The First Crusade: The Story of the Conquest of the Holy Land

krushnakanta raj
krushnakanta raj
June 05, 2024
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First Crusade

The First Crusade (1096-1099) was a military expedition by European Christians to reclaim Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim control. Initiated by Pope Urban II's call in 1095, it drew thousands of knights, peasants, and clergy. The crusaders faced a perilous journey through hostile territories, including Asia Minor and the Levant. Key victories at Nicaea, Antioch, and ultimately Jerusalem in 1099 established several crusader states. The First Crusade was marked by both extraordinary religious fervor and brutal violence, leaving a lasting legacy on Christian-Muslim relations and medieval European society.


First Crusade Details
Date 1096–1099
Location Levant (mainly modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Israel)
Result Crusader victory; establishment of several Crusader states
Belligerents Crusaders, Byzantine Empire vs. Seljuk Turks, Fatimid Caliphate
Key Figures (Crusaders) Pope Urban II, Godfrey of Bouillon, Raymond IV of Toulouse, Bohemond of Taranto, Tancred of Hauteville
Key Figures (Muslims) Kilij Arslan I, Kerbogha, Duqaq, Al-Afdal Shahanshah
Causes Byzantine request for aid against Seljuk Turks, religious zeal, promise of indulgences, desire for land and wealth
Major Battles Siege of Nicaea, Battle of Dorylaeum, Siege of Antioch, Siege of Jerusalem
Outcome Capture of Jerusalem and establishment of Crusader states: Kingdom of Jerusalem, County of Edessa, Principality of Antioch, County of Tripoli
Impact Strengthened the power of the Papacy, increased tensions between Christians and Muslims, influenced subsequent Crusades


Today, we explore a pivotal moment in medieval history, a moment that witnessed the collision of religion, politics, and military strategy, real religious zeal, but also real greed and ambition. Join us as we explore the First Crusade, a profound event that shaped the course of history. In the 11th century, the lands of the Eastern Mediterranean were a tapestry of conflicting interests. Kings and generals from Western Europe set their sights on Jerusalem, the holy city of three major Abrahamic religions. 


Table of Content


Battle of Manzikert 1071


The reign of Basil II was the pinnacle of the Eastern Roman Empire, as this emperor of the Macedonian dynasty was a true warrior, capable administrator, and cunning diplomat, who managed to endure civil war, defeats, and corruption to eventually crush his enemies including the Fatimids, Georgia, Khazars and most notably Bulgaria which he conquered in 1018. 


When he was not campaigning, Basil wrote laws, established the Varangian guard, and allied the Kievan Rus under the condition that they accept Orthodox Christianity. The man who would later be nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer would reign for forty-nine years and leave behind a vast treasury for his successors, all of which would live in the shadow of his memory. 


The first of these would be Constantine VIII, who ruled for three short years and despite being in his late sixties, he spent most of his time hunting, feasting, and blinding nobles. Factionalism and court intrigues during his reign showed the cracks of the empire. 


While he was on his deathbed he attempted to marry his daughter Zoe to the capable military commander and loyal duke of Antioch Constantine, but as the man-made his way to the capitol the royal advisers changed the selection to the old and feeble Romanos III who was easier to control, which was the sign that the Empire now preferred court intrigue and plotting to merit and good leadership. Romanos took the throne in 1028 and was eager to prove his worth so he decided to attack his own client state of Aleppo in July, but that ended in a catastrophic failure, as 20000 of his men died of heat, thirst, and dysentery. 


Meanwhile, Empress Zoe was hatching her own plots, spying on her sister Theodora and in her desperation to get pregnant at the age of 50 took on many lovers, while using magic charms, amulets and potions to no avail. In 1034 Zoe had her husband drowned in the bath, marrying one of her lowborn lovers named Michael on the very same day. The new emperor Michael IV was scared of Zoe and knew what she was capable of, so he had her confined to her chambers, while doing his best to restore the strength of the Empire. 


His rule saw significant improvements in the economic sector as well as a great victory over the Bulgarians, who started a major revolt, but neither of those achievements could directly be attributed to him. On the administrative side, there was John the eunuch who managed the finances, while the famous Viking Harald Hadrada was the man leading the Varangians to victory in 1041, earning himself the nickname the Bulgar Burner. 


Meanwhile, the Emperor became ill and began to shower the clergy with gifts to both appease them and find a cure, as countless generals wondered why this commoner got on the throne in the first place. Michael IV died from a natural death at the end of the year and was succeeded by his nephew Michael V, marking the first time in half a century when the Empire was not ruled by an old monarch.


 However, the tradition of being ruled by an incompetent monarch continued, as Michael immediately arrested Harald Hadrada, banished his uncle John and later his adoptive mother Empress Zoe, sparking a major revolt in the capital and causing a mob to raise both Macedonian sisters Zoe and Theodora as Empresses, while the future king of Norway blinded Michael, ending his four-month-long reign. 


The sisters now ruled the Empire, but before long factions began to form around them and scheme against each other, until Zoe decided to marry for the third time. Many candidates and former lovers were reviewed, but eventually, she settled on Constantine Monomachos and if the constant coronation sounds confusing, that’s because it was. More importantly, the tradition of handing out huge gifts at the coronation ceremony to earn the loyalty of the followers exhausted the rich treasury Basil left behind.


 Shortly after their wedding Constantine IX brought in his mistress Maria and exalted her to the status of Empress, convincing Zoe to share her throne and her bed with this woman, leading to a convoluted situation where the Eastern Roman Empire had an Emperor and three Empresses, who were about to face a wave of new and old opponents. The Byzantine holdings in Italy were crumbling under the wave of Norman invasions, Bulgaria was conquered, but it no longer served as the barrier to other nomadic people, which allowed the Pechenegs to cross the Danube and harass the Balkans, the Kievan Rus launched a huge invasion in 1043, which was stopped with the use of Greek fire. 


Despite all of these enemies and two major failed rebellions the Empire continued to expand, annexing the Armenian kingdom of Ani, a mountainous region that would have made for a good buffer state against the avalanche of Seljuk conquests. Nomadic military traditions met Sunni Islam and the combination fueled by the concept of jihad unleashed itself on the Islamic world, where despite being seen as barbarians by some, the undeniable military prowess of the Seljuks helped them unify most of the Middle East. 


They have now turned their gaze on the Orthodox Romans and Shiite Fatimids. Constantine’s reign ended in 1055 with another calamity that will leave a permanent mark on the Empire, the East-West Schism. The throne passed to the only surviving member of the Macedonian dynasty - Theodora who tried to centralize the power, while the court engaged in intrigues and plots. Her death a year later would bring an end to 189 years of rule under the dynasty. 


Naturally, civil war ensued and after it, Michael VI and Issac Komnenos ruled for a year each until Constantine X Doukas got his chance to start a dynasty. The court was purged, gifts and titles were once again handed out. Meanwhile, the enemies of the Empire were only growing stronger. In particular, the Seljuks themselves just had a change in leadership after the founder of the Empire Tughril died and was succeeded by his nephew Alp Arslan. 


The nomads derived their legitimacy from military success so the new sultan decided to prove himself by leading an expedition against the city of Ani, which was one of the largest cities in the world at the time. 


Despite its riches and dense population, its corrupted governor stole gold from the defense budget and when the Seljuks arrived they found a section of the city wall unguarded and pounced, subjecting it to a brutal sack in 1064. 


The last time the Eastern Romans suffered a defeat of this caliber was all the way back in 838 when Amorium was sacked by the Abbasids. 

Yet Constantinople’s only response was not to send an army and pick up the pieces, but to prosecute members of the Armenian clergy, while focusing entirely on the Italian lands they were losing. This complete lack of interest in the eastern frontier was coupled with a disintegration of the professional army, decreased army salaries, lack of repairs on the border forts, and reliance on mercenaries. Yet it was once again the final act written from his deathbed that was the most influential in the eight-year-long reign of Constantine X. 


Desperate to keep his dynasty in charge, the dying emperor made his wife Eudocia swear an oath in front of all court officials that she would take no future husband and rule as regent until their son could assume the throne. At this point in time, a massive Seljuk raid that penetrated deep into the Byzantine territory and the important city of Caesarea was sacked, while the empress discovered a plot by the duke of Serdica Romanos that quickly made her break the oath she swore. 


Knowing how fragile her position was and unlike her husband understanding the importance of keeping the nomadic raiders at bay, she turned to the now-imprisoned Romanos and made him an offer. The man was to marry her and defend the Empire against its enemies or die. This was a wise choice, considering the many noble families plotting to seize power for themselves most notably Constantine’s brother John, who as many notable generals in the past would defeat their foes only to gain confidence and rebel against the crown. 


Romanos accepted the offer and now owed his life to his Empress. He wasted no time in preparing against one of the greatest foes the Romans ever faced. Decades of decay and lack of funds had turned the once fearsome army into a mob of peasants and undisciplined mercenaries, which the new Emperor had to drill into a competent fighting force. 

First Crusade


In 1068 news spread of the plunder of Neocaesarea, so Romanos set out with a small force and chased the Seljuks for eight days until eventually engaging the nomads slowed down by the loot and slaves they carried. The cargo was abandoned and the Seljuks rushed back home, making the new emperor confident. Next, he regrouped with the main army to take Hierapolis from the Emirate of Aleppo.


 wisely avoiding the summer heat, before hearing of yet another raid that sacked Amorium. His first campaign had mixed results, but the soldiers were happy that they finally had a leader who fought alongside them, while his internal enemies did their best to focus on his failures to protect the Roman citizens. 


The following year another distraction was thrown in the mix as one of the Norman mercenaries Robert Crispin, leading a contingent of Frankish troops rebelled against the Empire and attacked tax collectors in Edessa. 


He was captured and exiled to the island of Abydos, allowing Romanos to continue his fight against the Seljuks. A large army went on to secure Akhlat on lake Van, while a smaller force under a subcommander was ordered to guard the border. That force was overwhelmed and the Seljuks razed another city, this time Iconium, forcing Romanos to give chase and pick up the abandoned loot after catching up with them. The frustration was building up as traditional tactics proved ineffective against the lighter armed cavalry force. 


The Byzantine army was expensive to upkeep and feed and while the emperor was campaigning the court was plotting, forcing Romanos to balance his military campaign with the administrative duties. Because of that, the campaign season of 1070 was entrusted to Manuel Komnenos, nephew of the former emperor Issac and elder brother to the future Alexios, while the Emperor focused on the loss of Italy and monetary reforms aimed at funding the army. 


Public events were restricted, the currency was debased from 87 to 70 percent gold and court salaries decreased, which hurt his image, but allowed him to gather the resources necessary to raise a significant army, which was needed now more than ever since Manuel was defeated and captured by a Seljuk general who used the classic feigned retreat maneuver. However while the noble was held hostage, he convinced the enemy general to change sides and escort Komnenos back to the capital.


 The combination of active leadership in the east, as well as the defection of a key general who also happened to be the sultan’s brother-in-law, escalated the conflict. Alp Arslan was more interested in his war against the Fatimids, as he considered their Shiism too heretical to suffer, but he could not neglect the Byzantines anymore, so the sultan personally led a campaign at the strategic region around lake Van in September 1070, taking the cities of Manzikert and Ahlat, before securing the allegiance of the Marwanids and attacking Edessa. 


The countryside was plundered, and the city garrison managed to hold off the attackers, but overall Alp Arslan got what he came for and could now divert his attention to the real foes in the south, first stopping by the city of Aleppo. The emir of the vassal city was ordered to come out and swear an oath, but he refused, which led to the siege of the city in April 1071. 


Deciding to use this to his advantage, Romanos quickly gathered his army and marched towards lake Van in an attempt to retake what was lost. His army included the professional Byzantine core as well as Bulgarians, Pechenegs, Oghuz Turks, Armenians, and Normans for a total of 40000. Every man was ordered to bring enough provisions for two months, which considering the size of the army and mountainous region was critical.


 The host reached lake Van in August, where the emperor divided his army into two equal parts in order to cover more ground, ease the logistical strain and simultaneously capture both Manzikert and Ahlat, which were a day’s march apart from each other. 


Upon hearing news of this movement, Alp Arslan abandoned Aleppo in May and rushed towards the lake with incredible speed, even losing many men who drowned crossing the Euphrates. Romanos and his advisers considered this to be an act of panic and assumed the sultan would need time to gather new recruits from his domain, while in reality, his forced march was able to surprise the secondary contingent sent to take Ahlat. 


The Byzantine force panicked and withdrew to Melitene without sending word to Romanos. The Seljuks numbered no more than 20000 and had just eliminated an equally large and better-armed force with their mere presence. On the next day, August 25, 1071, the Emperor who had just taken the city of Manzikert became aware of the Seljuk presence and was baffled to find out half of his men deserted him. 


He immediately sent out one of his commanders to push back the riders, assuming it was just a scouting party. The commander engaged the enemy, but after realizing this was the entire Seljuk army he withdrew and reported back to Romanos with two spears sticking out of his armor. More troops were sent, but Alp Arslan once again employed the feigned retreat to avoid casualties and captured a small squadron of men who overextended themselves. 


Romanos knew that after his reforms and all of the sacked cities, this was his chance to prove himself and eliminate the eastern threat for good so he ordered an attack against Alp Arslan, but by that time the nomads retreated to a nearby hilltop. The real battle would have to wait so the Romans went back to their fortified camp just outside Manzikert. 


Later that evening the Seljuks launched a devastating raid, taking advantage of the new moon and harassed whoever was outside the safety of the walls. An eyewitness account reports: “For who could get any sleep, when the danger had drawn its sword and pointed it at us?” At dawn, another raid was launched but was repelled by the infantry. 


Shortly afterwards, two messengers arrived telling Romanos that a group of Oghuz Turks defected and joined the sultan and that Alp Arslan himself wanted to discuss peace terms. The peace talks went on for some time, but the Emperor was aware that should he sign any kind of deal, he would be facing a rebellion back in Constantinople, so he abruptly ended the talks and signalled for his men to form up.


 Romanos took the center with the cavalry and Varangian guards, the western tagmata made up the left wing, while the right wing was comprised of the eastern units, finally, the rear was commanded by Andronikos Doukas, the nephew of Constantine X and member of the family which despised Romanos. His presence on the campaign was an attempt to ease tensions, but also as a guarantee that his father would not start an uprising in the capital. The Seljuks deployed their units in a crescent formation, protruding at the wings with Alp Arslan leading the center. 


Romanos, who was an experienced commander and capable fighter, slowly advanced on the enemy under constant arrow fire as they withdrew. Smaller engagements were fought, but eventually, by the end of the afternoon the Seljuks were pushed back and the sultan’s camp was captured. Romanos quickly realized that his army was losing cohesion and was afraid that if he didn’t reform the line in time, the enemy would rampage throughout his camp under the veil of darkness, so he ordered the imperial standard to be reversed, which was the command to withdraw. 


