Timeline 1080-1100 (Interference)

1081-1085
1081

British Isles: Death of Tostig Godwinson. With help from Olaf III of Norway Tostig's first son Skuli the Ruthless liquidates his three rival cousins, Godwin, Edmund and Magnus, the sons of Harold II, who were secretly supported by William the Conqueror, and secures the throne of Northumbria.

Southern Europe: Ragusa/Dubrovnik escapes both Byzantine tutelage and Venetian influence and is set up as another independent sea-trading republic.

North Africa: Theophylactus II is able to recover Ifrigia (*later Punia, OTL Tunisia) when the usurper Nicephorus Calavritanus dies and his Berber armies dissolve; Nicephorus' only son, Maximus, flees to Numidia.

Black Africa: The Zenete Compact attacks and plunders Kumbi, the capital of the ancient Ghana empire. This marks the sunset of the fabled empire, whose riches in gold, salt and spices were known also into distant Europe. The Zenetes strengthen their hold on the slave trade, whereas the gold routes move east, benefiting Muslim trade from Lybia and Egypt and fostering the penetration of Islam :( . The Sosso kingdom is established in western Mali on parts of the weakened Ghana empire.

Byzantine Empire, Middle East: The Kurdish Marwanids of Amida/Diyarbakir conquer Melitene (*OTL Malatya) from the Rum-Seljuks, thus separating them from the remaining Turkic holdings, and crush the Hamdanid-Numayrid emirate of Harran/Carrhae

Middle East: Baghdad finally falls to the Seljuks; their empire now stretches from eastern Anatolia and central Iraq to Central Asia and SW Persia. 1081-1084

Byzantine Empire: General Alexius Comnenus marries Romanus II's widow and is crowned as co-emperor for the 13-year old Leo VI. The last major wannabe basileus, general Bardas Botaniates (*OTL Nicephorus III), rebels in Asia Minor just a few months after the defeat of Nicephorus Melissenos, allying himself with the encroaching Rum-Seljuks :mad:. In the end Bardas dies on drinking and feasting :o and Alexius is able to assert his own power, but the Turks have gobbled up more than half of Anatolia :(

North Africa: Pisan and Western Imperial fleets vainly attack the Muslim pirate nest at Djirva (*OTL Djerba), whence devastating raids on coastal town and sea trade are made

1081-1086

Middle East: Tutush's Turks from Syria conquer piecemeal Lebanon from the Fatimids, also thanks to the help of the local Maronite Christians from the Marada states 1082 British Isles: Northumbria is invaded by Picto-Scottish forces, who ravage the land but can't take York/Jorvik. King Olaf III of Norway and his Northumbrians vassals crush them at Durham, while Norman forces are withheld by the Welsh, who harass Mercia, having signed a stable alliance with Northumbria

1082-1083 Southern Europe: Lombard forces loyal to the excommunicated king Pipino II invade the Canossa domains in Emilia and Tuscany, trying to march on Rome, but are routed in the battle of the Magra, where a miracle appearance of St.Peter is said to happen atop a hill, halting the bloodshed. The Serbian principality of Raška/Kosovo is revived under the great župan (prince) Vukan Vukanović and his brother Mirko, freeing itself from the Byzantine yoke

1083 Southern Europe: Bosnia is mostly conquered by Duklja/Zeta (Melanoria, *OTL Montenegro). The Normans from the principality of Dyrrachion (Albania) invade Byzantine territories and sack Arta (Epirus)

India: Foundation of the Kakatiya kingdom of Warangal under Prola II, who secedes from the Western Chalukyas of Kalyani

1084

British Isles: Olaf III of Norway enforces vassalage on the double crown of Alba and Scotland by supporting the winning candidate to the throne, Constantine III, in a civil war between related members of the royal McFergus clan.

