From Lisbon to the Stars

SteveW

Murder Most Foul

Eleanor of Aquitaine and Raymond of Antioch were the next victims of the Crusade.

Upon arriving in Antioch in mid-June, exhausted and angry, Robert III was not a happy man, He blamed Eleanor for the plan to attack the Turks, and by extension for his brother's death.

Acting on rumours that Eleanor and Raymond were engaged in an incestuous affair, and one that was adulterous to boot, Robert despatched a group of Knights Templar to execute the pair in their beds. The murders were blamed on a hapless local Muslim, who was beheaded. The death of Raymond was proclaimed, but that of Eleanor kept quiet for fear of alerting rival powers in France.

Leaving Antioch for France with his men on the 29th June 1148, Robert III left Thierry of Alsace in control of Antioch as Thierry I, Prince of Antioch.
 

Geordie

So, the She-Wolf of France comes to a sticky end? :D

This is going to have huge ramifications as regards England and France...

I'm really enjoying this timeline, and look forward to the next installment
 

SteveW

Meanwhile, Sultan Kilij Arslan II was pulling most of his men out of Edessa and heading north-west to try and take back Konya. The Arab attacks had subsided for now. It was time to try and stop Manuel I before he rampaged through Anatolia.

In Jerusalem, Baldwin III was getting impatient. Gathering the remaining crusaders in his kingdom, he decided to set out against the Mamelukes of Egypt, in a move that would prove disastrous.

In Konya, Manuel and Conrad III were now entrenched and were fortifying, plus oocasionally raiding into Seljuk territory to steal food or disrupt the administration.
 

schrodingerscat

This is very interesting! Like user ruiramos I'm also from Portugal, so if you need any help or anything feel free to drop me a line.
You make quite good points, by the way. :D
 

SteveW

French Turn

Robert III of France arrived back in his own lands on the 18th August 1148. With news of Eleanor's death still unknown throughout France (and only now seeping out in the East), he decided to act swiftly. Returning initially to Paris to be crowned alongside his wife Agnes and acclaimed by the populace, he raised a fresh army led by his battle-scarred veterans. Their aim was clear: they would occupy Aquitaine and Gascony before anybody else could possibly think of acting. More importantly, he adopted his brother's orphan, Marie, as his own child- and proclaimed his seven year-old son Simon as his heir.

In Portugal, in mid-August, the all-important assault in the west began. With dozens of siege engines and thousands of bloodthirsty Crusaders, Afonso I beagn the Siege of Seville.
 

SteveW

Clash of the North Men

"I will happily offer my assistance if such a favour will be returned".

Thus were the words of King Stephen of England to Robert III of France, according to an anonymous monk of Winchester. And such a favour was indeed to be granted. By late September 1148, Robert was in charge of Aquitaine and Gascony, both of which had surrendered to his rule with little complaint-indeed, he had granted them a degree of regional rule under two of his trusted barons.

Now, the war was to move north. Determined to assert his rule in France beyond his immediate possessions, Robert III prepared to strike against Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, an old rival of the Kings of France. He would be helped in this matter by two external allies: Conan III, Duke of Brittany, and the mortal enemy of Geoffrey's wife, Matilda: Stephen of England.
 
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