After the First Crusade captured Jerusalem from the Fatimids, vizier al-Afdal Shahanshah mounted a series of invasions "almost annually" from 1099 to 1107 against the newly established Kingdom of Jerusalem. Egyptian armies fought three major battles at Ramla in 1101, 1102 and 1105, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. After this, the vizier contented himself to launching frequent raids on Frankish territory from his coastal fortress of Ascalon.

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.