Western Europe, British Isles: King William I the Conqueror of France and England vassalizes both Brittany and Cornwall, then dies, worn out by years of incessant campaigning and voyages. Just before passing out, he imposes a strict one-man system for the inheritance of his domains, making Normandy the appanage of the heir apparent to the thrones of France and England, which are to be run separately. William II, the Conqueror's second surviving son, is twice crowned as king of France in Reims as and king of England in Westminster Abbey; his older brother Robert the Courthose tries to assert his primogeniture rights from his place of exile in Aquitaine but is captured and killed in Blois

Southern Europe: King Pipino II of Lombardy and Romancia (*OTL eastern Switzerland plus Vorarlberg and Valtellina) is murdered and replaced by his cousin Azzone I, who deposes archbishop Tedaldo of Milan and settles, at least for the moment, the investiture controversy with Rome. The new king also enforces a thorough purge :eek: against the Patarene heretics, who are slain in the hundreds even in their stronghold at Milan. A German army wrests back Romancia from the Lombard crown. Byzantine Empire, Middle East: Emir Tutush of Syria conquers Antioch from local Armenian rulers; the Rum-Seljuks conquer Iconium in the heart of Anatolia.

India: The Chalukya ruler of Kalyani, Vikramaditya VI, recovers Vengi from the Cholas and sacks Kanchi

1084-1087

Northern Europe: Inge Stenkilsson, king of Sweden, is deposed by the pagan party (still strong in Svealand), then comes back, kills his brother-in-law Blot-Sven, last pagan ruler of the country, and destroys the Temple of Uppsala, marking a turning point in the conflict between Christians and worshippers of the Norse Æsir gods

1085 Southern Europe: Pope Leo VIII (*OTL Gregory VII) dies. The French Odon de Lagéry is elected Pope-king as Urban II, and will prove to be another pillar of the Papacy. Also the count of Puglia Robert the Guiscard, senior member of the paramount Hauteville/Altavilla Norman family of southern Italy, dies, leaving his duchy to his youngest son, Roger I (not to confuse with his own brother Roger Borsa, count of Melfi).

Southern Europe, Byzantine Empire: The Venetian fleet seizes the island of Corfu off southern Albania. The Normans of Albania, led by prince Robert the Bold, advance into Macedonia in a self-proclaimed attempt to “restore the Greeks to the only Holy Church” :rolleyes: and stage a terrible sack :eek: in Thessalonica, then advance towards Constantinople but are routed by Alexius I Comnenus at Adrianople. The Rum-Seljuks conquer the major Byzantine fortress of Angora :(.

Black Africa: The Muslim Berber Hummay (likely a Zaghawa from the north) founds the Sefuwa/Saifawa dynasty of the Kanem kingdom and introduces Sunni Caliphist Islam (*maintaining there has to be no Wali or "Sunni Pope", only a Caliph concentrating both political and religious authority) there.

ca. 1085

British Isles, Western Europe: king William II of England and France begins an exchange of loyal noble families between the two kingdoms: French barons are settled in the hundreds in England, mainly in depopulated Mercia, and English lord are given feudal holdings in France:cool:.

1086-1090
1086

Northern Europe: In Denmark Knut IV, a tyrant bound hands and feet to the Roman Church, is killed by rebel pesants and succeeded by his brother Olaf I, another of the many sons of Sven II

British Isles: An Irish rebellion against Norway is crushed in blood: Olaf III of Norway assumes the High Kingship, first non-Irish to rule the island

British Isles, Western Europe: The Domesday Book of England and France, compiled by the will of the deceased William the Conqueror, is the first thorough census and land register in Europe since Roman times.

Central-Eastern Europe: Pope Urban II concedes to Vratislav II the hereditary title of king of Bohemia in exchange for extensive land grants to the Church, frustrating German ambitions for hegemony on that land.

Middle East, Byzantine Empire: The (Greater) Seljuks crush and annex the Kurdish Marwanid emirate with its main strongholds in Melitene (*OTL Malatya) and Amida/Diyarbakir (Kurdistan). Suleiman, sultan of the Rum-Seljuks, is captured along with his son Kilij Arslan; he soon dies, and his domains are swallowed by the main Seljuk empire of Malik Shah

1087 Southern Europe: King Azzone I of Lombardy, after being held out the city for two years by the rebellious Milanese, is finally crowned in St.Ambrogio church by a papal legate, but has to officially sanction the existence and sovereign rights of the Comune of Milan as a component of the Lombard kingdom with the Edictus Ambrosianus. This marks the beginning of the Communal Era. A new major Bogomil rebellion against Byzantine rule rocks the Sklaviniai (*OTL Balkans): co-basileus Alexius I is defeated at Drystra/Silistra on the Danube by the rebels and their Pecheneg allies.

