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What were the Tafurs?

Introduction Tafurs were a group of participants of the First Crusade, under the Franks. Zealots following strict oaths of poverty, they are attributed acts of cannibalism during the Siege of Antioch. Background The Tafurs took their name from a horseless Norman knight, who assumed the organisation and armed leadership of peasants gathered by the preaching… Read More

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What was the First Crusade (1096-1099)?

Introduction The First Crusade (1096-1099) was the first of a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The initial objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic rule. These campaigns were subsequently given the name crusades. The earliest initiative for the First Crusade… Read More

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What was the Battle of Antioch (1098)?

Introduction The Battle of Antioch (1098), part of the Siege of Antioch, was a military engagement fought between the forces of the Crusaders of Antioch and a Turkish coalition led by the Emir Kerbogha of Mosul as a part of the First Crusade. Kerbogha’s goal was to reclaim Antioch from the Crusaders and affirm his… Read More

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What was the Siege of Antioch (1097-1098)?

Introduction The Siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098. The first siege, by the crusaders against the Muslim-held city, lasted from 21 October 1097 to 02 June 1098. Antioch lay in a strategic location on the crusaders’ route to Palestine. Supplies, reinforcements and retreat could all be controlled by… Read More

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What was the Treaty of Lutatius (241 BC)?

Introduction The Treaty of Lutatius was the agreement of 241 BC, amended in 237 BC, between Carthage and Rome which ended the First Punic War after 23 years of conflict. Most of the fighting during the war took place on, or in the waters around, the island of Sicily and in 241 BC a Carthaginian… Read More

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What was the Siege of Drepana (249-241 BC)?

Introduction The Siege of Drepana took place from about 249 to 241 BC during the First Punic War. Drepana (today’s Trapani) and Lilybaeum (today’s Marsala) were two Carthaginian naval strongholds at the western end of Sicily that came under prolonged Roman attack. During the beginning of the siege, the naval victory of the Carthaginians over… Read More