4856–4859 AM · 1096 CE — 1099 CE · world history
The First Crusade
Europe marches east and takes Jerusalem; along the way the Rhineland Jewish communities are destroyed.
Pope Urban II calls for the liberation of the Holy Sepulchre, promising remission of sins. Tens of thousands set out. Still in Germany, mobs massacre the Jewish communities of Worms, Mainz and Cologne. In 1099 Jerusalem is stormed and its inhabitants slaughtered. Crusader states hold the coast for nearly two centuries.