The fatigued, disorganized, and distant wings were confused by this and some misinterpreted it as a signal that Romanos had fallen. Gaps began to open and the reserve Seljuk force pounced at the opportunity to go through them and surround the Roman forces who had just marched over 10 kilometers in heavy armor and were struggling to organise a withdraw. 


Seeing this the rest of the Seljuk forces also rejoined the fight and it wasn't long before both wings collapsed and began to flee, leaving the center surrounded. The standard was once again reversed in an attempt to rally the troops, but by then it was too late, the only hope left lay in the hands of the rear guard and the Doukas family, who could prevent total disaster, as most of the men were not captured or slain, but merely retreated. 


It was in that crucial moment, when Andronikos announced that the emperor was dead and marched his men to Constantinople, spreading the word of the death of Romanos through the cities he passed along the way. 


Back in the camp, the non-combatants were utterly confused and reported: “It was like an earthquake, with howling, grief, sudden fear, clouds of dust and finally hoards of Turks riding all around”. As darkness set in, Romanos who had fought despite fatigue and wounds was captured and his camp was ransacked, most escaped as the riders were hesitant to blindly chase after the enemy on the mountain roads. 


And so the young Seljuk Empire matched the Sassanids in capturing a Roman emperor not far from the last time it occurred in Edessa 811 years ago, but rather than killing or humiliating his captive, Alp Arslan treated him well and with respect. A famous exchange reported by chroniclers on both sides quickly followed as Alp Arslan asked how he would have been treated if he was captured, to which Romanos replied that he would be killed in a cruel manner. 


The sultan instead offered to return Romanos to his home, dressed in the fine clothing of a Seljuk noble, with an escort and any prisoners he wanted to be freed. A peace treaty was signed, but we will never know if the sultan anticipated what happened next, for it was the release of a presumed dead Romanos that did irreparable damage to the Empire. 


Back in Constantinople the nobles immediately tried to distance themselves from their defeated leader and deposed him, quickly replacing him with Michael VII Doukas who exiled his mother Eudocia. 


They were well aware that Romanos still commanded respect among the soldiers and began assembling their own army to defeat him by exploiting the countryside since the royal treasury was empty. The Norman mercenary Robert was taken out of his cell and led a makeshift army that met Romanos in battle and defeated him, at the expense of many Roman lives. The civil war was brief and ended with the capture of the once-mighty commander who pleaded for mercy while he was blinded. The infection quickly set in and Romanos died soon after. 


Rise of Alexios Komnenos & Battle of Kalavrye 1078

Romanos’ stepson Michael VII now sat on the throne, but behind the scene, various noble families were competing for power and titles as the state crumbled. The young emperor would eventually earn the nickname Parapinakes or “minus-a-quarter” for the debasement of the currency solidus which now contained only 58% gold, with the remainder being made up of silver and copper. This meant that the buying power of the currency dropped, which in turn crippled the economy and when Michael raised the taxes there was an immediate response from the Balkans. 


In general, the sources claim that the 21-year-old emperor was a mere puppet ruled by different courtiers at different periods, and was only interested in hunting and feasts. Bulgarian rebels supported by Serbia raised a pretender Constantin Bodin in 1072 , who took Skopje and defeated the strategos of the Bulgarian theme. Nish and Ohrid quickly fell, before the Empire could organise a response. 


The rebels were crushed at Kastoria, but it would take until 1073 until the remnants were dealt with. Not only did this cost the empire crucial time, but it meant that they couldn't launch a full-scale counter-attack to the east, as a large portion of its professional army or tagmata was busy in the Balkans. 


The compromise was to send a smaller force under the command of Isaac Komnenos along with his younger brother Alexios, leading a tenth of what Romanos gathered two years earlier. Accompanying them was a cavalry force of 400 Frankish mercenaries headed by the Norman Roussel de Bailleul, who was present at Manzikert.


 By this point, the Seljuks had already broken the eastern defenses and roamed the Anatolian plateau unopposed, but the coastline was secure as well as any city with stone walls, so the region was far from being lost and this expeditionary force was crucial in asserting dominance over the nomads. The imperial army assembled in the area of Caesarea where a serious incident drove a wedge between the Byzantines and their mercenaries. After Isaac punished a Frankish soldier, the insulted Norman leader took his men and fled during the night. 


Upon hearing this news, the Byzantine commander considered sending Alexios to track them down, but that was when he was informed that a Seljuk force was approaching their position. The two armies met near Cappadocia and after a failed ambush Isaac was wounded and captured while Alexios barely escaped. Some of the fleeting soldiers were rejected from the nearby cities, who were afraid the Seljuks were close behind. 


Meanwhile, Roussel managed to defeat a different group of nomads and seized the town of Ancyra, where he proclaimed himself a prince and founded his own state. The news shocked the emperor who responded by sending his uncle John Doukas with considerable force to deal with the adventurer. Of the 12000 strong army, many were fresh recruits, with some veterans from the Manzikert as well as 1500 Varangians and 500 Franks. 


Once Roussel learned that the army crossed the Bosphorous he gathered his own 3000 men, most of whom were knights. The two armies met on 10th May 1074 on the bridge of the Sangarios River, not far from Amorium, which was the Norman powerbase. The Romans offered amnesty to the adventurer, but their offer was rejected. 


That is when, rather than waiting for reinforcements from the nearby cities, the inexperienced John Doukas ordered his men to charge across the river. The Byzantines were now in a very precarious position with the river at their back and the Norman army in front. The three divisions were arranged in two lines with the right flank led by the Franks, while John held the center with his Varangians, his son Andronikos was on the left, with the governor of the Anatolic theme Nikephoros Botaneiates in charge of the rearguard composed of the levies.


In the early hours of the next day, Roussel rode towards the Frankish line and addressed the men, urging them to defect, which they did. Together the two groups pushed against the Roman center. As the battle raged on between the most elite troops on the field, Nikephoros Botaneiates panicked and ordered a retreat, taking half the army to his estates. 


Seeing this, many began to surrender or retreat and before long the battle was over. John Doukas was captured alongside his son Andronikos, who now contemplated the irony as three years ago he was in charge of the rear guard and abandoned Romanos at Manzikert. A new army was quickly gathered under the command of his other son Constantine, but shortly after crossing to release his family, he died and another expedition disintegrated led to nothing but debt. 


Roussel decided to make another gamble by proclaiming the captured John Doukas as the new emperor. This was the pivotal moment when desperation forced the Roman hand to choose the lesser evil. After losing his bid for the Seljuk throne against Alp Arslan, Suleiman and his three brothers fled to the Taurus mountains back in 1064 and he became the sole survivor after multiple punitive raids. 


Now that Melikshah I ruled the Seljuk empire, which was weakening, Suleiman managed to establish himself in the region, which had the exact same climate conditions as the steppe, but was detached from the authority of Isfahan. The nomads raided, but also traded with the local Byzantines, who were themselves cut off from Constantinople, when suddenly Suleiman received an offer which would not only make him an ally of the empire, but also formalize his territorial claims and fill his pockets - all he had to do was deal with Roussel who just sacked Chrysopolis near Constantinople. 


The Norman finally met his match as he fell for the classic feigned retreat and was captured by the Seljuks, but before Constantinople could send their ransom, his wife showed up with a generous amount of gold, and the Seljuks released him. Desperation really kicked in and Michael used his connection to Georgia via his wife Maria to convince tsar George II to hold the eastern frontier and capture Roussel in return for Theodosiopolis, Tau, and Kars. 


The crucial cities and forts were handed over, but the Georgian army failed with many joining the Norman cause. All seemed lost, but the Byzantines were well aware that if this was not handled quickly, rebellions would erupt elsewhere proclaiming John as their rightful leader. The next candidate to step up to the job was Alexios Komnenos, a twenty-year-old, energetic, and charismatic man who was appointed commander-in-chief and sent to deal with the Roussel, without any significant funds or army. 


Unrelenting, the young man used his cunning and appealed to the Seljuks, promising them riches if they would capture the prince. The nomads agreed and once again accomplished their task, by inviting the wanted man to a feast and betraying him. 


Roussel was brought to the city of Amasya, but the problem was that Alexios didn’t have the funds he promised, so he turned to the local populace. Surprisingly the locals preferred the Norman garrison and grew fond of their prince who, unlike the empire, protected them from the Turkic raids. In order to convince them, Alexios blindfolded Roussel and announced that he was blinded and was in no condition to defend them anymore.


 This plan worked and after gathering the funds and paying the Seljuks, Alexios returned to Constantinople victorious and locked him in a dungeon in 1076. This is a good point to shift to the other side of our narrative as in 1076 the growing tensions between Pope Gregory VII and Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV erupted into what is now known as the Investiture Controversy. 


The boundaries between Imperial and Papal authority were always blurred, but Gregory was an overly ambitious and influential Pope who reformed the church enforcing celibacy for the clergy, and preached the idea of an organised papal army led by the pontiff. On one occasion he wanted to lead an expedition into Al Andalus, on another to aid the Eastern Roman Empire in retaking their lost lands provided they accept the primacy of the Catholic church, before that force retook the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.


 While these ideas sound familiar now, back then it was unheard of for a pope to wield that much power or even lead his own army. Already the seed of the future events was planted in a combination of the desperate Byzantine leadership asking for aid from the west and the desire for increased power for the papacy. 


Agents were sent throughout Europe exaggerating reports of violent barbarians defiling and harassing innocent pilgrims, despite the fact was that since the Islamic conquest of the Holy Lands thousands of pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem. Initially, the preferred route was to go to a maritime city, chiefly Venice, and then sail for two weeks, but over time the difficult naval trip was made worse by Arab pirates, and became less used than the land route. 


One could travel to Constantinople by land or sea, then take the Roman roads, enjoying hospitality in this medieval version of tourism, which the Normans, Seljuks, and general instability made worse. But the stars were not yet aligned for one of the most pivotal changes in history to occur, it would take a different Pope and different Eastern Roman Emperor for these ideas to coalesce. Back in Byzantium, the idea of handing out money to solve all of their problems was expanded upon, with the alliance with Hungary and the Normans. 


In fact, Robert Guiscard was paid a large amount of gold and given 40 titles to bestow upon his followers, each acting as an annual salary, but above all his daughter was betrothed to the son of the emperor. The idea behind this expensive endeavor was to ensure nominal control over southern Italy as well as buy time for the state to recover. 


All of this money had to come from somewhere so reform was passed aiming to centralise the grain trade. Until this moment, farmers sold their produce to merchants, who then sold the grain to the populace at a competitive price, but in these troubled times, tax evasion was widespread. The solution was to concentrate the entire grain trade to one city: Rhaedestus, where the price would be the same and each transaction much easier to tax.


 The immediate aftermath of this policy saw farmers withholding their grain in order to create a shortage, which would then raise the prices. The overcrowded city of Constantinople, filled with refugees from all the lands in Anatolia now given to the Seljuk allies, began to starve which led to an uprising. Emperor Michael managed to quell it, but the problems were just starting, as this rebellion led to the civil war. 


Usually, civil wars involved two sides, however, in this scenario, there were four separate rebellions each with its own goal. First, there was Philaretos Brachamios who carved out a large piece of the empire centered around Antioch after the Battle of Manzikert. He proclaimed himself emperor, and slowly expanded his realm, by attacking other Roman cities. Secondly, a federation of cities on the Danube river broke off and sided with the nomadic Pechenegs.


 In November 1077 the most powerful man in the Balkans, governor of the Dyrrhachion theme Nikephoros Bryennios also proclaimed himself Emperor and gathered a coalition of supporters, filled with veteran soldiers as he himself was a capable commander. Lastly, we have Nikephoros Botaneiates, the 76-year-old governor of the Anatolikon theme, with very few supporters or credentials who rebelled in October 1078. 


Bryennios took action and after taking over much of the western territories marched on Constantinople, hoping the people would embrace him, but after he was rejected he raided the suburbs. Pecheneg riders also rode south hoping to plunder some villages, forcing the pretender to pull back. In the meantime, Botaneiates was well aware that he could not take the city on his own, so he pushed the next domino in our story by hiring Seljuk mercenaries. 


After he took Nicea he stationed many of them as garrison forces in western Anatolia, including key cities like Pergamon, Ephesus, and Sardis, cities these steppe riders could hardly take on their own, with the assumption that the moment he asked for them to leave, they would follow his command. Back in Constantinople, the aristocracy knew they had to pick a side, so they chose not based on merit, but on how easy it would be to control the next ruler. 


The city rebelled forcing Michael to abdicate, and Botaneiates was invited to take the throne, which he did as Nikephoros III. The new emperor made a deal with the wife of Michael Maria - she married him in exchange for the recognition of her child Constantin Doukas as the heir of the throne. 


Nikephoros III then proceeded to hand out the customary gifts and titles, but doubled down by forgiving all debt and expanding various rights to secure the rule of his new dynasty. One of those titles was that of Caesar or second in command which he offered to Bryennios, but was rejected. Brachamios on the other hand agreed to accept him as emperor in return for control over his territory stretching between the key cities Antioch, Melitine, and Edessa. 


However, rebellions didn’t die out and Bryennios was able to take over most of the Balkans, forcing Nikephoros III to appoint Alexios to crush him. It was 1078 and Alexios marched west an army between 5000 and 10000 troops, 2000 of which were Seljuk cavalry, 2000 Chomatenoi or elite infantrymen, a few hundred Frankish knights a newly raised regiment of Athantoi or Immortals , with the remainder made up of newly raised levies. The rebel army was not only more numerous: composed of 12000 seasoned warriors, a mixture of Tagmata, Slavic, Pecheneg, and Frankish mercenaries, but was also led by a more experienced commander. 


Alexios made camp on a shore of a small stream near the fortress of Kalavrye, but he didn’t fortify his camp as a sign of strength. He quickly sent out Seljuk scouts, learning the location and size of the enemy force, but some of the scouts got captured and that exposed his own position. Bryennios knew that he had his opponent outnumbered, so he marched his army for the decisive battle. 


Alexios was on the defense and held the left flank with his Immortals, the center was made up of Franks while the right under the command of Constantine Katakalon was made up of the Chomatenoi and Seljuks. The Turks made up an extreme right wing ready to counteract the enemy Pechenegs, with another smaller detachment on the far left positioned within a hollow, concealed from the enemy.


 Bryennios had deployed his army in three divisions each in two lines with Pecheneg cavalry to his far left. The right wing consisted of a 5000-strong unit bolstered by Frankish knights and Thessalian cavalry under his brother John. 


