Statue of King Alfonso I (r. 1104–1134).

Year 1104 (MCIV) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.

Events

By place

Byzantine Empire

Levant

  • Spring – The Crusaders, led by Bohemond I, re-invade the territory of Aleppo, and try to capture the town of Kafar Latha. The attack fails, owing to the resistance of the local Banu tribe. Meanwhile, Joscelin of Courtenay cuts the communications between Aleppo and the Euphrates.[2]
  • May 7Battle of Harran: The Crusaders under Baldwin II are defeated by the Seljuk Turks. Baldwin and Joscelin of Courtenay are taken prisoner. Tancred (nephew of Bohemond I) becomes regent of Edessa. The defeat at Harran marks a key turning point of Crusader expansion.
  • May 26 – King Baldwin I captures Acre, the port is besieged from April, and blockaded by the Genoese and Pisan fleet. Baldwin promises a free passage to those who want to move to Ascalon, but the Italian sailors plunder the wealthy Muslim emigrants and kill many of them.[3]
  • Autumn – Bohemond I departs to Italy for reinforcements. He takes with him gold and silver, and precious stuff to raise an army against Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Tancred becomes co-ruler over Antioch – and appoints his brother-in-law, Richard of Salerno, as his deputy.[4]
  • Toghtekin, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Damascus, founds a short-lived principality in Syria (the first example of a series of Seljuk-ruled dynasties).

England

Europe

By topic

Religion

Volcanology

  • Autumn – The volcano Hekla erupts in Iceland and devastates farms for 45 miles (some 70 km) around.[7]

Births

Deaths

References

  1. ^ Steven Runciman (1951). A History of the Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, p. 37. ISBN 978-0-241-29876-3.
  2. ^ Steven Runciman (1951). A History of the Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-0-241-29876-3.
  3. ^ Malcolm Barber (2012). The Crusader States, pp. 68–69. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11312-9.
  4. ^ Steven Runciman (1951). A History of the Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, p. 38. ISBN 978-0-241-29876-3.
  5. ^ Kennedy, Maev (July 28, 2017). "St Cuthbert's coffin features in new display at Durham Cathedral". The Guardian. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  6. ^ Squires, Nick (2018). "Italian navy hires out Venice's feted Arsenale for conventions to make up for government cuts". The Telegraph. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  7. ^ "Hekla - volcano, Iceland". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  8. ^ "Beaumont, Robert de Earl of Leicester 1104-1168". Worldcat. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
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