Jerusalem

First major phase of Roman imperial rule, from Augustus to the accession of Diocletian, retaining republican institutions alongside imperial authority.

A series of religiously framed military expeditions, principally involving Latin Christian powers and the eastern Mediterranean, extending from the late eleventh through the late thirteenth century.

Crusader kingdom in the Levant established in 1099 and continuing in changing territorial form until the fall of Acre in 1291.

Roman imperial polity and its institutions from the rule of Augustus onward; the conventional end date of 476 CE concerns Western imperial rule, while the Eastern Roman Empire continued beyond that date.

A major crusade launched after Saladin’s reconquest of Jerusalem, involving European rulers and campaigns in the Levant from 1189 to 1192.

The Roman execution of Jesus of Nazareth in Jerusalem during the prefecture of Pontius Pilate.

Saladin’s decisive victory over the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which destroyed the kingdom’s main field force and opened the way for the reconquest of Jerusalem.

Saladin’s siege of Jerusalem, ending with the city’s surrender on October 2, 1187, after the defeat of the crusader army at Hattin.

Jewish preacher whose ministry and crucifixion form the narrative center of the film.

Roman prefect of Judea who presided over the authority responsible for Jesus’s crucifixion.

A prominent nobleman of the Kingdom of Jerusalem who commanded the defense of Jerusalem during Saladin’s siege in 1187.

The Ayyubid sultan who defeated the crusader army at Hattin and retook Jerusalem in 1187.

King of Jerusalem from 1174 to 1185, remembered for his military and political struggle against Saladin despite suffering from leprosy.

King of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 and commander of the crusader army defeated at Hattin.

Disciple of Jesus whose betrayal and political relationship with him are central to the film’s interpretation.

Queen of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1190 and the wife of Guy of Lusignan.

Capital of the Roman Empire.

The battlefield near the Sea of Galilee where Saladin defeated the main army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1187.

The Latin Christian polity in the Levant where the film’s court politics, frontier warfare, and defense of Jerusalem unfold.

A major crusader castle and lordship in Transjordan, historically associated with the lordship of Oultremer and the tensions preceding the 1187 campaign.

Galilean village traditionally associated with Jesus’s upbringing and early life.