1098

By place

First Crusade

• February 9 - Battle of the Lake of Antioch: The Crusaders under Bohemond I defeat a Seljuk relief force led by Sultan Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan of Aleppo. Bohemond gathers 700 knights, and marches in the night to ambush the Seljuk Turks at the Lake of Antioch. After several successful cavalry charges the Crusaders rout the Seljuk army, forcing Radwan to retreat back to Aleppo.
• March 10 - Baldwin of Boulogne enters Edessa, and is welcomed as liberator by the Armenian clergy. The local population massacres the Seljuk garrison and officials – or forces them to flee. Baldwin is acknowledged as their ruler. He assumes the title of count and establishes the first crusader state. Baldwin marries Arda of Armenia, daughter of Lord Thoros of Marash, and consolidates his conquered territory.
• June 3 - Siege of Antioch: The Crusaders under Bohemond I capture Antioch after a 8-month siege. He established secret contact with Firouz, an Armenian guard who controlled the "Tower of the Two Sisters". He opened the gates and Bohemond entered the city. Thousands of Christians are massacred along with Muslims. Bohemond is named Prince of Antioch and creates the Principality of Antioch.
• June 5 - Battle of [Antioch (1098)|Battle of Antioch]: Emir Kerbogha, ruler of Mosul, arrives at Antioch with a Seljuk army to relieve the city. He lays siege to the Crusaders who have just captured the city themselves. A Byzantine relief force led by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos turns back after Count Stephen of Blois convinces them that the situation in Antioch is hopeless.
• June 28 - Following the Holy Lance discovery by Peter Bartholomew in Antioch, the Crusaders under Bohemond I sortie from the city and defeat the Seljuk army. Kerbogha is forced to withdraw to Mosul, the garrison in the citadel surrenders to Bohemond personally and the Crusaders occupy Antioch. The Crusade is delayed for the rest of the year.
• July 14 - Donation of Altavilla: Bohemond I grants commercial privileges and the right to use warehouses to the Republic of Genoa. This marks the beginning of Italian merchant settlements in the Levant.
• August 1 - Adhemar of Le Puy, French bishop and nominal leader of the First Crusade, dies during an epidemic. With this, Rome's direct control over the Crusade effectively ends.
• August - Fatimid forces under Caliph Al-Musta'li recapture Jerusalem and occupy Palestine. The Crusaders threaten the borders of the Fatimid Caliphate which already has lost the Emirate of Sicily.
• December 12 - Siege of Ma'arra: The Crusaders capture the city of Ma'arra after a month's siege and massacre part of the population. Short of supplies, the army is accused of widespread cannibalism.

Britain

• June or July - Battle of Anglesey Sound: A Norwegian fleet led by King Magnus Barefoot reverses an Anglo-Norman invasion of North Wales. Magnus conquers the Orkney Islands, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man.
• King Edgar, [King of Scotland|Edgar] of Scotland signs a treaty with Magnus III in which he agrees that the northern territories including the Hebrides belong to Norway. At Dunfermline Abbey, Edgar seeks support from Anselm of Canterbury.

By topic

Religion

• March 21 - Cîteaux Abbey, located in Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, is founded by Robert of Molesme, founder of the Cistercian Order.
• October - The Council of Bari presided by Pope Urban II discusses relations between the Western and the Eastern Church.