13,627
edits
Halfway: Difference between revisions
m
→Crusader state
m (→Crusader state) |
|||
| Line 52: | Line 52: | ||
=== Crusader state === | === Crusader state === | ||
In mid [[1084]], a crusading army led by Guy of XYZ arrived on Halfway. Guy had been Count of X but, following the call for the First Crusade, took the cross and gave up his fiefdom to the [[Pope]]. The force Guy would lead was made up of the best members of the [[Holy Levantine Empire]]'s military aristocracy, including both noble cavalry and veteran infantry. Guy led the force ashore in July of 1084 and immediately attempted to take Koureiros. Emir Aziz II sallied forth from the city and repulsed the crusading army, which took heavy casualties but remained in tact. In September, Guy and the crusading army took Elatia and established it as its primary base of resupply. An Emirate force attempted to besiege the city that month but was intercepted and repulsed. In October and November, Guy took Chasini and Damasa and now controlled about half the island. He began to recruit local Christians to reinforce his army. As Levantines, the crusaders were used to the concept of wintering and waiting for campaign seasons, but in equatorial Halfway no such precaution was needed. Accordingly, Aziz II surprised the crusaders on 2 January [[1085]] at the Battle of Martyr's Gap, defeating the larger crusader army camped at the outskirts of the Pinefor jungle. Aziz II then besieged the crusader army in Damasa from 5 January through March. Imperial agents had infiltrated Koureiros and distributed enough bribes to induce an uprising, forcing Aziz to break off the siege. Guy's forces pursued and attacked the Emirate army in mid-April 1085, crippling its ability to inflict further offensive damage but failing to destroy it or capture the Emir. A second, long-siege of Koureiros ensued, lasting from April through October 1085. Facing starvation, the residents of Koureiros killed Aziz in his bedchamber and opened the gates to the crusaders. Guy was proclaimed Prince of Halfway by the [[Pope]] in November 1085 and assumed control of the island, establishing the Principality of Halfway. | |||
=== Urcean incorporation === | === Urcean incorporation === | ||