His left was made up of 4000 troops from Thrace and Macedonia, while he led the 4000 strong center. As the rebels approached, the ace Alexios hid was sprung and the powerful wing under John was caught between Immortals led by Alexios and those lying in ambush, who were now rushing towards the battle with war cries. The rebels panicked, but after cutting down one of his enemies, Bryennios rallied his men, halting their route and urging them back into the fray.


 Despite his best efforts, Alexios, who was in the midst of the battle slashing with his sword, saw his men break and flee as they were chased and cut down. Meanwhile, on his right, the Pechenegs managed to evade the Seljuk riders and overwhelmed the right wing. In the center, Nikephoros persuaded the franks to desert the loyalists as they swore fealty to him in the middle of the battle. 


All seemed lost, so Alexios gathered six of his companions and charged into the enemy line, hoping to kill the usurper and end the war. It was aided by the sudden decision of the Pecheneg riders to turn back and rush towards the camp of their allies. They took as much loot as they could while the camp followers ran to the safety of the rear guard. 


Part of the Bryennios’ army was celebrating, while the others were running and it was in this atmosphere of utter confusion that Alexios spotted the purple-clothed royal horse with both swords of state to its side. He immediately rushed in, killed some retainers, and rode off with it back to his camp. Once he arrived, he found the remnants of his now shattered army and began lifting their spirits, spreading the rumour that the enemy commander was dead as he rode atop his horse. 


At that very moment, an extra contingent of Seljuk horse archers made their way to the camp, just in time for the counter-attack the loyalists were about to launch on the unsuspecting enemy. The reformed army was once again divided in three, with two detachments lying in ambush, while the third, a mix of Seljuks and Immortals planned to execute the classic, but extremely difficult feigned retreat. Multiple small groups of nomads fired their arrows at the rebels, scattering many of them, next the heavy cavalry charged in. 


One of the riders spotted Bryennios and, according to the Alexiad, “dashed at full gallop straight at Bryennios, and thrust his spear with great violence against the latter's breast. Bryennios for his part whipped out his sword quickly from its sheath, and before the spear could be driven home, he cut it in two, and struck his adversary on the collar bone, and bringing down the blow with the whole power of his arm, cut away the man's whole arm, breastplate included”.


 After a while Alexios ordered the retreat, hoping it wouldn't turn into a rout as the veterans gave chase. Again, according to the Alexiad, “Forthwith, at a given signal, those in ambush rode through them like swarms of wasps, from various directions, and with their loud war-cries, and shouts, and incessant shooting, not only filled the ears of Bryennios' men with a terrible din, but also utterly obscured their sight by showering arrows upon them from all sides”. 


The bold plan had worked and before long the rebel leader was exhausted and despite his best efforts the day belonged to Alexios Komnenos. Bryennios was blinded, but pardoned and allowed to return to Adrianople. As for the victorious general, he was not allowed back into the capital, and instead was sent out against a new pretender Nikephoros Basilakes, who rose up in Thessaloniki, attracting many of the remaining rebels. 


But one night attack later and this rebellion was also put down. It was now 1080 and the gold content of the solidus fell to 33%, as the fourth Nikephoros rose up in rebellion, this time it was Melissenos who rebelled with the aid of Suleiman. 


By that point, Suleiman received the title of the Sultan of Rum from sultan Melikshah. In return for Suleiman’s support, Melissenos opened the gates of Nicea, which fell into the hands of the Sultanate of Rum, once again without a fight. Alexios was ordered to deal with the man who happened to be his brother-in-law, but this time he refused. 


No action was taken against him, since news reached the capital that Robert Guiscard was preparing to launch a massive invasion, after a monk impersonating Michael VII appealed to him to take back his throne and Alexios was needed to stop that incursion. And it was right around this time when the old and childless Nikephoros III decided to break the agreement he made with Maria and appointed one of his relatives the heir, alienating the Komnenoi family, which joined the rebels.


 In April 1081 a band of German mercenaries was bribed and opened the gates of Constantinople to Alexios and his army, which proceeded to brutally sack the city . The Varangian guard continued to defend the palace, but three days later the Patriarch convinced the now 79-year-old emperor to abdicate. Alexios I Komnenos became the emperor. 


While we now tend to think of Alexios as a capable ruler, at the time of his coronation the Sultanate of Rum was handed most of Anatolia and supported another pretender to the throne a usurper, the Normans were about to invade, control over Serbia and Bulgaria was nominal, the alliance of the Danubian cities was in a rebellion supported by the Pechenegs, the treasury was empty, the manpower was depleted and the solidus fell to 10% gold content.


First Crusade

No man alive could unify the bickering families and hold the empire together, while also campaigning against this many enemies, but Alexios’ mother Anna Dalassene was no man. Alexios’s mother not only played a pivotal role in his rebellion, but was the real power behind the administration for the next 15 years, second only to her son. She arranged marriage alliances and delicately balanced the power between the most powerful people in the empire. The previous approach of purging political opponents was abandoned and replaced with mercy and amnesty. Many old titles were discarded and instead new ones were created.


 Nikephoros Melissenos was pardoned and made Caesar as well as the governor of Thessaloniki. The extended Komnenos family was given important posts. Precious gifts were sent to the Pope, Doge, Holy Roman Emperor, and various Italian lords, while Alexios mustered an army to meet Robert Guiscard. 


You can check out the two videos we made covering the conflict including the Battle of Dyrrhachium, which was as devastating as Manzikert, via the link in the description and in the top right corner. Despite numerous setbacks, Alexios and his coalition held out long enough until Guiscard died of malaria in 1085, but in order to repay the Venetian allies who made this victory possible, Alexios made considerable concessions to the republic. The Doge was granted the new hereditary title of Protosebastos making him the fourth in imperial seniority. 


The Venetians were granted gold, honors, and several churches in the empire. Shops houses and 3 landing stages were granted on the golden horn and all Venetian traders were exempt from customs duties and sea taxes. 


In return, Venice was to answer when called upon and defend the Adriatic border. This caused a drastic shift and would spiral out of control as western trade colonies drove the local merchants out of a job. We now have to talk about the catalyst behind many events - climate change. With the help of modern Climatology, historians like Ronnie Elenbloom and Richard Bulliet were able to describe the extreme events occurring in this timeline. 

First Crusade

Rise of Seljuk Empire

On one hand the Medieval Warm period, spanning approximately from 950 to 1250, coupled with developments in iron smelting led to a population boom in Europe, particularly in modern day France, England and Germany which could now access new fertile lands due to the adoption of horseshoes and the heavy plow. This population growth meant that many could join an armed pilgrimage under the right circumstances. 


On the other hand the entire Middle East was destabilised by dry and extremely cold winters. Egypt which was the breadbasket of the region for millenia was barren after consecutive years of droughts causing famine and pestilence across the Islamic world. As the cold set in, numerous steppe people migrated west, pillaging everything in their path to sustain themselves. The climate instability was mirrored by a political one, as the once mighty Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad was only a spiritual figurehead, a puppet under the control of the reigning Buyid dynasty. 


The Seljuks - a tribe within the Oghuz Turks, were an underdog faction that was cast out from one place to another, offering their military service in return for land. Despite embracing Sunni Islam, they were seen as a threat by the Ghaznavid Empire. After the Seljuk leader Tughril proclaimed himself ruler of Khurasan, the Ghaznavid sultan Mas'ud launched a campaign, taking the cities of Herat and Nishapur before making his way towards Merv. 


Along the way his supply lines were harassed by hit and run tactics and the vastly superior army including 50000 men and 12 elephants was suddenly caught out in the desert with no fresh water. On May 23 1040 the battle of Dandanaqan featured one of the biggest upsets in history as a 16000 strong lightly armored force humiliated the Ghaznavid sultan in front of his vizir, chief secretary and generals, who barely escaped. 


The Ghaznavid fell into decline and civil war, losing everything outside of a small holding in India, while the Seljuks rose to prominence. Tuhgril appointed his brother Chagri as governor of Khurasan while he went on to conquer and vassalise most of modern day Iran within the next 10 years. 


The two key factors that allowed a small band of renegades to build a massive empire were the military prowess and piety of Tuhgril and his followers, which attracted many Sunni followers. 


This rising tide was aimed towards the Shia people in Iran and in particular the Fatimid Caliphate, but Tughril didn’t fail to realize that in order to conquer Egypt he would first need to defeat the decaying Eastern Roman Empire.


 As we showed previously, the Byzantines were barely holding on to the immense gains of Basil II, which included the newly formed theme of Iberia. 


Additionally they had relatively friendly relations with the Fatimids, frequently sending gifts to each other, releasing prisoners and administering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre since 1037. And so in order to weaken the Romans, as well as secure the highly important grasslands of modern day Azerbaijan, Tughril sent an invasion force in 1048 which was defeated, but followed up by a much larger one under the command of his halfbrother Ibrahim Inal in September of the same year. The Byzantine army was a shadow of its former self, with many of the best soldiers sent west to deal with a rebel army.


 The governor of the newly conquered Ani wanted to launch a preemptive strike, before the Seljuks could raid the countryside, but the governor of Vaspurakan, who also happened to be the son of the last Bulgarian tsar, advised caution and waited for the right moment. The commanders agreed to take the latter approach and to await reinforcements from the Georgian prince Liparit. The Seljuks raided the entire area between Trebizond and Taron, but the main army was focused on the district of Basean, attacking the market town of Artze, where the defenders were caught between a fire and the Turkish arrows. 


Thousands died or were enslaved as the town was ransacked and destroyed. As soon as the Georgian reinforcements arrived, the Byzantines formed up for battle at the plain near the fortress of Kapetron. Contemporary sources exaggerate the figures and we have no clear number, but it was a massive battle in which the Seljuks had the numerical advantage. The Georgians formed the center, the governor of Vaspurakan held the left, while the governor of Ani made up the right wing. The battle began in the evening and was mostly fought in the dark with both Byzantine commanders defeating a disorganised Seljuk advance on the wings, but in the center Ibrahim captured Liparit after his horse was shot with an arrow. 


He then withdrew to the east, while the Romans went back to their respective bases. This nocturnal battle was the first major engagement between these sides and ended up with mixed results. The Seljuks suffered in both men and reputation, but came back with many camels loaded with loot and while the Byzantines repelled two invasions with very limited resources, the devastation on the region left a lasting impact on the economy. 


The Georgian leader was released after promising to never fight the Seljuks again and an emissary was sent to Constantinople to demand tribute from the Emperor. That request was denied, but Tughril was allowed to sponsor the restoration of the mosque in the capital. By 1050, one of the key Seljuk allies, the Kakuyid emir Faramurz rebelled, but he was swiftly defeated by the nomads who captured Isfahan, bringing the entirety of Persia under their control. Seeing where the wind was blowing, the puppet Abbasid Caliph invited Tughril to Baghdad to replace the Shia Buyid dynasty, which was done in 1055 under the pretext of a pilgrimage to Mecca. 


Despite the accumulating power, the Seljuk Empire relied on the loyalty of the most powerful family members as well as Persian bureaucrats, both of which were often fickle. Tughril’s vizier Al-Kunduri constantly conspired against the sultan in order to benefit his own cause, while Ibrahim, who felt like he was not getting enough credit for his raids rebelled in 1058, but was unable to gather enough support and was strangled with a bowstring by his halfbrother.


 Internally the Seljuks were extremely divided and needed continuous military campaigns, so to feed this hunger, Tughril started sending annual raiding parties into Byzantium, starting with the sack of Meletine in 1058, while expanding into Armenia and the Levant. 


Both the Byzantines and the Fatimids were suffering from factionalism, the latter being ruled by Al-Mustansir Billah who reigned from 1036 until 1094, one of the longest reigning and inept Muslim rulers. During his reign power shifted from his mother to his viziers while another group of Turks harassed the populace already suffering from one of the worst famines in Egyptian history. 


The coastal cities in the Levant were mostly autonomous and fell to the Seljuks in the 1060s in quick succession. In 1063 The Seljuk sultan died after appointing his nephew Suleiman as his legal heir. In reality Suleiman’s elder brother Alp Arslan took up the mantle and marched on the capital of Rey, while Tughril’s cousin Qutalmish, who also wanted the throne rushed from his base in Girdkuh, reaching the city first. However, the vizier Al-Kunduri declared his support for Alp Arslan, which forced Qutalmish besiege the city in November 1063. 


This delay proved critical as it allowed for Arslan’s army to arrive, forcing Qutalmish to lift to siege and engage his enemy, crushing the opponent’s vanguard. Knowing that the remainder of the army was to the east, the pretender diverted the course of a creek to block their path, but eventually Alp Arslan made his way through the marshland and defeated his relative. In his flight Qutalmish fell from a cliff, while his sons were taken as prisoners. 


Alp Arslan had big shoes to fill, so he immediately set out on a campaign against Armenia and Georgia, sacking the great city of Ani after a 25-day siege. It was at this time when the Eastern Roman Empire finally decided to focus on its eastern frontier under the leadership of the energetic Romanos IV, but the expert leadership of Alp Arslan and nomadic tactics were no match for the slow to respond and divided Empire. In 1071 after the battle of Manzikert, Romanos was captured and then set free, which led to another civil war, while Alp Arslan turned to the east. 


The following events are described differently by the various sources, but in the end this is the most likely sequence: After Alp Arslan surrounded and captured the Karakhanid Berzem fortress, its commander was brought before the sultan and was tied to a stake for execution. He complained that he didn’t wish to die in such a disgraceful way, so Alp Arslan ordered him to be untied and shot an arrow at him, missing his target, for the first time in his life, according to the sources. The man then rushed at the sultan, who rose from his throne but stumbled and fell. 


The desperate fortress owner grabbed his dagger and stabbed him several times before one of the servants killed him. Alp Arslan suffered from his injuries for four days before he died and was succeeded by his son Malikshah . 


This led to another period of internal instability during which the rival tribes fought each other and began raiding independently, while the four sons of Qutalmish managed to escape into Anatolia, led by the eldest brother Suleiman who used shrewd diplomacy and brilliant military tactics to eventually create the Sultanate of Rum after he allied the Byzantines who handed him several key fortresses in western Anatolia. 


Melikshah I began his reign by defeating his uncle Qavurt. He then turned his attention to the Karakhanids and Ghaznavids who tried to capitalize on Alp Arslan’s death, and defeated both of them. In 1076 the leader of the unruly Nawakiyya Turcoman tribe captured Damascus and most of southern Syria before being defeated at Cairo and appealing to Malikshah I. 


His brother Tutush was sent to Damascus to relieve the Fatimid siege which he did, before entering the city, killing the Nawakiyya leader and establishing a base from which he conquered Sidon, Gibelcar, Tiberias, Ramla, Jaffa and most importantly Jerusalem. Malikshah I reigned during the peak of the Seljuk Empire alongside his incredibly skilled vizier Nizam al-Mulk, who’s policies during the rule of both Alp Arslan and his brother brought stability and prosperity to the state. Many schools and observatories were founded acting as predecessors to the universities later created in Europe, acting as centers of learning and art.


 Caravanserai were built on many important roads to support trade links, where food and accomodation was provided by the state. Taxation, Administration and Justice were centralised and executed by the most talented bureaucrats. After his death in a hunting expedition in 1092 the Seljuk Empire broke apart similarly to how the Mongol Empire fragmented, with his four sons and numerous other tribes and local governors carving up a piece for themselves. 


Tutush and Suleiman clashed in their desire to control Aleppo, both proclaiming themselves sultan. At this point our story syncs up and we can turn back to Alexios Komnenos who just managed to solve the Norman crisis and now prepared a major expedition against nomadic Pechenegs and the local cities on the bank of the Danube river who supported them. This divide existed for over a decade, but what escalated the situation was Alexios’s harsh treatment of the Paulician community in Philippopolis after they refused to aid him in his Norman campaigns. 


The two rebel groups and the Pechenegs allied and invaded Thrace in 1087 going as far as the suburbs of Constantinople. Rather than chasing nomads up and down, Alexios conceived a much grander plan: Within 40 days Alexios and his key generals gathered a large army, which would make its way north, while a massive fleet shadowing its movement before entering the mouth of the Danube. 


At the war council one of the key generals Nikephorous Bryenios, a blind former rival had this to say about the plan: “Sir, if you cross the Haemus mountains you will appreciate the fastest horses” when another council member asked him to elaborate he simply added “for the flight”. 


Despite the warning and centuries of experience fighting the Bulgarians in the region, Alexios marched on directly at the city of Drastar in order to cut off the Pechenegs from the supplies they needed to survive. Envoys were sent to discuss peace terms, but Alexios bet too much on this campaign to walk home with a simple treaty, so he arrested them. The now enraged nomads employed hit and run tactics on the Byzantine foragers and the army camp. Still Alexios managed to reach the trade city and take it, with the exception of its two citadels, the defenders of which held out. 


Not wanting to be caught in between a siege and a nomadic army Alexios ordered a withdrawal and sought out the Pechenegs in open combat, as he was well aware that he could not sustain his army for long. It didn’t take long before the horse riders were spotted and Alexios manned the center, while the wings were commanded by his brother Adrianos and Nikephoros Melissenos. Alexios ordered his infantry to hold their formation under any circumstances, while the Pechengs formed up with their wagons forming a circle behind them. 


The two sides clashed and fought for an extended amount of time, with the nomads constantly evading the Romans as they fired arrows from horseback, both suffering heavy casualties, until another group appeared on the horizon, forcing the imperial army to flee. The son of Romanos died in combat, while Alexios himself was struck by a spear in the buttocks. 


In their route the Byzantines had to abandon the shroud of the Virgin Mary by hiding it in some bushes after it was brought on campaign to boost the morale of the soldiers. Broken, scattered and chased down by the nomads, many soldiers were lost in the woods for weeks before finding their way back home. 


However shortly after the battle another nomadic group - the Cumans who were called upon by the Pechengs to aid them, arrived after the battle was done. Regardless they demanded their share of the plunder, while the Pechenegs argued that the spoils should go to the many injured warriors. The argument spiraled out of control and the two sides clashed with the Cumans winning over all of the spoils and chasing the Pechenegs down. 


In the next three years, Alexios changed his strategy, taking control over small bands of units defending against raids and tracking down nomads. In one instance we are told of Alexios suspending wagons over the walls of a city and dropping them down on the unsuspecting raiders below causing confusion. Balkan peasants were recruited as infantry while Turkic and Latin riders were hired as mercenaries. Meanwhile, a new threat rose from Anatolia in the form of a renegade Seljuk pirate. Chaka who was theoretically part of the Sultanate of Rum built a fleet from his base in Smyrna in 1088 and began raiding and capturing Aegean islands including Lesbos, Samos, Chios and Rhode s. 


He also reached out and coordinated his attacks with the two rebel governors of Crete and Cyprus who were unhappy with the taxing policies of Alexios. After hearing of the battle of Drastar, Chaka also managed to send messages to the Pechengs convincing them to launch a new major offensive against Constantinople while he distracted Alexios with his navy. As a response Alexios reached out to the Cumans and won them over to his side, by promising them all of the captives and loot from any battle against their now common enemy. 


In 1091, the Pechenegs raided Thrace again and the Romans met the Cumans at Levounion. The combined army assembled against the incoming Pechenegs and Alexios sent imperial standard bearers to the Cuman side which made up the right wing, ensuring that they would not betray him in the middle of the battle. On the left wing Seljuk and Latin knights pursued the confused Pechengs who were sustaining heavy arrow fire and had nowhere to run, as their wagons were positioned behind them. The trap was set and now the imperial infantry pressed forward and began slaughtering the nomads who had also brought their wives and children. 


Alexios capitalized on this overwhelming victory ordering servants to bring wineskins full of water to his troops, refreshing them and ensuring they finished the job. The carnage was so severe that it led to a saying referencing the date of 29th april 1091: “All because of one day, the Scyths never saw the month of May” In reality few managed to escape, while others were taken captive and settled near Thessaloniki to serve in the army, but either way they will never play a significant role in history again. 


Pope urban calls for Crusade


So far we have covered the first decade of Alexios Komnenos reign as he usurped the throne of a bankrupted and exhausted Eastern Roman Empire in 1081. He fought off the Normans and Pechenegs and restored imperial authority, while maintaining the balance between the powerful noble families, clergy and commoners. And yet the biggest issue on the agenda was left unaddressed. 


The now firmly established Sultanate of Rum, which began as a branch of the Seljuk Empire, was no longer a vassal of the Byzantines. A year after his victory at the Battle of Levounion, Alexios launched several ambitious social and monetary reforms and crowned his son John as heir, before assembling an army to reconquer Anatolia. But before he could depart, news of a Serbian uprising reached the capital and the emperor knew that he could not campaign in the east, while the west was in open rebellion so he set out towards Dyrrachium. 


As the army moved across the Via Egnatia in 1093 Nikephoros Diogenes, the son of Romanos IV was caught with a concealed dagger. After being tortured the co-conspiritors were revealed and to the emperor’s surprise the list included the former empress Maria and his own brother Adrianos who plotted to kill him. Alexios came to the realization that the Empire was not stable enough to afford a large-scale lengthy campaign against the Seljuks and that with every idle moment it was slipping back to the disasters he fought so desperately to avoid. 


Luckily he was meticulously working on another plan. After witnessing the military prowess of the Norman knights first hand, Alexios appealed to the courts of the west, hoping to inspire an armed pilgrimage, which would reconquer the Roman lands for more than just gold. Agents spread the stories of how the Turks extorted and killed innocent pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. 


How the Muslims destroyed holy sites and turned ancient churches into mosques or stables, how Christian men and women were enslaved and violated. Along with these, came generous donations of not just coins, but precious artifacts, even pieces of the true cross, giving a taste of what was to come, if a group of knights would take up this colossal task and act as a new kind of mercenary force. 


The Seljuk treatment of the many pilgrims who made their way towards Jerusalem was exaggerated, but not untrue. In contrast to the sedentary Islamic population, the nomads didn’t strictly follow the Islamic Laws of War and were known for their brutal punishments and executions - the Seljuk realm was decentralized and rogue chieftains often enacted their own justice. More importantly Jerusalem as well as the entire Seljuk Empire was in a period of turmoil caused by a succession crisis with at least four pretenders and many other governors fighting each other. The majority of Christian Europe was illiterate and obsessed with holy relics. 


There were numerous sites that people believed to be sacred and groups of people were displaying the bones of supposed saints for a few coins. And yet the most holy of sites was that of Jerusalem and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, from which pilgrims would bring back scrapings of rock or dirt as proof of their journey. That very church was destroyed by the Fatimid Caliph in 1009 and rebuilt in 1048 with Byzantine resources, fear took hold of the populace, who thought the Seljuks would do the same. In fact many believed that Jesus would return around this time, to the place of his birth. 


Natural occurrences, such as meteor showers and earthquakes at the time, only deepened the fears and hopes of the Christian world. For centuries the main opposition to Islam came from the borders with that world: Iberia, Sicily, south Italy and Byzantium, but a new movement was starting to develop within Lorraine, Burgundy and France, one which called for a completely new type of war: A Holy War. Pope Urban II himself cited the Book of Daniel stating that God had indeed "changed the times" and offered a new remedy for human sin. 


The pagans to the north were gone, the Reconquista was yet another source of fear and hope and the nobles were obsessed with the idea of a just war. The lords who dominated the fractured monarchies grew rich and numerous with the technological and agricultural innovations of the eleventh century and by now most houses adopted Primogeniture, which meant that the older sons inherited the domain, leaving younger sons without a purpose, often turning against each other despite the outcries of the church. 


Pilgrimage was one of the best ways for the Latins to repent for their sins, whether it was to Santiago de Compostela, Rome or Jerusalem, as long as they could afford it. They knew the road, how to fight, but lacked a common goal and leader. 


Until this period, the Papacy had little more than nominal power, but the energetic pontificates of Leo IX, Nicholas II, Alexander II and especially Gregory VII, [lead] the Papal States vied [to vie] for power and the authority over the entire Catholic world. Leo IX personally led an army in 1053 as seen in our series on the Normans in Italy.


First Crusade

In 1063 Alexander II sent a papal banner and an indulgence for those who fell in battle against the Muslims to the army preparing for the siege of Barbastro in Spain and another one to William of Normandy as he was preparing his conquest of England. In 1073 Gregory VII proposed to lead an army to aid Constantinople and now Urban II who had just regained the Papal seat from the Antipope in 1093, the year the plot to kill Alexios was thwarted, was preparing to outdo them all. Pope Urban II was elected in 1088 and was one of the most prominent supporters of the Gregorian reforms, which outlined the superiority of the Church over the secular rulers. 


Initially, he was isolated from Rome due to his clash with Holy Roman emperor Henry IV, but he was energetic, well spoken and extremely charismatic, touring Norman Italy, gathering support everywhere he went. Determined to gain the pontificate he even reached out to the Eastern Roman Empire, extending the friendly correspondance with Alexios, which was established by the former Pope Victor III. 


Even after being recognized as the bishop of Rome in 1093, he continued his frantic expeditions across Christendom and and assembled the council of Piacenza in March 1095, which was centered around church reform, the antipope, heresy and the issue of the French king Philip I who married Bertrade of Montfort, despite the fact that they both had spouses of their own, for which he was excommunicated. 


This council was in direct opposition of the Holy Roman Emperor who was now fighting a civil war against his wife and son, which further strengthened Urban’s claims. At the end of the proceedings a few Byzantine ambassadors joined the council and Urban inspired many soldiers to enter Alexios’s service in his war against the Turks, and in return all of their sins would be forgiven. This was only a small preview, during which the Pope tried to see how his audience would respond, before he could proceed with the grand tour of France he planned. 


The next crucial step was securing the support of two notable figures. The first was Bishop Adhemar who would become the spiritual leader of the movement, while the second was count Raymond of Toulouse, who was incredibly wealthy, had already fought Muslims in Iberia and made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. With their allegiance secured, Urban crossed the Alps in July 1095 and entered France in full regalia to the cheers of massive crowds who had not seen a Pope in half a century. The first place he went to was Clermont where he held a council on November 17. 


For ten days he discussed clerical matters, but suddenly he asked everyone to step outside the church and addressed over 400 listeners, making arguably the most influential speech in history. 


We have six accounts recounting that proclamation, each of which was written after the capture of Jerusalem and slightly differents from the rest, but here is a part of one of them, written by a man who attended the council: “Now that you, o sons of God, have consecrated yourselves to God to maintain peace among yourselves more vigorously and to uphold the laws of the Church faithfully, there is work to do, for you must turn the strength of your sincerity, now that you are aroused by divine correction, to another affair that concerns you and God. 


Hastening to the way, you must help your brothers living in the Orient, who need your aid for which they have already cried out many times. 


For, as most of you have been told, the Turks, a race of Persians, who have penetrated within the boundaries of Romania even to the Mediterranean to that point which they call the Arm of Saint George;' in occupying more and more of the lands of the Christians, have overcome them, already victims of seven battles, and have killed and captured them, have overthrown churches, and have laid waste God's kingdom.


 If you permit this supinely for very long, God's faithful ones will be still further subjected. Concerning this affair, I, with suppliant prayer- not I, but the Lord - exhort you, heralds of Christ, to persuade all of whatever class, both knights and footmen, both rich and poor, in numerous edicts, to strive to help expel that wicked race from our Christian lands before it is too late. I speak to those present, I send word to those not here; moreover, Christ commands it. 


Remission of sins will be granted for those going thither, if they end a shackled life either on land or in crossing the sea, or in struggling against the heathen. I, being vested with that gift from God, grant this to those who go. Let those, who are accustomed to wage private wars wastefully even against Believers, go forth against the Infidels in a battle worthy to be undertaken now and to be finished in victory. Now, let those, who until recently existed as plunderers, be soldiers of Christ; now, let those, who formerly contended against brothers and relations, rightly fight barbarians; now, let those, who recently were hired for a few pieces of silver, win their eternal reward. 


Let those, who wearied themselves to the detriment of body and soul, labor for a twofold honor. Nay, more, the sorrowful here will be glad there, the poor here will be rich there, and the enemies of the Lord here will be His friends there. Let no delay postpone the journey of those about to go, but when they have collected the money owed to them and the expenses for the journey, and when winter has ended and spring has come, let them enter the crossroads courageously with the Lord going on before.” Contrary to popular belief, there was no overwhelming cheer proclaiming Deus Vult, in fact the reception was mixed. 


At the end of this speech, Bishop Adhemar stepped forward and was the first to proclaim that he would go on to this crusade, sowing a red cross to his shoulder. The outline of this massive project was set and regardless of which version we interpret, the points Urban was trying to make are clear: Christendom should unite and stop its internal, sinful conflicts and instead direct them against the Muslims who commit atrocities against the pilgrims, in order to aid the Eastern Roman Empire and liberate the Holy Sepulcher in return for remission of all sins. 


Pope Urban II had the same goal as Gregory, but was far more diplomatic as well as being a marketing genius taking the idea of the pilgrimage, which was already the most popular option the nobility took in order to repent for their sins and repackaging it with a new purpose, one which would solve domestic disputes, while also boosting the legitimacy of the Papacy in both the West and the East. This armed pilgrimage was open to all, but intentionally directed at the knights of France and excluded the peasants, women, children, elderly and clergy unless a special permission was granted. 


Notably, simply joining this crusade would not result in remission of all sin and the crusaders were required to act appropriately and pay for the expenses of their own journey. Each man who joined had to wear a cross on his shoulder and not take it off until he returned. Anyone who took the cross, but failed to fulfill their oath was to be treated as an outlaw and if anyone who touched the property of a crusader in the next three years, was to be excommunicated. 


This was to be a massive project, on a scale unseen since the days of the Roman emperor Trajan with many logistical difficulties, most of which were to be met by the Eastern Roman Empire, so to tackle it, Urban set the date of August 15, 1096 the time of the harvest in the region, which meant that the Byzantines would be able to supply the army. Several armies under different leaders were to depart from different locations, so that no region was to be exhausted by the crusaders, while the whole enterprise was to be under the guidance of Bishop Adhemar. 


Many historical narratives begin the story of the First Crusade at the council of Clermont, but this is not entirely true. The Pope began his grand tour of France and within the next 13 months he visited dozens of cities including Le Puy, Avignon, Lyon, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Carcassonne, Montpellier, saving the biggest cities for special occasions like Christmas or Easter, while carefully avoiding the Normans of Normandy who disagreed with him and the Royal domain of the French king, who he excommunicated. With each visit, the crowds grew larger and the outcry louder. As he was traveling he also wrote letters to lords and clergymen, several of which survived. 


In them we already see the euphoria taking over as the general population took this novel idea and ran with it. In his letters the Pope recognizes that the response was larger than he ever anticipated and desperately attempts to take back control of the situation: “To neither clerics nor monks, however, do we concede permission to go without the permission of their bishops or abbots. Let it be the bishops' duty to permit their parishioners to go only with the advice and provision of the clergy. Nor should young married men rashly set out on the journey without the consent of their spouses”. 


In another letter sent to Iberia he writes: “If the knights of other provinces have decided with one mind to go [with Urban I1 at Clermont] to the aid of the Asian Church and to liberate their brothers from the tyranny of the Saracens, so ought you with one mind and with our encouragement to work with greater endurance to help a church so near you resist the invasions of the Saracens. 


No one must doubt that if he dies on this expedition for the love of God and his brothers his sins will surely be forgiven and he will gain a share of eternal life through the most compassionate mercy of our God. So if any of you has made up his mind to go to Asia, it is here instead that he should try to fulfill his vow, because it is no virtue to rescue Christians from the Saracens in one place, only to expose them to the tyranny and oppression of the Saracens in another”. But it was too late, everyone was consumed by this idea and began selling off everything they owned for the journey ahead. 


A wild fever ran across France as the prices of grain and livestock plummeted, while bandits stole what they could, taking advantage of the precious moment. Both Alexios and Urban spent years preparing for this very moment, yet no one could anticipate what was about to happen. 


People's Crusade: Battle of Civetot 1096


While Urban was still touring central and southern France, a man by the name of Peter the Hermit inspired by the Pope decided to launch his own campaign, carrying his own message and delivering it to a different target audience.


 Starting out in Berry, Peter began touring the urban centers of northern France, and before long he captivated the hearts and minds of thousands of people. One of his supporters described him by writing: Outdoors he wore a woolen tunic, which revealed his ankles, and above it a hood; he wore a cloak to cover his upper body, and a bit of his arms, but his feet were bare. 


He drank wine and ate fish, but scarcely ever ate bread. Another eyewitness reports: We saw him wander through cities and towns, spreading his teaching, surrounded by so many people, given so many gifts, and acclaimed for such great piety, that I don't ever remember anyone equally honoured...


 whatever he did or said seemed like something almost divine. Even the hairs of his mule were torn out as though they were relics. Peter was an extremely charismatic preacher, who told the story of how he visited Jerusalem a few years earlier and saw firsthand how the Muslims were mistreating the Christians and desecrating the holy sites. 


According to him, as he slept in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre he received a vision of Christ who handed him a round letter mandating that “instructed all Christendom from all parts of the world to take up arms and journey to Jerusalem to fight against the pagans and to claim eternal possession of the city with all its pertinent lands.” 


There is no evidence that Peter ever made such a journey, but that didn’t stop thousands from joining him as he traveled from one city to the next, warning that The Last Days were at hand and that Christians would have to travel to Jerusalem to battle the Antichrist. Compared to Urban’s more moderate approach targeting the warrior class, Peter appealed to a larger group of people, mostly commoners, at a particularly sensitive moment in time. 


1095 saw the occurrence of a meteor shower, an aurora borealis, a lunar eclipse, the passage of a comet, blood colored clouds and a number of fascinating stories. Some said that the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne had come back from the dead, ready to lead his people into Jerusalem. When the word of the crusade began to spread, people began disfiguring and tattooing themselves claiming miracles and divine signs. 


But arguably the largest contributor to the widespread frenzy was the ongoing series of plagues. If we take a look at the multiple and independent writers during this period a trend starts to show. During the period between 1092 and 1095 there are over 40 mentions of a plague peaking in 1094 with 25 reported plagues, often accompanied by famine. 


Surrounded by Catholic imagery of damnation in the form of frescos and grotesque sculptures, the notion of abandoning the little they had to journey to the land of milk and honey, that is how many Christians thought of the holy land, suddenly seemed like a great idea. 


Contrary to popular belief, the so-called People’s Crusade had a large portion of nobles who joined Peter’s group and those nobles would be the ones who were in charge of the crusade and were about to unleash chaos on Germany. Still, it is important to mention that although there were some members of this movement who embarked on the journey for materialistic reasons, this was very much the exception rather than the norm. 


After passing through Champagne in March 1096, Peter moved into Lorraine, before spending Easter in Cologne. He sent smaller parties to preach in the surrounding cities, while assembling a force of 15000 men, women and children. Peter was joined by many minor nobles, among them Walter Sans Avoir , Rainald of Breis, Geoffrey of Burel and many others. 


The plan was to take the route towards Jerusalem, one which the local German populace was very aware of since the Great German pilgrimage of 1064 . This pilgrimage was led by a number of major German clerics, among them Archbishop Siegfried of Mainz and although possibly thousands of pilgrims were killed by the local Bedouins in Caesarea , most of them reached Jerusalem and returned home by sea. However, this was another big deviation from Urban’s route and timing, which intended for the crusade to cross the Adriatic and land in Dyrrachium after on August 15th, 1096, coinciding with the Byzantine harvest, a date Alexios Komnenos knew ahead of time and prepared for by sending vast amounts of grain merchants and Latin translators to the region.


 Peter took the time to preach in Cologne to recruit more German lords, but Walter was inpatient and decided to leave as soon as the feast was over with a few thousand companions. As a result of this schism, the crusade was now divided into 5 groups, one under Peter, one commanded by Walter and 3 more under the leadership of nobles, who distorted the words of the initial call even further and weaponized them against the thriving Jewish community. 


The series of events which we now call the Rhineland massacres would become a turning point in history. This was not the first time, when the minority was attacked by the majority, but the scale and nature of these attacks would mark a new chapter and set a precedent which would recur numerous times in the centuries to come. 


Contemporary scholars writing after the conquest of Jerusalem tried their best to put the blame on Peter or peasant greed, with the goal of distancing the more successful Prince’s Crusade from the failed People’s Crusade, but not because of the mass slaughter of the Jews which the church unilaterally saw as a grave sin, but because after many of them were forcibly baptized they reconverted once the storm had passed. 


But how did this all start and why did these three groups begin the rampage in the first place? Even before the army crossed the Rhine, words spread, proclaiming: “Do we need to travel to distant lands in the East to attack the enemies of God, when there are Jews right before our eyes, a race that is the greatest enemy of God? We’ve got it all backwards!” Days went by as children asked their parents if this was Jerusalem at the sight of each new city and the growing excitement turned into impatience.


 Most of the German nobles were busy fighting amongst each other, but some of them quickly became obsessed with the promise of indulgence, in return for military service. Count Emicho of Leiningen added his own ideas to the crusade by tattooing a cross on himself and proclaiming that he was The Last Emperor, the one who would unite East and West, before going to Jerusalem and wiping out Judaism. 


His well-equipped and well-organized army unleashed a wave of violence which began on May 3rd 1096 at the newly settled city of Speyer by storming into the synagogue. The Bishop of Speyer who had heard of the coming danger, did everything he could to protect the Jewish populace and as a result of his actions only eleven of them were killed. 


15 days later Emicho descended upon the city of Worms, where according to the Mainz Chronicle: They took a 'trampled corpse' of theirs, which had been buried thirty days previously, and carried it through the city, saying, 'Behold what the Jews have done to our comrade. They took a gentile and boiled him in water. They then poured the water into our wells in order to kill us. Many Jews, forewarned by the events in Speyer, had already sought the protection of the bishop of Worms. They looked on from the sanctuary of his palace, as those of their brethren that had chosen to remain at homes were massacred. 


The crusaders demanded that they convert and those who did were spared, but the majority of them refused. Emicho laid siege to the bishop’s palace and once his soldiers broke in, they discovered that the Jews inside had decided to take their own lives rather than fall to their hands. Only five days later the band was already in Mainz, where once again the local archbishop took a massive amount of money in return for sheltering his Jewish citizens. 


At first the rest of the populace rallied around the Jews, but after a two day siege, some of them opened the gates, which the crusaders saw as a miracle “Behold the gates have been opened by themselves. All this the Crucified has done for us, so that we might avenge his blood on the Jews.” 1014 of them died in a single day. 


Hearing of this, the citizens of Cologne took action and massacred their own Jewish population, destroying every Torah scroll they found along the way, while other cities like Regensburg were spared after mass forced conversions. The second group under a monk named Folkmar decided to pass through Bavaria and travel to Prague, inspiring another Jewish pogrom on June 1st, while the duke was away. Another group with at least 15000 followers led by a man named Gottschalk, also committed atrocities as they made their way along the Danube. 


It is important to note that the majority of these leaders would later join the Prince’s crusade, who’s leaders also attacked members of the Jewish community. Meanwhile Walter and around 10000 crusaders made it to the Hungarian border in May and met with king Coloman, who treated him well. But by the time they reached the Sava river an accident occured, involving sixteen of Walter’s men bartering with local weapon merchants before they were attacked and stripped of their clothes and valuables. The humiliated soldiers walked naked to the army camp only to find out that the governor of Belgrade refused to open his markets. 


In response Walter plundered the countryside and rounded up as much cattle as he could in between skirmishes with the Hungarian and Byzantine border guards. At one point 140 crusaders were routed and sought refuge in a chapel, which the Byzantines burned down. Eventually the group made it to Nish, where they were granted weapons and supplies by the governor who ensured their safe passage to Constantinople, promising open markets along the way. 


Peter the Hermit’s contingent, which had as many as 40000 followers, was only a few days behind Walter’s. Upon their entry to Hungary, king Coloman made them swear to keep the peace, but as the crusaders approached the Sava river they spotted the clothes of 16 crusaders hanging from the battlements of Zemun. This sight came at the same time as a rumor began to circulate that a local Hungarian warlord and the governor of Belgrade were plotting against them. 


After camping in front of the city for 17 days, Peter ordered an attack, instructing his archers to target the watchmen, while the infantry assaulted the walls with scaling ladders. According to one source 4000 Hungarians were killed at the cost of just 100 crusaders and whether the numbers were exaggerated or not, the city was taken and became their base for a week . By this time, Peter learned that the Hungarians were gathering an army, so he ordered his men to begin crossing the river with 150 ships and rafts made from timber stripped from the houses and bound with rope. 


While the people and supplies were being ferried, seven boats filled with Pecheneg archers approached and opened fire. A makeshift Frankish navy grouped up and attempted to counterattack, destroying all enemy vessels, but the cohesion was significantly damaged. As they arrived at Nish a deal was struck, exchanging high ranking hostages in return for access to the local markets, but it didn’t take long for hostilities to resume. A group of soldiers were dissatisfied with another group of merchants and decided to set fire to several mills and houses just outside the city as the crusaders were already on the road. 


In response the governor launched a raid on the rear, mostly made up of the elderly men, women and children. Cattle were stolen, dozens were killed or captured, before the rest of the column could even react. Peter could not let this go unpunished, so he turned his army around and attempted to negotiate. His followers however were uninterested in peace and 2000 young men attacked the city without any semblance of a plan. 


The garrison managed to hold out against the attack, repelling them with arrows and other projectile weapons and once the crusaders retreated the troops sallied out. The disjointed and broken army was now in full flight and many drowned in the river. 


Men, women and children fell prey to the Byzantines, who managed to capture most of their goods, including a wagon filled with gold and silver. The crusaders scattered in the nearby forests, but miraculously only a quarter of them were lost in the battle, however that included a good portion of the fighting men as well as most of their provisions. On July 12th Peter reached Serdica and met with imperial emissaries who ensured that there was no trouble for the remainder of the journey and that the army was well supplied, a generous gesture which showed both the commitment and preparation of Alexios Komnenos. 


The next group to reach Hungary was that of Folkmar, but after a brawl broke out in the capital, the army quickly responded by killing and enslaving anyone who failed to escape. Then came Gottschalk’s contingent and this time the Hungarian king kept them at Moson for a prolonged period of time and a Hungarian merchant was impaled after a failed bargain. 


Battle lines were drawn but neither side wanted to engage, so after a prolonged staredown the Hungarians proposed a truce: “If, indeed, you surrender them to the king with all the money you have, you might soothe his anger and find grace in his eyes. But if you do otherwise, not one of you will stand before his face or go on living, since you have committed such contumacy and calumny in his kingdom.” The crusaders agreed and as soon as they were disarmed, the Hungarians put them to the sword. Finally Emicho’s army crossed into Hungary, but Coloman refused to even deal with them, so the crusaders decided to lay siege to the capital and devastated the countryside. 


There were numerous skirmishes while bridges and catapults were built and finally two breaches were opened on August 15 1096. While the king was preparing to flee, the defenders organized a desperate last stand as the franks poured in. The tides turned and the knights were routed, those who were well equipped and mounted managed to escape, while the rest were vanquished. 


Back in Constantinople, Peter finally met up with Walter’s contingent and personally met with Alexios who was instantly impressed by the charismatic hermit. The number of the crusaders was significant, but there were little more than 500 knights and a few thousand footmen, as most of the fighters were lost along the way fighting Hungarians and Byzantines, so the emperor advised that they wait for reinforcements outside the city walls. This was seen as a grave insult to the thousands of people who had traveled all this way and were now prevented from seeing some of the most holy sites in Christendom, so naturally more looting occured. 