North Africa: A Pisan-Norman-Sardinian fleet sacks Bardapolis (*OTL Tunis) extorting tribute from emperor Theophylactus II; the Sicily-based Western empire seeks alliance with the rising Comune of Genoa against the sea power of Pisa.

Central-Eastern Europe: Foundation of the Rurikid principality of Galicia under Semjon I (*OTL Vasilko I)

1087-1088 Middle East: The Jacobite (Syrian Monophysite) revolt of Edessa (*OTL Urfa) is crushed by the Seljuks. Sultan Malik Shah then proceeds to wrest all of Syria from his brother Tutush, who finds refuge in Armenia Minor and trades Antioch to his host, prince Rupen I. 1088

Northern Europe: Following the death of Hermann I of Germany, his son Hermann II is elected king with the full agreement of the Electors, despite the rival candidature of the duke of Swabia, Rudolf von Rheinfelden

Southern Europe: The murder of king Zvonimir of Croatia starts an epoch of dynastical struggle in the country.

Central-Eastern Europe: The deposed Khan of the Volga Bulgars, Akhad Moskha, founds Moscow in the lands of the Finno-Slavic Viatiches, who are absorbing the local Merya Finns. SE Asia: The Malay kingdom of Melayu (Jambi) vassalizes Srivijaya. 1089

Central-Eastern Europe: King Ladislaus/Laszlo I the Saint defeats Cuman/Kipchak raids into Hungary Byzantine Empire: The Turkmen tribes swarm through Anatolia into Asia Minor and reach the Aeagean Sea in devastating raids:( . Most Byzantine towns and fortresses, though, manage to hold. In the meantime, Alexius I is locked in a deadly struggle with the Normans of Albania, the Pechenegs and the Bogomil insurgents of Macedonia and Bulgaria, while his step-son and co-emperor Leo VI in Constantinople plots a strategic alliance with Venice and the Kipchak/Cumans 1089-1093

Southern Europe: The Norman captivity: Pope Urban II is kidnapped by the Norman count of Benevento, Roderic the Nasty, while on a visit to the Abbey of Monte Cassino. By holding his important prisoner in golden captivity in his castle, Roderic manages to extort privileges and land grants from the Church. In the end the infamous count is defeated and killed by the count of Melfi Roger I Borsa, who frees the Pope and is made a prince on par with his brother Bohemund of Taranto

1090 Northern Europe: The free Icelanders are made vassals by a Norwegian fleet

British isles: A Norman army wrests Glamorgan (SW Wales) from the Welsh kingdom.

Southern Europe: The duke of Swabia, Rudolf von Rheinfelden, dies and is succeeded by the brother-in-law of king Hermann II of Germany, Frederick I von Staufen, founder of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. The margraviate of Histria is bestowed upon Engelbert I of Sponheim-Ortenburg. A Pisan fleet with an army of Normans from Corsica and Sardinia conquers the Balearic Islands, wiping off the local petty lords, descendants of the once powerful Berber pirates who settled there a century before

Byzantine Empire, Southern Europe: Sailors from Bari bring back to their town the holy relics of St. Nicholas from Myra (Asia Minor) just before this Byzantine port is taken by the Muslim Seljuks. The king of Duklja/Zeta (Melanoria, *OTL Montenegro), Constantine Bodin, allies with Byzantium against the Norman principality of Dyrrachion (Albania) and conquers Scutari/Shkod?r

Byzantine Empire: The Seljuk army pushes far into Asia Minor but a rising in Georgia combined with Alan and Kipchak/Cuman raids across the Caucasus force the Seljuk generals to divide their forces. Alexius I Comnenus is thus able to achieve bright victories :) over the Seljuks at Nicaea and Bithynion (*OTL Bolu).

