 1148: Disaster outside Damascus, p. 56.
ISBN978-1-84603-354-4.
^David Nicolle (2009). The Second Crusade 1148: Disaster outside Damascus, p. 71.
ISBN978-1-84603-354-4.
^Baldwin, M. W. (1969). The First Hundred Years, p. 510. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
^David Nicolle (2009). The Second Crusade 1148: Disaster outside Damascus, p. 83.
ISBN978-1-84603-354-4.
^Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, pp. 231–232.
ISBN978-0-241-29876-3.
^
abDavid Nicolle (2009). The Second Crusade 1148: Disaster outside Damascus, p. 16.
ISBN978-1-84603-354-4.
^Picard C. (1997). La mer et les musulmans d'Occident au Moyen Age. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, p. 73.
^McGrank, Lawrence (1981). "Norman crusaders and the Catalan reconquest: Robert Burdet and the Principality of Tarragona 1129–55". Journal of Medieval History. 7 (1): 67–82.
doi:
10.1016/0304-4181(81)90036-1.
^Chibnall, Marjorie (1991). The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English, p. 148. London, UK: Basil Blackwell.
ISBN978-0-631-15737-3.
^Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges, p. 391. Greenwood Publishing Group.
ISBN978-0313-33538-9.