History of the Knights Templar - Part 2: The Templars at the Siege of Ascalon [Video]
History of the Knights Templar - Part 2: The Templars at the Siege of Ascalon [Video]
Follow @KnightsTempOrgThe city of Ascalon had remained a bastion of Islam inside the Kingdom of Jerusalem throughtout the first half century of the Kingdom's existence. Ascalon itself had a history dating back to 5,000 years before Christ. It had been Canaanites and Philistine and Phoenecian. It had been occupied by the Greeks, the Romans and the Byzantines before the Arabs came. It lay across the vital trade routes between Egypt and Syria.
It was built like large semi-circle, the coast forming a straight line that stretched through the diameter of the circle and the walls forming the circumference. These walls were massive. They had Byzantine foundations that had been repaired and extended by the Egyptians.
The Siege of Ascalon took place in 1153, resulting in the capture of that fortress by the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Ascalon was re-settled with a predominantly Christian population, and played a key role in the history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7pcfnI_DqM