Middle East, Central Asia: Hasan-i-Sabbah, supporter of the defeated Nizar in the last succession struggle for the Fatimid Caliphal throne in Medina, founds the Ismaili Shi'a sect of the Nizaris, best known as the Assassins:eek: (who recognize Nizar as the legitimate Imam of believers). The sect establishes two main strongholds in the mountains fortress of Alamut in the Elburz range (northern Persia/Iran) and in the inner Lebanon range: it will terrorize (and sometimes serve) the most powerful figures of Islam for a long time. The Seljuks crush the Banu Uqayl tribal state in Mosul and northern Iraq

Central Asia: The Seljuk sultan, Malik Shah, crushes a new Karakhanid revolt in the Samarkand area.

ca. 1090

Northern Hesperia (*OTL America): A last influx of Norsemen from Iceland reaches Greenland

Northern Europe: A Norwegian expedition led by Haakon, son of king Olaf III of Norway, reaches Bjarmaland (the Archangelsk area) and extorts tribute from the local Finns

Byzantine Empire: Melitene (*OTL Malatya) is made an Armenian principality vassal to the Seljuks under prince Gabriel.

1091-1095
1090-1091

Western Europe, British Isles: The rebellious feudatories of France defeat king William II and force him to sign the Charte de la Noblesse:cool:, which recognizes the feudal right of the landed nobility over the interests of the French crown. An uprising in England to gain a similar privilege, though, is brutally suppressed:mad:

1091 Western Europe: The Zenete Compact's army led by king Augustine Tezerke invades the Iberian peninsula and conquers its southern half, subduing the local Mauro-Hispanic petty states. Castile exploits the power void to seize Toledo and make it its southern stronghold.

Southern Europe: King Azzone I of Lombardy ravages the countryside of Emilia “in support”:rolleyes: of the Emilian towns who refuse to pay taxes to the Canossa ruler, marquis Frederick. Adelaide, marquess of Susa and countess of Turin, dies; her domains are unified with those of her son, Amedeo, already count of Biandrate and Pombia; a clash in perspective with the Lombard crown seems unavoidable. Emperor Theophylactus II entrusts Malta to Genoa as a pledge of alliance. The Genoese also receive sweeping commercial privileges in Bardapolis (*OTL Tunis). The Hungarians of king Ladislas/Laszlo I conquer Croatia dethroning its rulers Stephen II and Helena; they keep on the throne the surviving members of the Croatian Suronja dynasty as vassals, while the nephew of the Hungarian ruler, prince Álmos, is made sub-king of Slavonia (eastern Croatia). The king of Duklja/Zeta (later Melanoria, *OTL Montenegro), Costantine Bodin, excommunicated by pope Urban II, turns again to the Orthodox faith:p, though tolerating the Bogomils, especially strong in Bosnia

Byzantine Empire: Alexius Comnenus and his new allies, the Kipchak/Cumans, trounce the Pechenegs at Levounion (Thrace); Pecheneg power is severely curtailed. The Seljuks conquer Sardis, but their siege of Smyrna :eek: ends in defeat. Middle East, Arabia: A Seljuk army takes Acre (Palestine), then decisively routs the Fatimid army in the battle of Megiddo:D. Malik Shah's army then proceeds towards Medina: the Fatimid Caliph al-Mustansir flees to al-Fustat (*OTL Cairo, Egypt) and Hijaz is made a vassal of the Seljuk Empire under the Hashemite Sharifs of Mecca:cool:, more than happy to revert to Waliism (*Sunni ”Papism”, recognizing the current Wali of Samarkand as supreme religious authority).

1092

Southern Europe: Frederick of Canossa takes advantage of the chaos and of the animosity between the Emilian Communal militias and the Lombards to defeat them both and restore his authority. :cool:

Byzantine Empire, Middle East, Central Asia: The Seljuk Sultan Malik Shah dies after bringing his empire to the apogee. His able vizir Nizam al-Mulk is murdered by the Nizari/Assassin :eek: Ismaili sect and the mighty Seljuk Empire begins to fragment in succession struggles. The sultanate of Rum is revived in Iconium (Anatolia) by Kilij Arslan I, set free after the sultan's death, while the bulk of the empire is inherited by Mahmud I, brother of Malik Shah; Tutush, another of Malik Shah's brothers, retakes power in Damascus holding sway over Syria, Lebanon and Palestine and ultimate suzerainty over Hijaz

1092-1098 

Byzantine Empire, Caucasus: In the wake of the growing Armenian diaspora to Cilicia, and taking advantage of Seljuk troubles, ephemeral Muslim or Christian statelets arise between the Euphrates and Commagene at Blekiokastron (*OTL Birecik), Gergerai, Khoros and Raban and Kaisun

1093

British Isles: The Normans of England conquer Deheubarth (southern Wales) and extort tribute and vassalage from Wales.

