Places: Jerusalem

The city of Jerusalem has been a site of contention for centuries, not just in modern times.  Homeland to both Jews and Arabs, sacred in the history of the three major faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, much blood and tears have been spilt in the efforts to claim and control this historic city.  The Temple Mount, with the Dome of the Rock and Church of the Holy Sepulchre has changed hands numerous times over the centuries.  Here are the dates which are pertinent to the Plantagenet era.

Following the Siege of Titus in AD 70, Jerusalem was part of the Roman Empire and eventually became part of the Byzantine Empire.  As the site of several incidents in Jesus' life, it was an important pilgrimage city, the most famous monument being the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, begun by Emperor Constantine and consecrated in 351.  This church takes in, among other places, the site of Jesus' execution and burial.  It is adjacent to sites important to two other faiths, the remains of Herod's Temple, with its Western Wall (Wailing Wall) and the Dome of the Rock, covering a site where Muslims believing Abraham ascended to Heaven.  In 636-37, Islamic forces under Umar the Great conquered Jerusalem.  Umar worked with Christian leaders to provide safe conduct for Christian pilgrims who wished to visit the city and allowed Jews to live there.  Construction of the Dome of the Rock began in 687. 

Jerusalem remained in Muslim control despite efforts of the Byzantines to retake the city several times.  Finally, in 1095, Pope Urban II begins calls for the First Crusade.  Crusaders besiege and take Jerusalem in 1099 and set up the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the most important of several Crusader States carved out of conquered territories in the Holy Land.  In 1113, the Order of the Knights Hospitaller was formed to take care of sick, injured or impoverished Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem.  In 1149, a new Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built to replace one earlier destroyed by the Muslims during their occupation of the City.  Following the Battle of Hattin in 1187, Christian forces lose Jerusalem.  Saladin the Magnificent conquered the city.  The Dome of the Rock, which had been made into a palace by the European kings of Jerusalem, became a mosque again.

In 1192, Richard I, the Lionheart, stopped short of retaking Jerusalem and agreed the Treaty of Ramla with Saladin, allowing Christian pilgrims access to the City.  Between 1229-1244, Jerusalem would again be in partial Christian control through the efforts of Frederick II of Germany, but the Muslims would retake the city in 1244.  Other Crusades would try, and ultimately fail, to take Jerusalem back under Christian control.  However, this would not prevent several rulers, including many Plantagenet kings, from claiming the title of King of Jerusalem.  In 1392-1393, King Henry IV made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but never got around to a full out crusade to try to retake the City.