Siege of Edessa

The first crusader state to fall. Its loss started the Second Crusade.

The site of the battle on the 1190 map. Shaded: Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, Ayyubid Sultanate, 1192, Crusader territory left in 1192.

Key facts

When: 1144
Where: Sanliurfa, Turkey
Sides: Zengids vs County of Edessa
Commanders: Imad al-Din Zengi vs Joscelin II
Result: Muslim victory
Type: Crusades
Chapter: 3. The Abbasids, the Crusades and the Mongols

The wider picture: The Crusades and Salahuddin

The Seljuk win at Manzikert in 1071 opened Anatolia to the Turks, and Byzantium asked Europe for help. The First Crusade took Jerusalem in 1099. Zengi, his son Nur al-Din and then Salahuddin rebuilt Muslim unity, and Salahuddin won back Jerusalem in October 1187, three months after Hattin.

See the 1190 map Read chapter 3

More crusades battles

Battle of Manzikert1071
Fall of Jerusalem1099
Siege of Damascus1148
Battle of Hattin1187
Siege of Jerusalem1187
Siege of Acre1189 to 1191
Battle of Arsuf1191
Fall of Acre1291

All 9 crusades battles · Battle explorer

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