* 1164 – Battle of Harim: Nur ad-Din Zangi defeats the Crusader armies of the County of Tripoli and the Principality of Antioch.

To avoid the vengeance of the Emperor, she fled with Andronikos to the court of Nur ad-Din, the Sultan of Damascus ; but not deeming themselves safe there, they continued their perilous journey through the Caucasus and Anatolia.

Meanwhile, the Muslim territories surrounding Jerusalem began to be united under Nur ad-Din and later Saladin.

The Second Crusade in 1148 had failed to conquer Damascus, which soon fell to Zengi's son Nur ad-Din.

Amalric returned home but Shawar fled to the court of Nur ad-Din, who sent his general Shirkuh to settle the dispute in 1164.

Amalric could not follow up on his success in Egypt because Nur ad-Din was active in Syria, having taken Bohemund III of Antioch and Raymond III of Tripoli prisoner at the Battle of Harim during Amalric's absence.

The year 1166 was relatively quiet, but Amalric sent envoys to the Byzantine Empire seeking an alliance and a Byzantine wife, and throughout the year had to deal with raids by Nur ad-Din, who captured Banias.

In 1167, Nur ad-Din sent Shirkuh back to Egypt and Amalric once again followed him, establishing a camp near Cairo ; Shawar again allied with Amalric and a treaty was signed with the caliph al-Adid himself.

Although Amalric still had a peace treaty with Shawar, Shawar was accused of attempting to ally with Nur ad-Din, and Amalric invaded.

Meanwhile Nur ad-Din sent Shirkuh back to Egypt as well, and upon his arrival Amalric retreated.

Saladin's rise to Sultan was an unexpected reprieve for Jerusalem, as Nur ad-Din was now preoccupied with reining in his powerful vassal.

Over the next few years the kingdom was threatened not only by Saladin and Nur ad-Din, but also by the Hashshashin ; in one episode, the Knights Templar murdered some Hashshashin envoys, leading to further disputes between Amalric and the Templars.

Nur ad-Din died in 1174, upon which Amalric immediately besieged Banias.

They were invested with feudal authority by Sultan Nur ad-Din Zangi and furnished respectable contingents to the Muslim ranks in their struggle against the Crusaders.

* 1149 – Raymond of Poitiers is defeated and killed at the Battle of Inab by Nur ad-Din Zangi.

The fragmentation of the Muslim east allowed for the initial success of the crusade, but as the 12th century progressed, the kingdom's Muslim neighbours were united by Nur ad-Din Zangi and Saladin, who vigorously began to recapture lost territory.

Zengi's territory had been divided amongst his sons after his death, and Damascus no longer felt threatened, so an alliance had been made with Zengi's son Nur ad-Din, the emir of Aleppo.

The Muslim states of Syria were meanwhile gradually united by Nur ad-Din, who defeated the Principality of Antioch at the Battle of Inab in 1149 and gained control of Damascus in 1154.

Nur ad-Din was extremely pious and during his rule the concept of jihad came to be interpreted as a kind of counter-crusade against the kingdom, which was an impediment to Muslim unity, both political and spiritual.

In 1163 the chaotic situation in Egypt led to a refusal to pay tribute to Jerusalem, and requests were sent to Nur ad-Din for assistance ; in response, Amalric invaded, but was turned back when the Egyptians flooded the Nile at Bilbeis.

The Egyptian vizier Shawar again requested help from Nur ad-Din, who sent his general Shirkuh, but Shawar quickly turned against him and allied with Amalric.

It seemed likely that Antioch itself would fall to Nur ad-Din, but he withdrew when Emperor Manuel sent a large Byzantine force to the area.

Nur ad-Din sent Shirkuh back to Egypt in 1166, and Shawar again allied with Amalric, who was defeated at the Battle of al-Babein.

In the end, Nur ad-Din was victorious and Saladin established himself as Sultan of Egypt.

Later in 1160, Nur ad-Din captured the Prince of Antioch, Raynald of Châtillon after a raid in the Anti-Taurus mountains ; Raynald remained in captivity for the next sixteen years.

But one discovery remained unknown to Chinese researchers until the turn of the millennium: in the Lop Nur desert, Sven Hedin discovered in 1933 and 1934 ruins of signal towers which prove that the Great Wall of China once extended to Xinjiang.

Joscelin would soon be captured by Nur ed-Din and what remained of his County of Edessa evacuated by its Latin inhabitants.

He managed to capture Damietta, but within a few years he was expelled from Egypt by one of Nur ad-Din's generals, Saladin, who would later become Jerusalem's greatest threat.

Amalric turned towards Egypt because Muslim territory to the east of Jerusalem had fallen under the control of the powerful Zengid sultan Nur ad-Din.

Nur ad-Din, along with the Danishmends of eastern Anatolia, attacked the Seljuk sultan Kilij Arslan II from the east the next year, while Manuel attacked from the west.

Lop Nur is a marshy, saline depression at the east end of the Tarim Basin.

The region borders the prefectures of Hohhot to the east, Baotou to the northeast, Bayan Nur to the north, Alxa League to the northwest, Wuhai to the west, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to its southwest, and the provinces of Shaanxi and Shanxi to the south.

Baldwin captured the important Egyptian fortress of Ascalon, but also had to deal with the increasing power of Nur ad-Din in Syria.

In 1156 Baldwin was forced to sign a treaty with Nur ad-Din.

Baldwin was, however, able to capture Harim, a former territory of Antioch, and in 1158 he defeated Nur ad-Din himself.

In the Battle of Aintab, Nur ad-Din tried but failed to prevent King Baldwin III of Jerusalem's evacuation of the Latin Christian residents of Turbessel.

Soon after he returned, he learned of the death of King Baldwin III of Jerusalem, and out of respect for such a formidable opponent he refrained from attacking the crusader kingdom: William of Tyre reports that Nur ad-Din said " We should sympathize with their grief and in pity spare them, because they have lost a prince such as the rest of the world does not possess today.

In contrast to Nur ad-Din's respectful reaction to the death of Baldwin III, Amalric I immediately besieged Banias upon learning of the emir's death, and extorted a vast amount of money from his widow.

Hodierna's nephew Baldwin III of Jerusalem ensured the support of the nobles of the county, and Hodierna allowed him to give the castle of Tortosa to the Knights Templar, in order to defend from an attack by Nur ad-Din, who invaded when he heard of Raymond's death.

Humphrey was defeated by Nur ad-Din Zangi at Banias in 1157 and was besieged in its castle until Baldwin III arrived to lift the siege.

After the victory at Banias, Philip and his troops returned home, and were not present at Nur ad-Din's subsequent ambush of Baldwin at Jacob's Ford.

Baldwin ensured the support of the nobles of the county, and Hodierna allowed him to give the castle of Tortosa to the Knights Templar, in order to defend from an attack by Nur ad-Din Zangi, who invaded when he heard of Raymond's death.

His earliest action as Grand Master was with Baldwin III of Jerusalem, with whom he fought against Nur ad-Din Zangi.

He agreed to a two-year truce with King Baldwin III, and then joined with Nur ad-Din against the Principality of Antioch.