The unstable sixth Caliph of Egypt, Al-Hakim, ordered the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

The Seljuk Turks conquer Syria, Jerusalem and parts of Palestine. ^[1]

Following Pope Urban's speech at Clermont Peter the Hermit, a simple man with a powerful ability to move people by his words, started preaching for Christians to help their fellow Christians in the East. He started to gain a large number of followers eager to go to Jerusalem with promises of absolution and freedom from a life of hunger and depravation. His followers were poor, not prepared for the journey and not armed.

After a delay of many months the crusaders under the leadership of Raymond of Toulouse left Antioch and headed south towards Jerusalem. ^[2]

A year after their victory at Antioch the remaining Crusaders finally reached Jerusalem, their goal. They camp outside of the city and begin a siege. ^[3]

The Crusaders capture Jerusalem. When they ended the siege and entered the city they murdered non-Christians including Muslims and Jews and forced many to leave. ^[4]

A week after Jeruslam was captured by the Crusaders Godfrey of Bouillon was chosen as its first ruler.

The last battle of the First Crusade was fought between the Christians and Muslims at Ascalon. Led by Godfrey of Bouillon, the king of Jerusalem, the heavily out-numbered Christian army used their heavy armour to good affect. The Muslim army consisted mainly of Egyptians intent of driving the Christians out of Jerusalem. ^[4]

Godfrey of Bouillon died just a year after the crusaders had captured Jerusalem. Agreeing who should succeed Godfrey as ruler of Jerusalem was not easy. The head of the Church in Jerusalem, Dagobert of Pisa, claimed that the Church itself should rule and as he was its representative he should have the job. Godfrey's brother, Baldwin of Edessa, had other ideas and travelled to Jerusalem with an army to claim the throne. ^[5]

Supported by an army of over a thousand men, Baldwin claimed the throne of Jerusalem. Baldwin of Edessa was Godfrey's brother and he claimed the throne as his heritage. Baldwin was crowned on Christmas Day at Bethlehem.

A Papal Bull issued by Pope Paschal II (a formal proclamation issued by the pope) recognised and named the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem as an independent religious order.

Baldwin II became King of Jerusalem following in his cousin's footsteps. ^[5]

Baldwin of le Bourg was crowned as King of Jerusalem in Jerusalem on Easter Sunday.

The Knights Templars travelled to the Holy Lands twenty years after Jerusalem was captured by European powers. ^[6]

Knights Templar order founded in Jerusalem, by Hughes de Payen. ^[5]

Baldwin, the king of Jerusalem died. He was succeeded by his brother Amalric. ^[7]

The Christian Army of Jerusalem was beaten by Turkish forces at the Battle of Hattin. Guy of Lusignan was King of Jerusalem at this time. All Knights Templars and Hospitallers who survived the battle were executed afterwards. The Archbishop of Tyre, a man called Josias, was dispatched from the city to Europe to inform the Pope and European leaders of the disaster that had taken place and to ask for help. ^[8]

Jerusalem fell to the Muslims and the al-Asqu mosque was returned to Islam. The Muslims allowed four Christian Priests to hold services in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This was in contrast to the first Crusaders who since they first captured the city in 1099 had treated Jerusalem as theirs alone. The Muslim leader was Al-Malik al-Nasir Salad ed-Din Yusuf also known as Saladin. ^[8]

Philippe Augustus landed in Acre in an attempt to remove Guy of Lusignan as the King of Jerusalem, and replace him with Conrad of Montferrat. ^[8]

King Richard I met Guy of Lusignan (King of Jerusalem), Geoffrey (Richard's brother), Bohemund (Prince of Antioch), Raymond (Count of Tripoli), Humphrey of Toron and other knights to discuss the attempt by Philippe II of France to replace Guy of Lusignan with Conrad of Montferrat as the King of Jerusalem. ^[8]

The Sixth Crusade was won with diplomacy by Frederick II, who had married the heiress of Jerusalem in 1225. He went to the East to claim his right to the throne, and taking advantage of internal disputes between the Sultan's family members, concluded the Treaty of Jaffa, which gave Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth back to the Christians. ^[1]

With the fall of Jerusalem and the crushing defeat of the Christian armies at Gaza, Louis IX of France took the cross and prepared for a Crusade. It took him four years to set sail. ^[9]

Henry received a relic from the patriarch of Jerusalem consisting of a portion of the blood of Christ in a crystal vase. Henry walked with the vase in his hands clothed in a course robe from the treasury in St. Paul's to the church of Westminster where mass was said. He was assisted by attendants on both sides in case he slipped and dropped the vase.

A phial containing the blood of Jesus was presented to abbey of Hailes by the son of Richard, Earl of Cornwall. The phial had been guaranteed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and had been bought from the Count of Flanders in 1267. A section of the abbey was rebuilt to hold the relic, and it was held in a purpose built shrine. A similar relic had been presented to the King Henry III several years before in 1247.