According to Anna Komnena’s Alexiad “the Christians behaved abominably. They sacked and burned palaces of the city and stole the lead from church roofs so that they could sell it back to the Greeks.” Despite his lack of confidence, Alexios knew that his guests couldn't stay long so they were ferried across to Anatolia on the 6th of August. 


Once on the Asiatic shore they began attacking in all directions, usually Christians living under the Seljuks, pillaging houses and churches all the way to Nicomedia which was deserted since its sack fifteen years earlier and was converted to their new base of operations. The Romans kept a steady supply of grain ships selling provisions at a fair price to it and the other base at Civetot, but months went by without much progress and the coins were starting to run out. On October 1st, Peter decided to go back to Constantinople in hopes of striking a new deal with Alexios and in his absence a rift formed between the Frankish knights on one side and the German and Italian knights on the other. 


As animosity grew, the latter group decided to leave Civetot and raid as far as Nicea on their own. The once great Roman city was now the capital of the Sultanate of Rum, ruled by Kilij Arslan. The Nicean garrison charged out but was defeated by the knights, who despite their lack of leadership had some of the best training and equipment money could buy. 


After the Turks were repelled they headed towards the nearby castle of Xerigordos, which they quickly captured, sparing only its Christian population. The castle had plenty of grain, meat and wine, but was a signal to the Turks that this was not a threat they could deal with easily. Three days later Kilij Arslan made his way towards it, defeating an ambush laid by the Italian contingent along the way. Siege lines were drawn and the unyielding Christians were cut off from the rest of their allies. 


The only two sources of freshwater nearby were located outside the castle walls and guarded by the Seljuks. As the days dragged on the crusaders began to drink their own urine and sewage water. Some of them buried themselves in the sand in the hope of retaining moisture, or tried to suck water out of the dry earth. On the eighth day the gate was set on fire causing a wild panic. 


Some surrendered, while others jumped, sallied out and were assaulted with arrows, only a few Germans managed to survive. Back in the camp, Peter was still negotiating, while a Turkish spy told the crusaders that Nicea had fallen and that the crusaders were dividing up the loot between themselves. Once again the Christians were divided with some advising to wait for their leader, while the rest wanted to act now. A decision was made that all the fighting men would deploy in six divisions and move towards Nicea, while the women, children and the sick stayed in Civetot. 


Somewhere along the way the truth was revealed and excitement turned into panic, which only multiplied as Kilij Arslan’s army ambushed them from the woods, just three miles away from the camp. No formations were drawn, instead each of the divisions rallied themselves and attacked the far more mobile enemy. The horse archers employed hit and run tactics, before encircling two of the divisions, while another group of Turkish cavalry circled around to cut off their retreat.The remaining four divisions charged forward as the Seljuks fired at them in a classic feigned retreat. 


Initially there the situation looked hopeful as the mounted knights took down hundreds of their opponents, but then the Turks aimed at their horses, which led to a massacre. There were only a few hundred survivors, which did not include Walter Sans avior, who had seven arrows sticking out of him.The remainder was chased down to Civetot. The camp followers lit bonfires which were carried by the winds into the enemy, but the situation was hopeless. 


Tens of thousands who were inspired by Peter now ran for their lives, many of them drowned or were killed, but most were captured. Those who refused to convert were taken captive and carted to Antioch, Aleppo and as far as Khorasan. 


Three thousand managed to reach a nearby ruined castle and hold off the attackers with improvised fortifications. The following day a single boat managed to reach Constantinople, prompting Alexios to send his fleet and rescue a fragment of the people who initially set out from France. 


Anna Komnena’s description of the dead no doubt exaggerated their numbers, but it nonetheless provides a good sense of how the slaughter must have looked to the next wave of crusaders arriving nine months later: “When they gathered the remains of the fallen, lying on every side, they heaped up, I will not say a mighty ridge or hill or peak, but a mountain of considerable height and depth and width, so huge was the mass of bones.


Prince's Crusade begins: Siege of Nicaea 1097


 The so-called Peasants’ Crusade led by Peter the Hermit left a bitter taste in Emperor Alexios’ mouth, but he was still determined to carry out his plan. Dyrrachium was designated as the rendezvous point, where Byzantine officials and interpreters, along with large stockpiles of provisions and gifts awaited the army, probably the largest since the days of the united Roman Empire. 


To quote the chronicler and participant of the Prince’s Crusade Fulcher of Chartres: ‘Who ever heard of such a mixture of languages in one army? There were Franks, Flemings, Frisians, Gauls, Allobroges, Lotharingians, Alemanni, Bavarians, Normans, English, Scots, Aquitanians, Italians, Dacians, Apulians, Iberians, Bretons, Greeks and Armenians. If any Breton or Teuton wished to question me, I could neither reply nor understand. The earliest group was that of Hugh Count of Vermandois , brother of the excommunicated French king and one of the two actual princes in this Prince’s crusade. 


In February 1096, he led a council in Paris discussing the logistics and goals of the expedition, which he intended to lead. Coincidentally a lunar eclipse occurred during the negotiations and thousands of Parisians observed as the moon became blood red. During the next several months, commoners and nobles alike sold off their possessions as they needed the currency to buy provisions along the way, which led to a rare case of mass deflation due to the shortage of hard coinage. The group headed out towards Constantinople at the agreed-upon date of August 15, and along the way was joined by the remnants of count Emicho’s force , most of whom were knights. 


Upon reaching Bari in October, Hugh sent a few envoys to Dyrrachhium with the words: “Be it known to you, Duke, that our Lord Hugh is almost here. He brings with him from Rome the golden standard of St. Peter. Understand, moreover, that he is the supreme commander of the Frankish army. See to it then that he is accorded a reception worthy of his rank and yourself prepare to meet him.” Unfortunately for Hugh, however, another natural disaster intervened as most of his fleet was sunk during the treacherous crossing of the Adriatic. The prince himself was found on the coast near Dyrrachium, shipwrecked and without the majority of his army and supplies. 


The remnants were greeted warmly, outfitted, and fed, before being escorted to Alexios by admiral Manuel Boutumite s. The second group was led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, who spent the last 20 years of his life fighting for the Holy Roman Emperor against the Papacy and defending his own lands from a coalition of claimants . Despite tracing his ancestry to Charlemagne himself, his titles were not hereditary, which meant that his position was very unstable. 


So when the preachings of Urban and Peter reached him, Godfrey answered the call with great enthusiasm. He sold off most of his estates, mortgaged his great castle of Bouillon to the Bishop of Liege and extorted many Jewish citizens in order to equip a formidable army, which included his brother Baldwin and many knights and nobles. In order to avoid the Papacy, this second army decided to pass the same land route taken by the People’s crusade via Hungary. 


In early October, king Coloman was given Godfrey’s brother as hostage in case the crusaders decided to raid the countryside, and convinced him to grant the crusaders passage after he pledged that there would be no raiding. There were no accidents along the way, thanks to the high discipline and warning that anyone who defied Godfrey would be killed and by November he was reunited with his brother and entered the sacked city of Belgrade. 


By the time they reached Nish, the crusaders met up with their Byzantine escorts who guaranteed that the army would be well fed along the way, with each city generously handing out grain, wine, oil, and meat. Some of the nobles were so impressed by this warm welcome that they raced to Constantinople, hoping to get more gifts, at which point they heard a rumor that the French prince was imprisoned. On December 12th, Godfrey halted at Selymbria, and what had until this point, been an unprecedented peaceful movement, turned to raiding and looting of the countryside, after the demand to release Hugh was rejected. 


Alexios sent two Franks in his service to calm things down and by December 23rd the army made camp outside Constantinople along the Golden Horn, where Hugh awaited Godfrey to assure him that the rumor was false. The Lotharingians were puzzled and further infuriated as some survivors of the battle of Civetot blamed Alexios for the disaster and as a result, Godfrey refused his invitation to meet the emperor personally. 


Alexis responded by closing his markets to the crusaders and hostilities were resumed. Demands, insults, scare tactics and a short-lived Christmas truce ensued, before Alexios sent several ships filled with Pecheneg archers to harass the Frankish camp, while Godfrey marched towards Constantinople, aiming to assault it. His brother Baldwin led 500 soldiers, who attempted to set the city gate on fire. Both sides sustained heavy casualties, but eventually, the attack was repulsed. After six more days of plundering the countryside, the crusaders were shocked when an imperial envoy arrived and announced that Alexios was ready to make peace and deliver his own son and heir John as a hostage.

 

With this guarantee, Godfrey entered the city with a small entourage where instead of a vengeful enemy, he met a generous host. “I have heard about you,” Alexius told him, “that you are a very powerful knight and prince in your land, and a very wise man and completely honest. Because of this I am taking you as my adopted son, and I am putting everything I possess in your power, so that my empire and land can be freed and saved through you from the present and future multitudes. In return for numerous gifts, Godfrey swore an oath that he would not harm Imperial subjects and return any land taken conquered from the Turks to Alexios. 


Some sources misunderstand this oath as one of vassalage, but this was the masterful use of a familiar custom, for a completely different purpose. Mercenaries in the service of Byzantium were forced to make a similar oath, but were given titles and land in return. In this case, Alexios became the supreme commander of the expedition, offering gifts instead of land. When he returned to his camp, Godfrey ordered his men to keep the peace and began boarding Byzantine ships who transported him across the Bosphorus along with Hugh and Peter the Hermit. 


The third crusader force was that of Bohemond , who had been disinherited by his father Robert Guiscard in favor of his younger halfbrother Roger Borsa, leaving Bohemond with just Taranto and Bari. In 1096 he was helping his uncle lay siege to Amalfi, when he heard that a massive army was making its way to the Holy Land with crosses on their shoulders. 


With little to lose, Bohemond prepared to invade Byzantium once more and tore off his expensive garment and had it cut into crosses for his men. Many warriors stepped forward under the pretext of this religious movement and 500 knights along with many footmen abandoned the siege to travel East. The experienced commander ordered that his men land at multiple points across the Adriatic coastline, before meeting up in the city of Valona on November 1st. 


They were instructed to not plunder the countryside and claim only as much food as they needed, but as they arrived at their former base of operations in Kastoria, the garrison refused to share their supplies , which led to another series of widespread looting, during which an entire community of Paulicians was eradicated at Pelagonia. As the army reached the Via Egnatia they were met by a group of Pecheneg mounted archers who harassed them with the tried and tested nomadic tactics. 


The crusaders prevailed and several Pechenegs were captured, but as soon as Bohemond found out they were carrying out imperial orders he let them go. Eventually, a high official met with the Normans who smoothed things over and provided them with supplies. At the same time, Bohemond attempted to make contact with Godfrey and offered a joint attack against the Empire, but his message arrived just as he was making peace with Alexios. 


Bohemond had some of the best soldiers in the world, but his contingent was small, so he decided to enter Constantinople as a friend. Upon meeting his old rival, Alexios once again showed him the best hospitality he could hope for. During a feast, Bohemond was offered both cooked and raw meat in case he feared that it was poisoned, the Norman decided to pick the latter and prepared the meal himself. Later he began negotiating with Alexios in his native Greek language and suggested that he should become Domesticos of the East or chief commander of the eastern lands. 


The request was denied and instead, he was promised ownership of any lands east of Antioch as well as being designated as an Imperial agent. After agreeing and swearing the same oath as other Crusaders, Bohemond returned to his quarters which were filled with precious objects, coins, and silk. Not everyone in Bohemond’s army was happy about this - his nephew Tancred had no intentions to play sophisticated mind games and instead crossed the Bosphorous with the bulk of the Norman forces. 


That same day the third and by far the largest crusader army, making up half of the total force arrived at Constantinople. Raymond IV, count of Toulouse, was extremely rich and more powerful than the French king himself, having recently inherited Provence. By his marriage with Elvira of Aragon he was connected with the royal houses of Iberia and fought several wars there. He was the only crusade leader who personally discussed the project with Pope Urban and was fully committed to it. 


He brought his wife and heir as well as several noblemen from southern France , but his most influential follower was the spiritual leader and first crusader Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy. Raymond had no intention to return to France and it took a long time to put his affairs in order, which delayed his departure. Additionally instead of taking the suggested route via Bari or the popular land route he decided to travel via the Adriatic coast, through the harsh roads of Dalmatia in the winter, where his army was harassed by Slavic tribes. Eventually the army made its way to Dyrrachium and resupplied, but they became wary of the Pecheneg parties sent to watch their actions. 


It was very difficult to control such a vast force and before long hostilities broke out. Several barons were killed during hit and run attacks and Bishop Adhemar was captured by several Pechenegs who were about to kill him, when one of them pointed out who he was and fled. Upon reaching Thessaloniki, the Bishop and other wounded men were left to receive proper treatment, while the rest of the force marched and reached Rodosto.


 The envoys from the capital invited Raymond to an audience with Alexios, where he could meet up with the other crusade leaders. Fearing that the leadership of the crusade was slipping from his hands, he raced towards Constantinople, leaving behind a leaderless army, which naturally began pillaging the countryside. Raymond was received as well as the other leaders, but when he was asked to swear an oath, recognizing Alexios as the overall commander and told he could take no land for himself, he was outraged. Bohemond approached him and tried to act as a mediator, but after things went sour he pledged that if Raymond would go to war with Alexios, the Normans would stand with Byzantium.


 Once again Alexios stepped up to the challenge by waiting for Bohemond to leave and assuring Raymond that the Normans are the real enemy and that the two should stand together in case they betray the cause. Finally, on April 26th Raymond swore a modified oath of non-aggression and joined the rest of the party on the other side of the Bosphorus. The last crusader army was a combined force of three contingents. 


Robert, Duke of Normandy was the son of William the Conqueror and was very experienced in warfare as a result of waging a war against him and his brothers after a terrible falling out over a prank. After his defeat at the hands of his own son, William only allowed him to inherit Normandy despite being his first born, while his other son received England. 


Naturally, civil war ensued and Robert lost causing many of his barons to desert him. So when the call to crusade arrived,, Robert was more than willing to join, especially since his grandfather died on his way to Jerusalem, so he ceded temporary control over Normandy in return for 10 000 marks of silver. His cousin Robert, Count of Flanders also had a father who made the pilgrimage in 1089 and agreed to send Alexios five hundred Flemish warriors. 


After Robert received a personal letter from Urban II he was more than willing to join. Stephen of Blois on the other hand was not moved by the Pope, but as the husband of Adela , daughter of William the Conqueror, who made the decisions in the household, he was bound to her will and when she wanted him to go, he agreed and left her in charge of his rich lands. The combined force of these three main leaders crossed the Alps and met with the Pope in Lucca, who gave them his blessings before they reached Bari. Robert of Flanders immediately crossed and had a smooth and uneventful journey all the way to Constantinople, except for losing one of his vassals who lost a naval battle against the Byzantine fleet after he tried to sail further south from the agreed-upon route. 


