County of Edessa

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Was a 12th century Crusader state in Upper Mesopotamia centered on Edessa (modern Şanlıurfa, Turkey).

Establishment

April 1098: After passing through the Cilician Gates, Baldwin of Boulogne set off on his own towards the Armenian lands around the Euphrates. His wife, his only claim to European lands and wealth, had died after the battle, giving Baldwin no incentive to return to Europe. Thus, he resolved to seize a fiefdom for himself in the Holy Land. Early in 1098, he was adopted as heir by Thoros of Edessa, a ruler who was disliked by his Armenian subjects for his Greek Orthodox religion. Thoros was later killed, during an uprising that Baldwin may have instigated. Then, in March 1098, Baldwin became the new ruler, thus creating the County of Edessa, the first of the crusader states.

Chronology

Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation

1. Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the Medieval period. The best known of these military expeditions are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291.

1.1.First Crusade

Was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic rule.

January 1099: Kyrrhos and Gaziantep (Ayntab) were captured by the Crusaders and united to the Maras Seigneurship in the County of Edessa in 1098.

January 1099: Foundation of the County of Edessa.

1.2.Siege of Edessa (1144)

The siege of Edessa took place from November 28 to December 24, 1144, resulting in the fall of the capital of the crusader County of Edessa to Zengi.

December 1144: The siege of Edessa took place from November 28 to December 24, 1144, resulting in the fall of the capital of the crusader County of Edessa to Zengi.

2. Conquests of Thoros I

Expansion during the rule of Thoros I in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.

September 1112: In 1112, Kogh Vasil, a prominent military leader of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, captured the fortress of Hisn Mansur.

January 1113: Cyzistra conquered by Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.

January 1130: Expansion of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia by 1129.

3. Conquests of Bohemond II

Expansion during the rule of Bohemond II in the Principality of Antioch.

January 1118: Yaruqtash, the actual ruler of Aleppo, ceded the fortress at al-Qubba to Roger of Salerno, a Norman nobleman who served as the regent of the Principality of Antioch.

4. Further events (Unrelated to Any War)

January 1101: The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia occupies Cilicia, taking most of it from the decaying Sultanate of Rum.

January 1101: The Marash Area was captured by the Danishmends.

January 1102: Conquests of the County of Edessa by 1101.

January 1108: In 1107, Crusaders led by Tancred retook the Marash Area.

January 1111: Conquests of the County of Edessa by 1110.

December 1112: Kogh Vasil restored Raban to the County of Edessa.

January 1125: Conquests of the County of Edessa by 1124.

January 1132: Conquests of the County of Edessa by 1131.

January 1133: Expansion of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia by 1132.

January 1137: In 1135, the Danishmends besieged Germanikeia unsuccessfully, but captured it the next year.

January 1138: The Crusaders retook the are of Marash in 1137.

December 1144: The Zengids captured the County of Edessa from the Crusaders after the siege of Edessa in 1144.

October 1146: After the death of Zengi in September 1146, Joscelin, the ruler of the County of Edessa, managed to briefly regain his old capital, Edessa.

December 1146: The city Edessa was again lost to the Zengids in November.

January 1150: Sultan Mesud I of the Sultanate of Rum took the area of Marash in 1149.

Disestablishment

January 1151: Kyrrhos and Gaziantep (Ayntab) reverted to the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm in 1150.

January 1151: In 1150 Joscelin II, Count of Edessa was captured by Zengi's son Nur ad-Din, and was kept a prisoner in Aleppo until he died in 1159. His wife sold Turbessel and what was left of the County of Edessa to the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus.