Princes.27 Crusade First Crusade

1 princes crusade

1.1 siege of nicaea
1.2 battle of dorylaeum
1.3 siege of antioch
1.4 continued march jerusalem
1.5 siege of jerusalem

1.5.1 massacre


1.6 establishment of kingdom of jerusalem
1.7 battle of ascalon

princes crusade

routes of leaders of first crusade

the 4 main crusader armies left europe around appointed time in august 1096. took different paths constantinople , gathered outside city walls between november 1096 , april 1097; hugh of vermandois arrived first, followed godfrey, raymond, , bohemond. time, emperor alexios more prepared crusaders; there fewer incidents of violence along way.

the size of entire crusader army difficult estimate; various numbers given eyewitnesses, , equally various estimates have been offered modern historians. crusader military historian david nicolle considers armies have consisted of 30,000–35,000 crusaders, including 5,000 cavalry. raymond had largest contingent of 8,500 infantry , 1,200 cavalry.

the princes arrived in constantinople little food , expected provisions , alexios. alexios understandably suspicious after experiences people s crusade, , because knights included old norman enemy, bohemond, had invaded byzantine territory on numerous occasions father, robert guiscard, , may have attempted organize attack on constantinople while encamped outside city.

the crusaders may have expected alexios become leader, had no interest in joining them, , concerned transporting them asia minor possible. in return food , supplies, alexios requested leaders swear fealty him , promise return byzantine empire land recovered turks. godfrey first take oath, , other leaders followed him, although did after warfare had broken out in city between citizens , crusaders, eager pillage supplies. raymond alone avoided swearing oath, instead pledging cause no harm empire. before ensuring various armies shuttled across bosporus, alexios advised leaders on how best deal seljuq armies encounter.

siege of nicaea

the crusader armies crossed on asia minor during first half of 1097, joined peter hermit , remainder of little army. in addition, alexios sent 2 of own generals, manuel boutoumites , tatikios, assist crusaders. first objective of campaign nicaea, city under byzantine rule, had become capital of seljuq sultanate of rum under kilij arslan i. arslan away campaigning against danishmends in central anatolia @ time, , had left behind treasury , family, underestimating strength of these new crusaders.

subsequently, upon crusaders arrival, city subjected lengthy siege, , when arslan had word of rushed nicaea , attacked crusader army on 16 may. driven unexpectedly large crusader force, heavy losses being suffered on both sides in ensuing battle. siege continued, crusaders had little success found not blockade lake, city situated on, , provisioned. break city, alexios sent crusaders ships rolled on land on logs, , @ sight of them turkish garrison surrendered on 18 june. city handed on byzantine troops, has been depicted source of conflict between empire , crusaders; byzantine standards flew walls while crusaders forbidden looting city or entering except in small escorted bands.

however, policy in accordance previous oaths made alexios, , emperor ensured crusaders well-paid efforts. thomas asbridge writes, fall of nicaea product of successful policy of close co-operation between crusaders , byzantium. after handing custody of nicaea byzantines, crusaders resumed march jerusalem. stephen of blois, in letter wife adela of blois wrote believed journey take 5 weeks; in reality, took 2 years.

battle of dorylaeum


baldwin of boulogne entering edessa in 1098 (history painting, joseph-nicolas robert-fleury 1840)

at end of june, crusaders marched on through anatolia. accompanied byzantine troops under tatikios, , still harboured hope alexios send full byzantine army after them. divided army 2 more-easily managed groups—one contingent led normans, other french. 2 groups intended meet again @ dorylaeum, on 1 july normans, had marched ahead of french, attacked kilij arslan. arslan had gathered larger army had after defeat @ nicaea, , surrounded normans fast-moving mounted archers. normans deployed in tight-knit defensive formation , surrounding equipment , non-combatants had followed them along journey, , sent other group. when french arrived, godfrey broke through turkish lines , legate adhemar outflanked turks rear; turks, had expected destroy normans , did not anticipate quick arrival of french, fled rather face combined crusader army.

