LOOKING BACK

First Crusade: outside the walls of Jerusalem 1096 AD: weary Christian Knight Crusaders began the siege of the Holy city. The first Grandmaster of the religious order, Fra Gerardo was shackled for attempting to feed the Knights by throwing loaves of bread over the walls of Jerusalem at night. The Crusaders, mostly from France, soon claimed the besieged city by breaching an outer wall. The holy land was now theirs, but how long would the grand scaled  invasion - occupation last? 




Knights of St. John

Born in Jerusalem from the apocalypse of first Crusade, they became known as the Knights of St. John.

Although the Knights were formally 
recognized immediately after the first crusade, they were in Jerusalem well before massive siege began. Some sources date their exsistance more than two hundred years prior the first crusade.

Siege of Jerusalem


"Indeed, if you had been there you would have seen our feet coloured to our ankles with the blood of the slain"

"the slaughter was so great that our men waded in blood up to their ankles"













Jerusalem falls to the Crusaders

In the year 1099, Jerusalem fell into the hands of the Christians. The Knights marched around the outer walls for days celebrating their arduous and narrow victory.

Within a year of conquering the walls and streets of the city, only a few hundred Knights stayed to defend Jerusalem. It remained in Western hands for about 200 years, then fell back into Muslim control.

Thus, the 'Baptism in Blood' had begun. Wars over Jerusalem's sacred ground would rage on for thousands of years. Even today, not much has changed from the past chaos that enveloped the holy city.