Matthew of Edessa

Matthew of Edessa (Armenian: Մատթէոս Ուռհայեցի, Mattʿēos Uṙhayecʿi; late 11th century – 1144) was an Armenian historian. He relates much about the Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia, the early Crusades, and the battles between Byzantines and Arabs for the possession of parts of northern Syria and eastern Asia Minor. Quotes thumb|Blood ran in rivers. On both sides the troops were commanded by royal princes and they massacred each other mercilessly. Battle of Ain Salm (June 1085/6) Elizabeth Hallam (ed.) Chronicles of the Crusades (1989) p. 44 The fighting was fierce and lasted for the greater part of a day; blood ran in rivers. The Franks, overwhelmed and lost in a foreign land, could see no way out of their desperate situation. Confused, they stopped and herded together like frightened animals. What a sight! The air was full of the harsh sound of arrows thudding from bows, horses reared up in terror and the mountains reverberated with the din of battle. The Frankish duke wept bitterly to see his soldiers massacred. Army of William IX at Heraclea (June 1101) Hallam (1989) p. 96 External links Category:Historians from Armenia Category:1144 deaths Category:People of the Crusades Category:Chroniclers