Southern Europe: Full civil war breaks out in Lombardy as king Azzone I moves his forces against Amedeo, count of Torino, Biandrate and Pombia and marquis of Susa. The Comuni of Milan, Lodi, Piacenza and Cremona ally themselves with Frederick of Canossa, who in turn makes his bid for kingship. 1093-1094 British isles: Brief Norwegian domination over Anglesey/Mona, quickly retaken by Wales

British isles, Northern Europe: Olaf III of Norway dies, leaving his mighty Northern empire to his sons Haakon and Magnus II Barefoot; Haakon soon dies, leaving Magnus the only ruler.

1094

Byzantine Empire: The Kipchak/Cumans turn against Alexius I Comnenus, who decisively defeats them and the Bulgarian rebels at the battle of Taurocomon. Co-emperor Leo VI Diogenes fathers a male heir, Constantine; Alexius I ensures he will reign alongside his own son, John.

Southern Europe: The Biandrate-Susa family, itself a branch of the Anscarid family of Lombardy and Burgundy, asserts herself on the throne of Pavia after the bloody battle of Ghemme near Novara. King Azzone I, his son Berengario and count-marquis Amedeo of Susa, Torino, Pombia and Biandrate fall on the battlefield:eek: : Amedeo's son, Umberto, is crowned in Pavia as the new king of Lombardy, taking a solemn oath to respect the rights of the Comuni.

Middle East: The Fatimids retake Gaza and Jerusalem from the Seljuks; Caliph al-Mustansir retires to die in Jerusalem and his successor al Musta'li begins a policy of religious tolerance towards Jews, Christians and non-Ismaili Muslims (on the whole, the 80% of Egyptian population:rolleyes: ). Edessa (*OTL Urfa) rejects the Sejuk yoke under an Armenian prince, Thoros.

1095

Western Europe: After receiving a request for military help to fight back the Muslims in Anatolia and recover the Holy Lands from Alexius I Comnenus and Leo VI Diogenes, and with the inviting prospect of an ecumenical council :cool: to be held in Nicaea to reunify the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, Pope Urban II calls for a “holy war” :rolleyes: to free Jerusalem at the council of Clermont (France). The reaction of the nobility of Western Europe, especially in France and Luxemburg, is enthusiastic. Thousands of peasants, led by Peter the Hermit and Walter the Penniless, depart a few months later from Lorraine and Champagne, beginning what will be known as the First Crusade.

Central-Eastern Europe: King Ladislaus/Laszlo I the Saint of Hungary dies. Contrary to his will, the throne is seized by his elder son, Coloman, who deposes his younger brother (and the designed heir to the Hungarian throne) Álmos from his sub-kingdom in Slavonia and makes him duke of Nitra/Slovakia

Byzantine Empire: Alexius I Comnenus completes his staggering recovery of the empire's might :) in the Sklaviniai (*OTL Balkans) by crushing the Normans of Albania at the battle of Koritsa, after which the prince of Dyrrachion, Robert the Bold, is dragged to Constantinople, tortured and burnt on the stake :eek: as traitor. As a reward for alliance and payment of war debts, Venice is handed over Dyrrachion (*OTL Dūrres) itself.

Middle East: Emir Tutush of Syria dies in Damascus; he leaves the kingdom to his younger son Duqaq, but the elder brother, Radwan, revolts taking power in northern Syria at Aleppo.

