August 27 –
Battle of Ramla: The Crusaders under King
Baldwin I defeat a Fatimid expeditionary force (some 15,000 men) at
Ramla. Baldwin pillages the enemy camp – but does not further pursue the
Fatimids. The battle ends in the last large-scale attempt of the Fatimids to reconquer
Palestine.[2]
Europe
The
Almoravid emir,
Yusuf ibn Tashfin, sends a maritime expedition to Palestine from
Sevilla to ward off the Crusaders and perhaps to reconquer
Jerusalem. The fleet of about seventy ships rushes into a storm in the
Mediterranean Sea, and is never seen again.[3]
Autumn – Bohemond I and papal legate Bruno travel to the north of
France and visit the court of King
Philip I (the Amorous). Bohemond gets permission to recruit men throughout the kingdom.[4]
Summer – King
Henry I invades
Normandy, takes
Bayeux (after a short siege) and
Caen. He advances on
Falaise, and starts inconclusive peace negotiations with Duke
Robert II. Henry withdraws to deal with political issues at home.
Henry I meets
Anselm, archbishop of
Canterbury, under threat of excommunication at
L'Aigle in Normandy to settle their disputes that has led to Anselm's exile from
England (see
1103).
Autumn –
Kilij Arslan I, sultan of the
Sultanate of Rum, leads a Seljuk expedition to take over
Melitene (modern
Turkey). He attempts to capture
Edessa, but the Crusader fortress is too strongly defended by its garrison. Kilij Arslan then moves on to
Harran, which surrenders to him.[5]