/year

Ascalon

ancient city in Israel

18 dated entries naming Ascalon, drawn from 17 separate years between 674 BCE and 1270 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

JSONWikipedia articleWikidata Q104664899

7th century BC

  • 674 BCEEsarhaddon puts down a revolt in Ascalon supported by Taharqa, king of Kush and Egypt. In response, the Assyrians invade Egypt, but Taharqa is able to hold them off.source

7th century

  • 638Autumn – The Arabian forces under Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah storm Caesarea Maritima, capital of Byzantine Palestine, and effect their final capture of Ascalon (modern Israel). Caliph Umar I stops the Muslim invasion, and appoints Abu Ubaidah governor of Syria.source

11th century

  • 1099August 10 – The Crusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon (supported by 1,200–1,300 knights) assemble at Yibna (Ibelin) – close to the coast and almost halfway from Jaffa to Ascalon.source

12th century

  • 1101September 7 – Battle of Ramla: A Crusader force (some 1,100 men) under Baldwin I defeats the invading Fatimids at Ramla (modern Israel). Baldwin plunders the Fatimid camp and the survivors flee to Ascalon.source
  • 1102Spring – A Fatimid expeditionary force (some 20,000 men) invades Palestine and launches attacks into the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Crusaders defeat a Fatimid rearguard near Ascalon, and capture the city after a 3-year siege. The Crusaders capture Caesarea Maritima with support of the Genoese fleet. A number of Genoese trading colonies are established along the Mediterranean coast.source
  • 1102May 27 – The Crusaders under Baldwin I break their way out of Jaffa, which is encircled by the Fatimid Army. A charge of the French cavalry breaks the enemy's ranks, and forces them to retreat to Ascalon.source
  • 1104May 26 – King Baldwin I captures Acre, the port is besieged from April, and blockaded by the Genoese and Pisan fleet. Baldwin promises a free passage to those who want to move to Ascalon, but the Italian sailors plunder the wealthy Muslim emigrants and kill many of them.source
  • 1123May 30 – The Venetian fleet arrives at Ascalon and instantly sets about attacking the Fatimid fleet. The Egyptians fall into a trap, caught between two Venetian squadrons, and are destroyed or captured. While sailing back to Acre, the Venetians capture a merchant-fleet of ten richly laden vessels.source
  • 1134Count Hugh II (du Puiset), in alliance with the Egyptian city of Ascalon, revolts against King Fulk V of Jerusalem, attempting to take Jaffa. Hugh submits to Fulk and is exiled for three years. While awaiting for a boat to Italy he is attacked by a Breton knight, but survives the attempted murder. Hugh retires to the Sicilian court of his cousin, King Roger II, who appoints him to the lordship of Gargano, where he dies soon afterwards.source
  • 1150The city of Ascalon is fortified with 53 towers by order of the 17-year-old Caliph Al-Zafir, as it is the most strategic frontier fortress of the Fatimid Caliphate.source
  • 1153August 19 – Siege of Ascalon: King Baldwin III of Jerusalem captures Ascalon, the last Fatimid fortress in Palestine. The citizens are allowed to leave in peace and return to Egypt.source
  • 1168October 20 – Amalric I invades Egypt again from Ascalon, sacking Bilbeis and threatening Cairo. In November, a Crusader fleet sails up the Nile and arrives in Lake Manzala, sacking the town of Tanis.source
  • 1187Summer – Egyptian troops led by Saladin begins a campaign that paves the way for further Muslim inroads into Christian territory. Al-Adil invades Palestine with the Egyptian army, and captures the strategic castle of Mirabel (Majdal Yaba). By mid-September, Saladin has captured the cities of Acre, Jaffa, Gaza and Ascalon (blockaded by the Egyptian fleet), along with some 50 Crusader castles.source
  • 1188September 4 – King Guy of Lusignan is released by Saladin after Ascalon is forced to surrender. Guy and his wife, Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem, seek refuge in Tyre, which is defended by Conrad of Montferrat.source
  • 1191August 22 – Richard I leads the Crusader forces (some 15,000 men) out of Acre and marches south along the coast, being closely supported by the Crusader fleet, carrying most of the supplies. Meanwhile, Saladin has given his son Al-Afdal orders to remain close to the Crusader rearguard under Hugh III, and strengthens the Muslim garrison both in Jerusalem and Ascalon with 20,000 men each. Richard advances at an unexpectedly slow pace and decides to make camp near Haifa – which Saladin has dismantled shortly before the fall of Acre.source

13th century

  • 1240October 10 – Richard of Cornwall, brother of King Henry III of England, arrives at Acre for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. His pilgrimage has the approval of Emperor Frederick II, who is married to his younger sister, Isabella of England, and gives him the task to make arrangements with the Military Orders. On his arrival, Richard travels to Ascalon, where he is met by ambassadors from As-Salih Ayyub. As a negotiator, he is successful in the release of prisoners captured in the Battle at Gaza (1239), and he also assists with the building of the citadel in Ascalon.source
  • 1247June 17 – Egyptian forces under Sultan As-Salih Ayyub capture Tiberias and his castle. Mount Tabor and Belvoir Castle are occupied soon afterward. Next, Ayyub moves his army to siege Ascalon – which is defended by a garrison of Knights Hospitaller. They summon the help from Acre and Cyprus.source
  • 1270The ancient city of Ascalon is captured from the Crusader States, and utterly destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baibars, who goes so far as to fill in its important harbor, leaving the site desolate, and the city never to be rebuilt.source

Named in the same entries