1096-1100
1095-1097

Western Europe, British isles: During the Council of Clermont king William II of France and England, a passionate enemy of ecclesiastic power:D, is excommunicated for exiling the Archbishop of Canterbury, the noted scholar Anselm of Bec, and taking for himself the rich revenues of the archbishoprich:mad:. William is later pardoned after a humiliating pilgrimage to Rome:D, lavish gifts to the Roman Church :mad: and the promise to take part in the First Crusade

1096

Northern Europe: Cruel massacres of Jews :eek: and robberies of their wealth :rolleyes: at the hands of some petty nobles and their fanatic armies (the so called “German Crusade” :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ) mark the beginning of the crusade in the Rhineland. Most of the German Jews flee in the thousands to Bohemia and Poland, where they set up burgeoning communities. The perpetrators of the carnage to do not go very far, being afterwards mostly massacred by the enraged Hungarians :D while crossing that country. Foundation of the hereditary county of Gelderland (eastern Netherlands) under Gerard IV of Wassenburg.

Western Europe: The count of Portugal, Pedro III Manuel the Strong, routs an invading Zenete army and conquers Coimbra, establishing Portugal as a power to be reckoned in the Iberian peninsula

Central-Eastern Europe, Byzantine Empire: The first peasant wave of crusaders, some 30,000 strong, devastates Hungary on its way, being retaliated in kind, and pillages the Sklaviniai (*OTL Balkans); only three-quartes of them makes it to Constantinople where the astonished Byzantines promptly ferry them across the Bosporus and push them ahead. Almost all of the improvised and mostly unarmed mob is exterminated by the Rum-Seljuks in inner Anatolia or captured and sold as slaves on the Persian and Arab markets:( . Of its leaders, Peter the Hermit survives to join the “regular” :rolleyes: Crusade, while Walter the Penniless is killed by the Turks

India: The Cholas quell a rebellion in Kalinga (eastern Deccan)

1096-1099

Middle east, Arabia: Fatimids, Syrian Seljuks and Greater (Persian-based) Seljuks dispute over the Holy Cities of Hijaz (Mecca and Medina), fighting a proxy war through bedouin Arab tribes till the Crusaders divide the contenders

1097 Western Europe: Anscarius, cousin of king Adalbert II of Burgundy, marries Totana, daughter of count Ferdinand I of Castile, and is made marquis of Toledo, founding the local Besoncés (from Latin Vesontio, Besançon, whence Anscarius came) dynasty. Count Ferdinand proclaims Castile a Grand Duchy

Southern Europe: The Western Emperor Theophylactus II dies and is succeeded on the throne in Palermo :cool: by his first son, John III. The nominal absentee marquis of Milan, Azzone II degli Obertenghi, ancestor to both the Welf and the Este dynasties, dies at 101 (!). The last native king of Croatia from the Suronja dynasty, Peter, dies in the battle of Gvozd Mountain against the Hungarians. Ragusa/Dubrovnik has to pay tribute to Duklja/Zeta (Melanoria, *OTL Montenegro)

Byzantine Empire: Partly by sea, mostly by land, a powerful feudal army assembles near Constantinople. Its leaders are among the creme of the European nobility, with the noted presence of king Raymond I of Septimania (*OTL count Raymond IV of Toulouse), prince Bohemund of Taranto, marquis Robert II of Flanders and Hainault and marquis Frederick of Canossa. After weeks of cold relations, the Crusaders are ferried to Asia Minor and advance against the Rum-Seljuks together with the Byzantines, crushing the Turks on their way. The resounding victories of Dorylaeum, Angora and Iconium :) :) :) mark the advance of the joint Byzantine-Crusader army. The Rum-Seljuks are pushed south and east and sultan Kilij Arslan I is forced to recognize Byzantium as its overlord and give back most of his domains. In the meantime the Ecumenical Council summoned in Nicaea is a failure: though the Church of Constantinople seems ready to accept a theoretical Papal supremacy, controversies over rites and most of all, spheres of influence:rolleyes:, prove an unsurmountable obstacle on the path to reconciliation and the Great Schism persists:(. So, when the Crusader army reaches Caesarea/Mazhak, it rejects the oath of allegiance :mad: to the co-emperors Alexius I and Leo VI and Byzantine general Tatikios, a brotherly friend of Alexius, narrowly escapes with his life while his men are slain:mad: :mad:. The crusaders then install in the conquered Cappadocian city a march to guard their rear under marquis Bertrand, a cousin of Raymond I of Septimania; they later proceed to conquer the Euphrates valley for themselves, opening their way through not-so-friendly Armenia Minor and smashing local Turkic or Armenian lordships. By the end of the year, the Crusaders, now slit into two main forces, are under the walls of Aleppo and Antioch

Central-Eastern Europe: The Kipchak/Cumans conquer the kingdom of Tmutarakan and seize the strait of Bosporon/Ker?.

