True CrossThe True Cross is said to be the real cross that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified on, according to Christian tradition. It is related by numerous historical accounts and legends, that Helena, the mother of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, recovered the True Cross at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, when she travelled to the Holy Land in the years 326–328. The late 4th-century historians Gelasius of Caesarea and Tyrannius Rufinus wrote that while she was there, she discovered the hiding place of three crosses that were believed to have been used at the crucifixion of Jesus and the two thieves, Dismas and Gestas, who were executed with him.
Ayyubid dynastyThe Ayyubid dynasty (الأيوبيون al-Ayyūbīyūn; ئەیووبیەکان, Eyûbiyan), also known as the Ayyubid Empire, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin had originally served Nur ad-Din of Syria, leading Nur ad-Din's army in battle against the Crusaders in Fatimid Egypt, where he was made Vizier.
NablusNablus (ˈnæbləs,_ˈnɑːbləs ; Nābulus ˈnæːblʊs, -lɪs; Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: Škem; Samaritan Hebrew: ࠔࠬࠥࠊࠝࠌ, romanized: Šăkēm; Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a commercial and cultural centre of the State of Palestine, home to An-Najah National University, one of the largest Palestinian institutions of higher learning, and the Palestine Stock Exchange.
Crusader statesThe Crusader states, also known as Outremer, were four Catholic realms in the Middle East that lasted from 1098 to 1291. These feudal polities were created by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade through conquest and political intrigue. The four states were the County of Edessa (10981150), the Principality of Antioch (10981287), the County of Tripoli (11021289), and the Kingdom of Jerusalem (10991291). The Kingdom of Jerusalem covered what is now Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and adjacent areas.
Francis of AssisiGiovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, OFM, better known as Francis of Assisi (Francesco d'Assisi, Franciscus Assisiensis; 1181 – 3 October 1226), was an Italian mystic and Catholic friar who founded the Franciscans. He was inspired to lead a life of poverty as an itinerant preacher. One of the most venerated figures in Christianity, Francis was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on 16 July 1228. He is usually depicted in a brown habit with a rope around his waist with three knots, symbolizing the three Franciscan vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Knights HospitallerThe Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (ˈhɒspᵻtələr), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was founded in the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there until 1291, thereafter being based in Kolossi Castle in Cyprus (1302–1310), the island of Rhodes (1310–1522), Malta (1530–1798), and Saint Petersburg (1799–1801).