The other two leaders on the other hand decided to wait until the following spring, which led to mass desertion as men sold their bows to make it back home. Eventually, Robert of Normandy and Stephen of Blois made it to Constantinople and were delighted by the warm welcome, the latter writing back to his wife: Your father, my love, gave many great presents, but he was almost nothing in comparison with this man. The combined crusader force was assembled at Civetot, which was fully stocked with supplies and constantly receiving more goods from the Byzantine merchants, which were sold at a fixed and fair price by the state. 


When we factor in the losses sustained along the way to Constantinople due to starvation, skirmishes, disease, shipwreck, and above all desertion, it is difficult to give an estimate of the total force, which also included remnants of the People’s crusade. 


That being said thanks to the dozens of accounts, many of which were written by priests in the crusader entourage, the starting figure at Civetot was most likely around 80000, around 7500 of which were mounted knights, 30000 infantry, with the rest being camp followers. It is very important to note that among them there was a giant baggage train of pack animals as each knight was accompanied by a warhorse, a palfrey, and a mule, a number which more than tripled if that knight was prominent. 


The fact that Byzantium kept up with the logistical demands shows that their level of determination and preparation matched that of the crusaders. Added to this giant force was the trusted general Tatikios alongside 2000 Byzantine infantry. In April 1097 most of the host was on the move through the Roman roads that had to be cleared from overgrowth and marked with crosses leading the way towards the first major goal: Nicea. The majority of the army reached its destination on May 6th and witnessed the massive fortifications built by Emperor Hadrian and consistently repaired by the Byzantines until they offered the Seljuk Turks to become its garrison. 


Nicea was located at a very strategic location and defended by massive walls stretching for 5 kilometers, 10 meters tall with 117 round towers, each 17 meters tall. To add to that there was a double ditch, four formidable gates and to the west, the city hugged the Ascanian lake. The Turks manning these walls were expert marksmen who repelled the Byzantine efforts to retake the fortress in 1081 and 1086. 


First Crusade

As the site of the First Ecumenical Council called by Constantine, the loss of this city had a deep impact on all Christians, and seeing the mutilated remnants of the People’s crusade only strengthened the crusader's resolve. Meanwhile the sultan Kilij Arslan was confident in the strengths of his capital and left his family and treasury to go to Melitine on the other side of Anatolia, after he found out that his rival the Danishmends were trying to take it.


 In his eyes, the crusader threat was dealt with, but after he read the report showing that this force was several times larger than the one he defeated he immediately rushed back, arriving on May 14. Initially, some of the crusaders who reached the walls attempted to assault the fortress, but were soundly defeated. Around the same time, two spies were caught, revealing that the sultan was in the vicinity. The crusaders immediately sent messages to Raymond to hurry his advance and position himself on the south gate in order to encircle the city before the garrison was reinforced. 


The Provençal detachment made up half of the crusader force and was in the middle of setting up camp when ten thousand Turks charged at them with screams and arrows. The Franks were exhausted, but formed up and held the line with Raymond in the vanguard and Bishop Adhmear delivering his first battlefield oration. Now eternal life is at hand for you, indeed for anyone who might be crowned a martyr in battle! Go forth confidently against these enemies of the living God, and God will allow you today to achieve victory!” For hours the Seljuks were unsuccessful in breaking the line, before Godfrey and Robert of Flanders arrived and charged at their right flank. Both sides sustained heavy casualties, but the sultan was repelled. 


The Christians took no prisoners - thousands of heads were rounded up, some were sent to Alexios who made camp at the nearby city of Pelekanum , others catapulted over the walls, and even more were imled opan spears as a warning to the city garrison. In return, the defenders used a device with sharp iron claws, attached to a chain to clasp a corpse and hang it from the battlements. By June 3 the last crusaders joined the camp and started settling down for a protracted siege. 


They formed a council, which created a shared treasury and coordinated the actions of the various regiments, and began building siege engines. The first of which was called the fox, a structure resembling a ram, aimed at protecting a group of sappers which advanced under the cover of crossbow and mangonel fire, but as it was making its way towards the wall it collapsed, killing the twenty men below it. 


Next they tried siege ladders, but that also failed due to the masterful architecture of the city’s defenses . Another ram was constructed, and lit ablaze as the Turks poured Greek fire and destroyed it. Eventually, Raymond had a chief engineer who built the turtle, an improved model of the first ram which made it to a damaged and leaning tower called Gonatas . 


Its sloped sides allowed it to reach the wall, where a group of sappers began digging at its foundation; as the tunnel extended they placed wooden beams for support. Once they were deep enough the beams were set on fire and the entire tower collapsed. 


Unfortunately darkness set in and the assault was postponed for the following morning, but to their surprise the crusaders discovered that the garrison worked through the night piling rocks and sealed the breach. In the meantime, Alexios was executing a plan of his own, fearing that the city would be sacked, or worse that the crusaders could go back on their word taking it for themselves. 


He sent out his admiral Boutoumites who entered the city and attempted to negotiate its surrender. His first attempt ended in failure, but then the Byzantines using ropes, carts, oxen and horses carried a small fleet over mountains to the lake. 


As the tower collapsed, the wife of Kilij Arslan attempted to flee the city on a ship only to be captured by said fleet. At this point Nicea, was fully surrounded and could no longer receive supplies from the lake. Boutoumites entered the garrison once more carrying a message written in gold, promising that the defenders would be massacred by the crusaders if they didn't surrender to the Emperor. 


The deal was accepted, but a final bit of statecraft had to be executed. General Tatikius announced that a massive assault would be coordinated on the morning of June 19, the army would carry crosses and imperial banners around the city and then attack on all sides. 


The crusaders agreed and armed themselves, when suddenly Roman standards flew over the ramparts, Nicea had fallen to the Byzantine forces attacking from the west and as some proclaimed: ‘Glory to you, Lord!’”, others were perplexed and began to wonder what was the real purpose of this crusade? 


Battle of Dorylaeum 1097

Despite the fact that Crusaders showed their martial prowess and personal courage during the siege of Nicea, in the end, it was cunning Byzantine diplomacy that won the day. The sack of the ancient city was prevented, the prisoners from the People’s crusade liberated, but the Romans now had to ensure the cohesion of their Latin mercenaries and prevent them from slaughtering the Turkish garrison. The Seljuk defenders were secretly ferried off to Pelecanum, where they met up with the Emperor who gave out gifts to everyone, with additional rewards for those who wished to defect to his side. 


Alexios spent a fortune ensuring that the interests of the crusaders aligned with his own, but he simultaneously was sending out a strong message to the Turks, that the Byzantines had little to do with the savage Franks and that anyone who willingly surrendered to him, would not only be spared, but generously rewarded. As for the crusaders themselves, their leaders were given gold, jewels, silk cloaks and horses, while wagons filled with bronze coins were distributed to the infantry and commoners. Despite that, tensions began to rise as the Latins became more suspicious of their generous host. 


Some were offended by the disparity in the rewards, while others were offended that rewards were given out in the first place, as this was supposed to be a religious movement, motivated by faith, not possessions, and yet the biggest complaint came from the fact that only small groups were allowed in Nicea to observe and pray in its churches. Before they could depart, Alexios seized his opportunity to address the only major leader who didn’t swear an oath to him - Bohemond’s nephew Tancred. 


The Norman once again refused and demanded for Alexios to accompany the crusaders to their next target and to receive a royal tent identical to that of the emperor, proclaiming:“If you wish to dominate, then you must strive to serve.” A brawl broke out, but eventually calmer minds prevailed and Tancred swore the oath, kissed the emperor’s hand and received no gifts. Upon departure he stared at Alexios and said: “I deem you worthy of being my enemy, and not a friend.” The council convened and the Byzantines laid out a master plan to take over Anatolia. 


The next major target was naturally Antioch, but there were many smaller fortresses scattered throughout the harsh environment of the region that needed to be secured. Alexios put the Imperial army and navy under the command of his brother-in-law John Doukas, who was tasked with the recovery of the coastal provinces. 


Seljuk Chaka Bey, who ruled from Smyrna semi-independently from the Sultanate of Rum, still posed a significant threat with his navy and would prevent any supplies reaching the crusaders once they made it to Antioch. And while some Latins must have felt abandoned by the emperor, it made no sense for him to join the already giant host, only adding to the logistical issues. 


Not to mention the risks of Cuman invasions, rebellious generals or death of the Emperor, what if the new ruler wasn't so cooperative with the crusaders? Once again, the Franks were to be escorted by the trusted general Tatikios, who was extremely loyal to Alexios, and as a Turk himself he knew exactly what the steppe riders were capable of. Before departing Alexios gave them plenty of supplies as well as precious insight, advising them to send envoys to the Fatimid Caliphate and make an alliance with the common enemies. 


And so, ten days after Nicea was taken - June 26th, 1097, the crusaders formed a massive column and set off. One of the leaders, Stephen of Blois wrote back home to his wife “I say to you, sweetheart, that from Nicea we will arrive at Jerusalem in five weeks, provided that Antioch does not slow us down.” Little did he know, the Franks would venture in the mountainous lands, in the midst of the summer heat to face an enemy that vanquished tens of thousands of Romans. 


To reduce the load on the logistics the coalition army split in two, with the first force moving ahead with Tatikios and Bohemond, the two imperial agents at the front, accompanied by the contingents of Tancred, Robert of Flanders and Robert of Normandy, while Godfrey, Baldwin, Stephen, Hugh and Raymond were a three days march behind them. It is very difficult to determine the crusader force, as there were many non-combatants, many among them women and children. 


The first army had around 3000 knights and 10000 footmen, which included 2000 Byzantine infantry, accompanied by at least as many camp followers. The second force was at least twice as large, totalling around 4500 mounted warriors and 20000 infantry, with just as many non-combatants. Riders were constantly galloping between the two halves, ensuring a steady flow of information about the route they were taking. And while the vast column crawled towards the crucial site of Dorylaeum, the Seljuks observed their every move from the hilltops. 


The Seljuk Turks were not alone, as Kilij Arslan managed to convince his rival, the Turkic Danishmends to put their differences aside and combine their armies for a total force between ten and fifteen thousand steppe riders. They were equipped with leather armor, piercing swords, but the greatest tool in their arsenal was the recurve bow, with an effective range of 50-60 meters. Combined with their expert riding ability and knowledge of the terrain, this was the deadly combination that crushed the Byzantines in Manzikert, back when Romanos also decided to split his army in two halves. 


It is important to note, that unlike many other nomadic peoples, the Seljuk Turks of Anatolia were stripped of a massive advantage, due to the nature of the terrain. Despite controlling the region for over a decade they couldn't raise enough horses, to provide each of their riders with half a dozen remounts, meaning that they had to sacrifice in either speed or endurance. 


In the afternoon of the 30th June, a few Seljuk scouts were spotted and the Crusader vanguard made camp and sent a messenger to the second army informing them to be on high alert, before continuing their march the next morning, imagining themselves as a Roman legion: “weapons taken up, trumpets sounding, arranged against the enemy in wings, centurions leading cohorts and centuries, standards raised, in an orderly fashion we began to set forth. 


After crossing a small river, the army entered the junction of two valleys, 45 kilometers from Dorylaeum . The open plain was wide enough for the Seljuk maneuvers, but also allowed them to catch the crusaders by surprise; they couldn't have picked a better spot for an ambush. As soon as the Seljuk force was seen, Bohemond ordered a camp to be constructed by the infantry, picking a spot close to the river, hoping that the marshy ground would give them protection on one flank. 


In order to buy them some time, he and Robert of Normandy gathered the entire cavalry force of 3000 knights and charged at Kilij Arslan. The fighting raged for almost an hour, but the light cavalry overwhelmed the Latin nobility, sending them back towards the makeshift camp, where some dug trenches, while the non-combatants and baggage train were directed towards the center. Hundreds of troops that were between the two crusader armies poured into the battlefield, completely unaware of the ongoing battle before they were captured or killed. 


Bohemond and Robert ordered their entire force to dismount and positioned the heavily armored cavalrymen to hold the vanguard and withstand volley after volley. There were no walls, just a mass of people in chain armor in the summer heat, holding together against the circling nomads who tried to pick them off one at a time, screaming and taunting in the hope they would turn their back and flee.


 One eyewitness reports: “they encircled us on all sides, engaging at close quarters and throwing darts and spears and firing arrows wondrously far and wide. They howled and shrieked and shouted, making a devilish noise in their high voices crying and shouting like demons.” One particular Frankish knight called Robert of Paris with a notorious background was one of the first casualties. Back at Constantinople he mocked the Emperor, by sitting on his imperial seat.


 Instead of punishing him, Alexios invited him for a drink and explained they were allies, advising him to never chase their nomadic common enemy. Overcome by anger, the knight threw himself at the Seljuks after multiple civilians were shot around him, within moments his movement was slowed by arrows piercing his armor, soon he was slashed by a blade in full sight of the rest of the knights who continued to hold their shields up. 


Bohemond and Robert were now screaming, ordering their men to hold the line, fully aware that if the lines broke there would be nowhere to run. At first women constantly supplied the soldiers with buckets of water from the river, but as the hours dragged on they also had the role of dragging the dead away from the front - both duties were essential to the survival of everyone inside the camp, but with each passing moment hope was fading. 


People and animals alike were crying out, while priests were praying for salvation, when suddenly Kilij Arslan gave the order to attack the camp from every direction both on horse and on foot. Brutal hand to hand combat ensued, with many casualties, including Tacnred’s brother William. Charge after charge failed to break the Normans, but then suddenly a detachment appeared from the marsh and entered the camp killing anyone in their path. A band of knights quickly rushed to close the gap and pushed them back, but the Christians were at the brink. 


This was when a group of cavalrymen appeared on the horizon. It had now been five hours since the first clash between the two armies, but after receiving word of the attack Godfrey of Bouillon arrived at noon alongside 50 knights and bravely charged against the Seljuks, who halted their attack on the camp and turned on the reinforcements. Not long after Raymond and Hugh joined the fight and while Kilij Arslan still had the numerical advantage, the lack of remounts and length of the engagement meant that his army was extremely low on both energy and ammunition. 


At this point Tatikios and Bohemond switched from a defensive stance to an offensive one and as the crusader cavalry engaged the steppe horsemen for the battle of Anatolia, another detachment was seen on top of a hill behind the Seljuk line. Bishop Adhemar, who used local guides to outflank the enemy, gave a rousing speech as Provencal troops charged into the enemy camp, plundering the sultan’s tent, before setting it all on fire and advancing on the enemy. With enemies on all sides, the Turkic army had no space to execute their masterful maneuvers and had no choice but to flee. The formations held, the reinforcements arrived and this victory sent ripples through the entire Muslim world. 