Middle East: The Turkmen Sökmen and Ilghazi, sons of general Ortoq, a local governor in northern Syria, found the Ortoqid emirate of Marida/Mardin (Kurdistan) rejecting Greater Seljuk authority

1098 British isles: King Magnus II Barefoot of Norway enforces direct Norwegian rule over the Orkneys, the Isle of Man and the Hebrides.

North Africa: A 25,000 strong crusader army formed with Zenete Compact, Spanish, Numidian and Western Imperial forces is annihilated :( by the Banu Hilal cavalry in the battle of Nalut (Tripolitania), ending the First Crusade on African soil. Two brothers of king Augustine Tezerke of the Zenete Compact are killed on the battlefield. The Genoese navy captures Djirva (*OTL Djerba) from the Muslim pirates

Byzantine Army: Co-basileus Leo VI Diogenes dies at 30, allegedly poisoned; his infant first son, Romanus III, is made co-emperor of grandpa Alexius I Comnenus. Nicephorus, younger brother of the deceased Leo, tries a revolt to gain the throne but is captured, blinded :eek: and exiled

Middle East: Aleppo falls to the eastern Crusader force (mainly German and Lombard in composition) and is subject to a merciless massacre :eek: and pillage. The Crusader eastern army is then surrounded in the ruined city by Kerbogha, the Seljuk atabeg (governor) of Mosul, who starves it to death: the survivors are then beheaded in a defeat of most grave proportions:( . Antioch's Armenian garrison, instead, strengthened by some Byzantine and Rum-Seljuks sent by sea by Alexius I, resists the western Crusader army till the summer, when the city falls after the arrival of powerful French, English and Burgundian reinforces with king William II of France and England. Conquered Antioch is made a county under Bohemund of Taranto. This time Kerbogha arrives too late, hampered by his rival, emir Duqaq of Damascus; he manages, however, to crush the Armenian principality of Edessa on its way before being driven back by the Crusaders.

1098-1111

Southern Europe: The prince of Melfi Roger I Borsa proceeds, with discreet Papal support, to slowly swallow the other Norman principalities of Capua and Gaeta, bringing all of the Norman holdings in continental Italian under the dominion of the Hauteville family

1098-1115

Central-Eastern Europe: Ongoing conflict between the Arpadid royal brothers, king Coloman I and prince Álmos of Nitra/Slovakia, troubles Hungary. In the end the latter is jailed with his son Béla and both are blinded :eek: to prevent their accession to the throne

1099

Central-Eastern Europe: The Kipchak/Cumans of Khan Bonyak defeat the Hungarians at the battle of Przemy?l (Poland) and extort tributes from Poland, Kiev and the Galician Rurikid principalities.

Middle East: The Crusaders advance along the Mediterranean coast, supplied by the navies of the Italian sea-trading republics (Venice, Pisa, Genoa, Bari, Amalfi), finding little resistance as local Muslim rulers mostly buy the invaders off with money and food. The weakened army, ridden with disease, thirst and starvation, then reaches Palestine and conquers Acre from the Turks of Syria after a harsh siege: a horrible massacre of the inhabitants :eek: ensues to avenge the extermination of 7,000 German pilgrims (the Pilgrim Martyrs, now worshipped by the Roman Church) at the hands of Arab raiders in 1065. When the army tries to march on Jerusalem a powerful Fatimid force confronts it under the leadership of al-Fustat's (*OTL Cairo) strongman, Malik el-Afdal. The battle of Husfa is a disaster for the 30,000 strong Crusader Army, which is literally halved :( by the Arab light cavalry and the mercenary Turkic archers. King Raymond I of Septimania (*OTL count Raymond IV of Toulouse) and marquis Robert II of Flanders and Hainault die on the battlefield, many others flee to the safety of Acre, well defended by strong walls and by the Italian fleets. The subsequent Fatimid siege of the town proves futile.