the crusaders march through anatolia thereafter unopposed, journey unpleasant, arslan had burned , destroyed left behind in army s flight. middle of summer, , crusaders had little food , water; many men , horses died. fellow christians gave them gifts of food , money, more not, crusaders looted , pillaged whenever opportunity presented itself. individual leaders continued dispute overall leadership, although none of them powerful enough take command on own, adhemar recognized spiritual leader. after passing through cilician gates, baldwin of boulogne set off on own towards armenian lands around euphrates; wife, claim european lands , wealth, had died after battle, giving baldwin no incentive return europe. thus, resolved seize fiefdom himself in holy land. in 1098, adopted heir thoros of edessa, ruler disliked armenian subjects greek orthodox religion. thoros later killed, during uprising baldwin may have instigated. then, in march 1098, baldwin became new ruler, creating county of edessa, first of crusader states.

siege of antioch


bohemond of taranto alone mounts rampart of antioch gustave doré (1871)

the crusader army, meanwhile, marched on antioch, lay halfway between constantinople , jerusalem. described stephen of blois city great beyond belief, strong , unassailable , idea of taking city assault discouraging 1 crusaders. hoping rather force capitulation, or find traitor inside city—a tactic had seen antioch change control of byzantines , seljuq turks—the crusader army set antioch siege on 20 october 1097. during 8 months of siege, forced defeat 2 large relief armies under leadership of duqaq , fakhr al-mulk radwan. antioch large crusaders did not have enough troops surround it, , result able stay partially supplied. on 4 march 1098, relief arrived in form of crusader fleet, saxon crusade , bringing needed supplies west.

in may 1098, kerbogha of mosul approached antioch relieve siege. bohemond bribed armenian guard named firouz surrender tower, , in june crusaders entered city , killed of inhabitants. however, few days later muslims arrived, laying siege former besiegers. according raymond d aguilers, @ point monk named peter bartholomew claimed have discovered holy lance in city, , although skeptical, seen sign victorious.

the massacre of antioch gustave doré (1871)

on 28 june 1098, crusaders defeated kerbogha in pitched battle outside city, victory caused kerbogha s inability organize different factions in army. while crusaders marching towards muslims, fatimid section of army deserted turkish contingent, feared kerbogha become powerful able defeat crusaders. according christian eyewitnesses, army of christian saints came aid of crusaders during battle , crippled kerbogha s army.

stephen of blois, crusade leader, in alexandretta when learned of situation in antioch. seemed situation hopeless left middle east, warning alexios , army on way france. because of looked massive betrayal, leaders @ antioch, notably bohemond, argued alexios had deserted crusade , invalidated of oaths him. while bohemond asserted claim antioch, not agreed (most notably raymond of toulouse), crusade delayed rest of year while nobles argued amongst themselves. when discussing period, common historiographical viewpoint advanced scholars franks of northern france, provençals of southern france, , normans of southern italy considered separate nations , creating turmoil each tried increase individual status. others argue while may have had disputes, personal ambition among crusader leaders might blamed.

meanwhile, plague broke out, killing many among army, including legate adhemar, died on 1 august. there fewer horses before, , worse, muslim peasants in area refused supply crusaders food. thus, in december, after arab town of ma arrat al-numan captured following siege, history describes first occurrence of cannibalism among crusaders. radulph of caen wrote, in ma arrat our troops boiled pagan adults in cooking pots; impaled children on spits , devoured them grilled. @ same time, minor knights , soldiers had become increasingly restless , threatened continue jerusalem without squabbling leaders. finally, @ beginning of 1099, march restarted, leaving bohemond behind first prince of antioch.

continued march jerusalem


route of first crusade through asia

proceeding down mediterranean coast, crusaders encountered little resistance, local rulers preferred make peace them , furnish them supplies rather fight, notable exception of abandoned siege of arqa. on 7 june, crusaders reached jerusalem, had been recaptured seljuqs fatimids year before. many crusaders wept upon seeing city had journeyed long reach.

siege of jerusalem

crusaders arrival @ jerusalem revealed arid countryside, lacking in water or food supplies. here there no prospect of relief, feared imminent attack local fatimid rulers. there no hope of trying blockade city had @ antioch; crusaders had insufficient troops, supplies, , time. rather, resolved take city assault. might have been left little choice, time crusader army reached jerusalem, has been estimated 12,000 men including 1,500 cavalry remained. these contingents, composed of men differing origins , varying allegiances, approaching low ebb in camaraderie; e.g., while godfrey , tancred made camp north of city, raymond made south. in addition, provençal contingent did not take part in initial assault on 13 june. first assault perhaps more speculative determined, , after scaling outer wall crusaders repulsed inner one.

