First Battle of Ramla | |||||||
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Part of the Crusades | |||||||
Baldwin I of Jerusalem | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Jerusalem | Fatimid Caliphate | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Baldwin I of Jerusalem | Sa'd al-Dawla al-Qawwasi[1][2] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
260 knights 900 infantry |
Modern estimates: 11,000 cavalry 21,000 infantry | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
80 knights killed[3] 80+ infantry killed[3] |
Contemporary sources: 5,000 killed[6] |
The First Battle of Ramla (or Ramleh) took place on 7 September 1101 between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Fatimids of Egypt. The town of Ramla lay on the road from Jerusalem to Ascalon, the latter of which was the largest Fatimid fortress in Palestine. From Ascalon the Fatimid vizier, Al-Afdal Shahanshah, launched almost annual attacks into the newly founded Crusader kingdom from 1099 to 1107. It was thrice the case that the two armies met each other at Ramla.
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