Far East: The Nestorian Keraites defeat the Tartars in northern Mongolia

1099-1100

Southern Europe: Pope Urban II dies in Rome by a stroke :eek: when news of the Crusader's defeat reach Italy. The new elected Pope is Paschal II (the Latium-born Ranieri da Blera), another strong supporter of the Cluniac reform of the Church. An anti-Cluniac anti-Pope is named in the person of Guiberto, archbishop of Ravenna and member of the Canossa clan, who soon dies concluding the brief struggle for the Papal throne.

11th century

Central Hesperia (*OTL America): The Chichimecs (“barbarians”) began their raids in central Mexico, weakening the Toltec empire. The Arawaks start their conquest of the Caribbeans. North Africa: Catharism :confused: roots in North Africa, especially in Mauretania (*OTL Morocco)

1100

Western Europe: William II of France and England comes back to Europe to raise reinforcements for the Crusades; in his brief stay in France he crushes yet another rebellion of his unruly barons. The news of the Crusaders' defeat in the Holy Land makes great impression :eek: throughout Christian Europe and North Africa

Byzantine Empire: The Rum-Seljuks, now recalcitrant vassals of Byzantium, establish their capital in the mountain stronghold of Basiliokastron (*not existing in OTL) in the western Taurus range; they control the Anatolian southern coast and parts of the interior with Iconium. Malik Ghazi, the Danishmendid sultan of Ahlat (Armenia), routs Crusader and Armenian forces at the battle of Harput and conquers Melitene (*OTL Malatya)

Central-Eastern Europe: The Kipchak/Cumans wrest the Tauridan (*Crimean) fortress of Soldaia/Sudak from the Byzantines.

Middle East: The Ismaili sect of the Nizari Assassins:eek:, now a political faction of its own in the Levant, gains control over Aleppo and parts of northern Syria in an unholy – and merely temporary - alliance with the Crusaders :confused: of Antioch and the Euphrates valley.

ca. 1100

Northern Europe: The Norwegians discover the Svalbard/Spitsbergen archipelago. German traders found the emporium town of Visby on Gotland island; German trade gains supremacy in the Baltic, laying the foudations for the later Hanseatic League.

Western Europe, Southern Europe, North Africa: The use of the navigational compass, having been brought west by the Arab traders in the years, finally becomes a “must” :cool: in the Mediterranean and throughout Europe.

Western Europe: In Gallastria (*OTL Galicia and Asturias) the last traces of Celtic languages die off, leaving place to the Celto-Latin Gallastrian language

Black Africa: Christianized southern Zenete tribes found the trading town of Timbuktu on the site of a former seasonal camp atop the Niger bend; the city will become rich and fabled on transdesertic trade. Pagan Hausa populations found the kingdom of Gobir (Niger, Maradi area). The Bantu kingdom of Katanga is founded in the heart of central Africa.

Middle East: The Turkic chieftain Ibrahim ibn Inal gains lordship over Amida/Diyarbakir and western Kurdistan, founding there the Inalid emirate.

Middle East, Central Asia: The Musafirids, rulers of Daylam/Gilan and vassals of the Greater Seljuks, are overthrown and exterminated by the local Ismaili Nizari Assassins of Alamut

Eastern Africa: Arab traders found Mombasa (Kenya). Bantu migrations into Nilotic lands bring along the formation of a number of small kingdoms in Uganda.

India: The eastern Gangas of Kalinga (eastern India) reach their apogee under Anantavarman Chodaganga, who holds sway from the lower Ganges to the Godavari river becoming a serious rival of his southern neighbour, the Chola empire.

Far East: The Mongol tribal confederation of the Jadirat is formed under the patronage of the Christianized Nestorian Keraite tribe. The Merkites of southern Siberia reject their status as vassals of the Manchurian Khitan/Liao empire.

Central Hesperia (*OTL America): The Itzàs found the city of Mayapàn, a future power in the Yucatan peninsula.