Spring – Seljuk forces led by
Imad al-Din Zengi capture
Saruj, the second great Crusader fortress east of the
Euphrates. They advance to
Birejik and besiege the city, but the garrison puts up a stiff resistance. Meanwhile, Queen-Regent
Melisende of Jerusalem joins forces with
Joscelin II, count of
Edessa and approaches the city. Zengi raises the siege after hearing rumours of trouble in
Mosul. He rushes back with his army to take control. There, Zengi is praised throughout Islam as "defender of the faith" and al-Malik al-Mansur, the "victorious king".[1]
Raymond of Poitiers, prince of
Antioch, travels to
Constantinople to ask Emperor
Manuel I Komnenos for help to support his campaign against the Seljuks. When he arrives, Raymond is forced to accept the suzerainty of the
Byzantine Empire. Manuel treats him graciously, gives him gifts and promises him a money subsidy.[2]
February 15 – Pope
Lucius II dies at Rome after having been hit by a stone missile during the fighting against Senatorial forces led by Giordano Pierleoni. He is succeeded after an 11-month
pontificate by
Eugene III who becomes the 167th pope of the
Catholic Church. Eugene is forced into exile by Arnold of Brescia.
^Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, p. 193.
ISBN978-0-241-29876-3.
^
abMeynier, Gilbert (2010). L'Algérie cœur du Maghreb classique. De l'ouverture islamo-arabe au repli (658-1518). Paris: La Découverte. p. 171.
ISBN978-2-7071-5231-2.
^Picard C. (1997) La mer et les musulmans d'Occident au Moyen Age. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, pp.64