after failure of initial assault, meeting between various leaders organized in agreed upon more concerted attack required in future. on 17 june, party of genoese mariners under guglielmo embriaco arrived @ jaffa, , provided crusaders skilled engineers, , perhaps more critically, supplies of timber (stripped ships) build siege engines. crusaders morale raised when priest, peter desiderius, claimed have had divine vision, of bishop adhemar, instructing them fast , march in barefoot procession around city walls, after city fall, following biblical story of joshua @ siege of jericho. after three-day fast, on 8 july crusaders performed procession had been instructed desiderius, ending on mount of olives peter hermit preached them, , shortly afterward various bickering factions arrived @ public rapprochement. news arrived shortly after fatimid relief army had set off egypt, giving crusaders strong incentive make assault on city.

the final assault on jerusalem began on 13 july; raymond s troops attacked south gate while other contingents attacked northern wall. provençals @ southern gate made little headway, contingents @ northern wall fared better, slow steady attrition of defence. on 15 july, final push launched @ both ends of city, , inner rampart of northern wall captured. in ensuing panic, defenders abandoned walls of city @ both ends, allowing crusaders enter.

massacre

the siege of jerusalem depicted in medieval manuscript

the massacre followed capture of jerusalem has attained particular notoriety, juxtaposition of extreme violence , anguished faith . eyewitness accounts crusaders leave little doubt there great slaughter in aftermath of siege. nevertheless, historians propose scale of massacre has been exaggerated in later medieval sources.

after successful assault on northern wall, defenders fled temple mount, pursued tancred , men. arriving before defenders secure area, tancred s men assaulted precinct, butchering many of defenders, remainder taking refuge in al-aqsa mosque. tancred called halt slaughter, offering in mosque protection. when defenders on southern wall heard of fall of northern wall, fled citadel, allowing raymond , provençals enter city. iftikhar al-dawla, commander of garrison, struck deal raymond, surrendering citadel in return being granted safe passage ascalon.

the slaughter continued rest of day; muslims indiscriminately killed, , jews had taken refuge in synagogue died when burnt down crusaders. following day, tancred s prisoners in mosque slaughtered. nevertheless, clear muslims , jews of city survived massacre, either escaping or being taken prisoner ransomed. eastern christian population of city had been expelled before siege governor, , escaped massacre.

establishment of kingdom of jerusalem

crusader graffiti in church of holy sepulchre, jerusalem

on 22 july, council held in church of holy sepulchre establish king newly created kingdom of jerusalem. raymond of toulouse @ first refused become king, perhaps attempting show piety, hoping other nobles insist upon election anyway. godfrey, had become more popular of 2 after raymond s actions @ siege of antioch, did no damage own piety accepting position secular leader. raymond incensed @ development , took army out countryside.

the exact nature , meaning of godfrey s title controversial. although claimed took title advocatus sancti sepulchri ( advocate or defender of holy sepulchre), title used in letter not written godfrey. instead, godfrey himself seems have used more ambiguous term princeps, or retained title of dux lower lorraine. according william of tyre, writing in later 12th century when godfrey legendary hero in crusader jerusalem, refused wear crown of gold christ had worn crown of thorns . robert monk contemporary chronicler of crusade report godfrey took title king .

battle of ascalon


an engraving of battle of ascalon c.w. sharpe (1881), based on illustration gustave doré (1871)

the crusaders had attempted negotiate fatimids during march jerusalem, no avail. after crusaders captured jerusalem fatimids, learned of fatimid army attack them. on 10 august godfrey of bouillon led remaining troops jerusalem ascalon, day s march away.

the fatimids estimated have many 50,000 troops (other sources estimate 20,000–30,000) entering battle. troops consisted of seljuq turks, arabs, persians, kurds, , ethiopians, led vizier al-afdal shahanshah. opposing them crusaders, numbers, estimated raymond of aguilers, around 1,200 knights , 9,000 infantry.

on 12 august, crusader scouts discovered location of fatimid camp, crusaders marched towards. according crusader , muslim accounts, fatimids caught unaware. because of ill-prepared fatimid army, battle short, although still took time resolve, according albert of aix. al-afdal shahanshah , army retreated heavily guarded , fortified city of ascalon. next day crusaders learned al-afdal shahanshah had retreated egypt via boat, plundered remained of fatimid camp. after returning jerusalem of crusaders returned homes in europe.