Saracens in the context of "European Christians"

The Duchy of Gaeta (Latin: Ducatus Caietae) was an early medieval state centered on the coastal South Italian city of Gaeta. It began in the early ninth century as the local community began to grow autonomous as Byzantine power lagged in the Mediterranean and the peninsula due to Lombard and Saracen incursions.

The primary source for the history of Gaeta during its ducal period is the Codex Caietanus, a collection of charters preserving Gaetan history better and in greater detail than that of its neighbouring coastal states: Naples, Amalfi, and Sorrento. In 778, it was the headquarters from which the patrician of Sicily directed the campaign against the Saracen invaders of Campania.

The Daughters of Jacob Bridge (Hebrew: גשר בנות יעקב, romanized: Gesher Bnot Ya'akov, Arabic: جسر بنات يعقوب, romanized: Jisr Benat Ya'kub) is a bridge that spans the last natural ford of the Jordan River between the Korazim Plateau in northern Israel and the Golan Heights.

The area has been used as a crossing point for thousands of years; it was part of the recently dubbed Via Maris, and was strategically important to the Ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Hittites, Jews, Saracens (early Muslims), Crusaders, Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottomans, and to modern inhabitants and armies who crossed the river at this place.

In Old Norse sources, such as sagas and runestones, Serkland (also Særkland, Srklant, Sirklant, Serklat, etc.) was the "land of the Serkir", usually identified with the Saracens.

The exact etymology is disputed. Serk- may derive from "Saracen"; from sericum, Latin for "silk", implying a connection with the Silk Road; from the Khazar fortress of Sarkel; or from serkr, shirt or gown, i.e., "land of the gown-wearers". In all cases it refers to a land in the East. Originally, it referred to the land south of the Caspian Sea, but it gradually expanded to cover all Islamic lands, including parts of Africa (and possibly even Muslim Sicily).

Ingvar the Far-Travelled (Old Norse: Yngvarr víðfǫrli, Swedish: Ingvar Vittfarne) was a Swedish Viking who led an expedition that fought in the Kingdom of Georgia.

The Rus' undertook several Caspian expeditions in the course of the 10th century. The Yngvars saga víðförla describes the last Viking campaign in the Caspian in 1041, embellishing the historical facts with a great deal of legend. The expedition probably aimed to reopen old trade-routes after the Volga Bulgars and the Khazars no longer proved obstacles. Ingvar the Far-Travelled launched this expedition from Sweden, travelling down the Volga River into the land of the Saracens (Serkland). While there, the Vikings apparently took part in the 1042 Battle of Sasireti between the Georgians and Byzantines.

Hagarenes (Ancient Greek: Ἀγαρηνοί Agarenoi, Classical Syriac: ܗܓܪܝܐ Hagráyé or ܡܗܓܪܝܐ Mhaggráyé, Armenian: Հագարացի) is a term widely used by early Syriac, Greek, Coptic and Armenian sources to describe the early Arab conquerors of Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt.

The name was used in Christian literature and Byzantine chronicles for "Hanif" Arabs, and later for Islamic forces as a synonym of the term Saracens. The Syriac term Hagraye can be roughly translated as "the followers or descendants of Hagar", and the other frequent name, Mhaggraye, is thought to have connections with the Arabic Muhajir; other scholars assume that the terms may not be of Christian origin. Greek authors have also used the term to refer to nomadic Bedouin from the Syrian steppes east of Roman Syria, pejoratively referring to the conquerors' supposed descent from Abraham via Hagar. Patricia Crone and Michael Cook claim in their book Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World was introduced by the Muslims themselves who described their military advance into the Levant and Jerusalem in particular as a Hijra.

The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about 130 kilometres (80 mi) southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient Roman town of Casinum, it is the first house of the Benedictine Order, having been established by Benedict of Nursia himself around 529. It was for the community of Monte Cassino that the Rule of Saint Benedict was composed.

The first monastery on Monte Cassino was sacked by the invading Lombards around 570 and abandoned. Of the first monastery almost nothing is known. The second monastery was established by Petronax of Brescia around 718, at the suggestion of Pope Gregory II and with the support of the Lombard Duke Romuald II of Benevento. It was directly subject to the pope and many monasteries in Italy were under its authority. In 883, the monastery was sacked by Saracens and abandoned again. The community of monks resided first at Teano and then from 914 at Capua before the monastery was rebuilt in 949. During the period of exile, the Cluniac Reforms were introduced into the community.

Pope John X (Latin: Ioannes X; died 28 May 928) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friuli, and was instrumental in the defeat of the Saracens at the Battle of Garigliano. He eventually fell out with Marozia, who had him deposed, imprisoned, and finally murdered. John’s pontificate occurred during the period known as the Saeculum obscurum.

Fulk Bertrand I (died 27 April 1051) was the joint Count of Provence with his elder brother William IV from 1018 and with his younger brother Geoffrey I from at least 1032 if not earlier. After William's death, Fulk assumed the title of margrave, indicating headship of the dynasty. They were the sons of William II, count of Provence. Provence was during this time part of the Kingdom of Arles, and in 1033 also became part of the Holy Roman Empire.

With Geoffrey, Fulk made a donation to the Abbey of Cluny on 26 May 1037 and to Saint Victor at Marseille on 16 January 1040. Fulk Bertrand was a major proponent of the renewed monasticism of early eleventh-century Provence. He called together a council of clergy and noblesse to found the abbey of Saint Promasius near Forcalquier and to restore Bremetense near Gap, which had been destroyed by the Saracens of Fraxinetum.