Fatimids take Jerusalem
Jerusalem, IsraelWhile the Seljuks were busy against the Crusaders, the Fatimid caliphate in Egypt sent a force to the coastal city of Tyre, a little more than 145 miles north of Jerusalem. The Fatimids took control of Jerusalem in February 1098, three months before the Crusaders had their success at Antioch. The Fatimids, who were Shia, offered the Crusaders an alliance against their old enemy the Seljuks, who were Sunni. They offered the Crusaders control of Syria with Jerusalem to remain theirs. The offer didn't work out. The Crusaders were not going to be deterred from taking Jerusalem.