Ibn al-Qalanisi, an Arabic writer noted: “when news was received of the shameful calamity to the cause of Islam, the anxiety of the people became acute, and their fear and alarm increased”. 3000 nomads perished in the battle, while the Christians lost 4000 of their own, who were celebrated as martyrs. The plunder of the camp resulted in numerous fine weapons, gold coins, jewels,horses and camels, not to mention much needed grain. Everyone involved played a crucial role, but the man who was celebrated the most was Bohemond of Taranto, who rallied his men to stand their ground and fight.


 It was his courage and leadership that prevented another Manzikert. It didn’t take long before supernatural elements were infused into the events. Seljuk deserters swore that they had seen “two horsemen, with shimmering weapons and of wondrous appearance, riding ahead of our army, menacing the enemy such that they allowed them no opportunity for fighting. 


Christian chroniclers later wrote that God sent three saints, George, Demetrius and Theodore, traditionally connected with the Orthodox church, to save the crusaders from doom. When the army broke camp on July 4th, they observed that the road was littered with dead horses and Seljuks, which they took as an evidence of the saints charging after the routed enemy. The further the army moved away from Constantinople, the more biblical elements were infused into their beliefs and actions, the boundaries between both worlds slowly evaporating. 


News quickly reached Alexios, who immediately sent out his forces against Chaka. One army moved towards Abydoss, while the main force marched up the Meander valley. At the same time, the Byzantine navy sailed directly towards Smyrna, with Chaka’s daughter onboard as a gesture of good faith. Unbeknownst to the Byzantines, Chaka had recently fled his capital to meet up with Kilij Arslan, who personally executed him because of a growing mistrust, further destabilizing western Anatolia. As in every other city, the Seljuks were a minority and couldn't hope to hold out, so they surrendered and a new governor was installed. As one of his first decisions, the new governor summoned a local nomad who was accused of a crime. 


Fearing for his own life, the desperate man grabbed a knife and stabbed the governor, which led to widespread violence as the sailors still stationed in the city massacred the local populace. Doukas had already moved on to his next target, the city of Ephesus, but when news arrived of what had just occurred at Smyrna, the Seljuks rode out and decided to meet the Romans in open battle. Both sides sustained heavy casualties, but eventually Doukas prevailed and took the city with no resistance.


 Leaderless, defeated and surrounded by rebellious citizens, the Seljuks were fully aware of the severity of their situation and city after city surrendered to Alexios. Sardis and Philadelphia quickly followed, but one particularly interesting case was that of Laodicea, where according to the Alexiad, Doukas accepted the surrender of the garrison and left it in the hands of the deserters. 


Based on this we can conclude that he was short on men who could garrison the nearby fortresses and that some nomads, including noble families had adopted a sedentary lifestyle and chose to stay in their newfound homes and serve under Alexios. By the end of 1097, the emperor signed a truce with Kilij Arslan, having regained most of Anatolia, fulfilling the dream of his generation. 


But the campaign was far from over and it didn’t take long for the high morale of the crusaders to evaporate, as they made their way across the plateau. Tatikios led the crossing, which took place in mid July, with temperatures reaching over 30 degrees C . There were no major rivers and to make matters worse, Kilij Arslan adopted a scorched earth policy, stripping the land of any supplies and burning down useful structures.A week into this tumultuous path, a stream was found and thousands sprinted towards it, many drank too much and suffocated, while others were trampled. 


The first major casualty of this expedition were the horses, a symbol of status and one of the greatest strengths of the Latin army. Western horses were larger than their eastern counterparts and demanded between 30-40 liters of water per day. Thousands of pack animals and hunting dogs also died, which meant that the pace at which the army could move was further slowed down. This was the sacrifice the army had to make, according to the Roman high command, which decided to take the southern route instead of the usual one through Ancyra, without even stopping at Amorium. 


The risky move tricked the Seljuks into thinking that the army was not heading towards Antioch and would divert back to the coast at any moment. Coupled with their recent victory, this meant that the crusaders were unopposed and didn’t have to worry about ambushes and hit and run tactics. By August, the coalition made it to Antioch in Pisidia and resupplied, but by this point thousands of soldiers perished, the horses, mules, hunting dogs and falcons were lost and two of the major leaders were on the brink of death. Raymond was severely ill and didn’t expect to recover, while Godfrey was badly mauled by a bear in a recent hunt. The next stop was Iconium, a formidable, but abandoned fortress, in which the army was warmly welcomed by its Roman population. 


At Heraclea there was finally a hint of resistance, as the Turkic riders set an ambush, but after a short skirmish they fled the battle - the impact of Dorylaeum was so severe, that nobody dared to stand against the knights for long. Instead of making for Cilicia, the army moved north towards Caesarea, then took a month crossing the Taurus mountains, where the temperatures would drop severely, testing the constitution of the Franks, who were used to a very different climate: the roads were so steep that many knights decided to sell their weapons and armor. 


Whether this was a good plan or not it solidifies the idea that even at this point, the shots were called by Alexios and his generals. As the troops advanced, Tatikios and his men rushed forward and liberated any strongholds, urging the citizens to ready their goods for the oncoming crusaders and not to stir any trouble. 


In the absence of Seljuk authority, Roman and Armenian governors shifted their allegiance towards Constantinople, a step which was essential in case the siege of Antioch was prolonged and supplies were needed to support it. In November 1097 Anselm of Ribemont writes that the army held 200 fortresses and cities, while Stephen of Blois’s account mentions 165. It is safe to assume that most of Anatolia was reconquered for the Komnenian dynasty. 


First Crusade

Siege of Antioch 1097-1098


During the summer of 1097, the Seljuk scorched earth policy, coupled with the difficult terrain, stripped the westerners from their most powerful tool, their heavy war mounts. Some fell from cliffs, and others perished from lack of water, forcing many knights to ride oxen, mules, or simply travel on foot, while goats, sheep, and dogs were used as pack animals. Soldiers were so dehydrated that on the rare occasion that water sources were found, many suffocated themselves as they drank too much. 


After arriving at Heraclea , the army divided into two, the bulk of the forces took the longer route north through Cappadocia and then east, circling the formidable Anti-Taurus, while a smaller contingent took the direct approach via the Cilician Gates. This strategy resulted from careful and cunning planning on behalf of Alexios, who wanted to ensure a base of operations, which could be used for supplies and later reinforcement, but also provides us with an idea of how well disciplined and coordinated the council of princes really was. 


The expedition in Cilicia was commanded by Baldwin of Boulogne and Tancred, the supporting side characters of their more renowned relatives Godfrey and Bohemond, who now had the opportunity to prove their worth. Tancred led no more than 200 men, but was accompanied by an Armenian guide, allowing him to arrive at Tarsus before Baldwin, who had between 300-500 troops. What used to be the capital of the region and the place where Mark Anthony first met Cleopatra was now a meager town, which lost its port to centuries of sedimentation. On September 21, 1097, the Seljuk garrison rushed out to meet Tancred in open battle, but they were easily beaten back. 


The Norman then taunted the enemy, claiming that he was merely the vanguard of a massive Christian force; the following morning, he received their surrender and raised his banner on the citadel. That same day Baldwin arrived and feasted beneath the city walls alongside the Normans. Despite being absent from any engagements, he suggested that they were to share the spoils equally, and since he had the larger force, Tancred had to begrudgingly accept. 


His banner was replaced and thrown into the nearby marsh, within hours, he gathered his troops and rode east. A month later, at dusk, a force of 300 southern Italian Normans arrived in order to reinforce Tancred but were refused entry into Tarsus, forcing them to make camp under the walls. 


Unseen, the bulk of the Seljuk garrison slipped through the night and butchered them as they slept, before riding off in the distance. A rumor began circulating that Baldwin was actually responsible and fearing for his life, he locked himself in a tower waiting for the storm to pass, before installing his own garrison and leaving a week later, but the bloody stain would never be forgotten. Meanwhile, Tancred had made it to Mamistra, where he was warmly welcomed by the local Armenians, who accepted him as their new ruler, after the Seljuk garrison fled. 


Like clockwork, Baldwin arrived a few days later and camped near the city, but this time Tancred would not back down. The first crusader confrontation was brief and more of a brawl than a battle, some men were seriously injured, but no one was killed and both sides made peace the next day, before going on their separate ways. Tancred garrisoned Mamistra with 50 men, secured the port of Alexandretta and met up with the main crusading host, on its way to Antioch after establishing friendly relations and a stable base in Armenian Cilicia. 


As for Baldwin, his adventure was just beginning. While the rest of the crusaders prepared to head south, he was guided by an Armenian named Bagrat who promised great riches and fertile lands to the east. Accompanied by just 100 knights he took a page from Tancred’s book and was able to capture the towns of Tell Bashir and Ravendal with little more than a bluff. 


Initially he rewarded Bagrat with lordship over the latter city, but before long a plot was uncovered and Baldwin hunted him down and brutally tortured him. News of these conquests soon spread, reaching the ear of Thoros, the Armenian ruler of Edessa, who was barely holding on to power. The two men formed an alliance, formalized in a bizarre ritual, during which both men stripped to their waist and embraced each other under a long shirt sealing a union between father and adopted son.


 With his newfound Latin son, Thoros dispatched Baldwin at the head of an Armenian force to deal with his Seljuk rival from Samosata. On his return to Edessa, the crusader uncovered a plot by Edessene nobles aiming to assassinate Thoros. Baldwin neither aided, nor turned them in, hoping to see where the wind blows and in March 1098, the locals rebelled against their ruler and ripped him to pieces. 


Baldwin immediately jumped on the opportunity and established an iron grip over the city, which would become the base of the future county of Edessa, the first crusader state, carved out with just a hundred men and questionable morality. Meanwhile, the main body of the crusader army took Marash on October 10th of 1097 and prepared to attack Antioch. At its peak it was the third city of the Roman Empire, but its role in the region was now diminished due to the rise of neighboring Aleppo and Damascus. The Latins could have taken Jerusalem without it, but if they wanted to keep it, they needed this strategic target, which had immense value to all Christians. 


Luckily for them, those same cities were now fighting for dominance, while Antioch stood alone in the backdrop of the fragmented Seljuk Empire. Ruled by its ambitious and very capable Turcoman named Yaghi Siyan, who struggled to preserve his domain amidst civil war, pockets of Shi'ite Arabs, numerous Christian subjects and now an impending zealous army with quite the reputation. 


But now, let’s look at what he had going for him: A very capable Seljuk garrison of 5000 men alongside 800 horses, incredibly well-built walls 20 meters high and 2 meters thick covering a large area, including a hill, featuring a formidable citadel 500 meters above the city, from which the defenders could track every Frankish move. Foothills, which could be turned into farmland, but above all geography which made this city nearly impossible to take: The city was protected by a mountain to the east, while the Orontes river flowed in a way that if an army wanted to surround Antioch it had to cross it, separating the camp in 3 on its west and south side. 


In mid-October, the leaders of the crusade gathered together to discuss how they would tackle this challenge, Taticius came forward and proposed that they fortify themselves to the North and harass the garrison from afar, a long and drawn out strategy that worked in 969 during the Byzantine reconquista of the Macedonian dynasty period, but the majority decided on a more direct approach. Raymond of Toulouse was convinced that if the crusaders took too long, many would desert during the winter, something which had already started to occur during the difficult trek in the mountains. 


Satellite fortresses were captured and with contingents securing Baghras, Artah, and the Iron Bridge, opening the road to the coveted city, but once the crusaders met the imposing defenses high above them, all hopes of a direct assault dissipated. 30 000 Latins, half of which were non-combatants, made camp against just three of the six main gates on 20 October, centered around the north-western corner.


 Bohemond took up position in front of the St Paul gate, while the remaining Italian Normans led by Tancred camped behind, the northern French blockaded the Dog Gate, Godfrey of Bouillon held the Gate of the Duke, and the Byzantine contingent acted as reserves. Siege warfare was a staple of medieval European warfare, which also came with certain traditions. Namely, the first banner to fly above the walls of a newly conquered city, represented a strong claim to it, and it is here that we find that Bohemond was starting to show some of his ambition, being the first to arrive and positioning his forces against the most crucial gate of the three. 


In the first two weeks, both sides were sizing each other up, which resulted in the calmest period, during which Yaghi Siyan sent out his sons to search for aid and the crusaders enjoyed plentiful supplies from the rich valley. Fearing mutiny, the Seljuks expelled a large portion of its Christian population, while many Armenians took the chance to visit the crusader camp and report back to Yaghi Siyan what they saw. Suddenly this army that took down the Sultanate of Rum didn’t seem so threatening and the strategy changed entirely. 


Arrows were shot from atop the citadel, while mounted archers sallied out and harassed the camp, racing back across the bridge when given chase. Harim, a nearby fortress was still in Muslim hands and was used as a base from which raids were continuously launched. By mid November, the winter cold was setting in, supplies were waning and heavy rains poured on the Christian force. The Crusaders were putting barely any pressure on the city, while the city continued to receive rich caravans from the south.


 In order to turn the tide, the Latins built a bridge over the Orontes river, by tying small boats together, which was difficult to cross. The maneuver allowed the crusaders access to the sea, via the crucial port of St Simeon, which received regular shipments of supplies from Byzantine Cyprus. This entry point allowed the Franks to send and receive letters from the west, resulting in a rare collaboration between Bishop Adhemar and the exiled Patriarch of Jerusalem, who drafted a letter asking the west to send a new wave of reinforcements to the Holy Land. 


On 17th November 13 Genoese ships even made it to the port, bringing vital craftsmen and materials, which were used to build a fort on the slopes of mount Staurin called Malregard. Next, Bohemond was chosen to deal with Harim, which he did by employing Steppe tactics, namely a feigned retreat. This drew out the small garrison, which was then smashed by a heavy cavalry charge, personally led by Bohemond. The fortress didn’t fall, but its garrison was neutralized. 


Eyewitness reports from the crusader camp: “[Those] whom we captured, were led before the city gate and there beheaded, to grieve the Turks who were in the city.” The garrison immediately responded in kind, and according to the same report, “Alas! how many Christians, Greeks, Syrians and Armenians, who lived in the city, were killed by the maddened Turks. With the Franks looking on, they threw outside the walls the heads of those killed with their catapults and slings. 


This especially grieved our people.” The Greek Christian patriarch of Antioch was regularly suspended from the walls upside down, while the guards beat his feet with iron rods. Both sides were determined to win, no matter the cost. With the coming of December, the shipments became infrequent and hunger began to set in. Foraging parties ventured far from the camp and many were picked off, never to be seen again. 


Merchants from Cilicia became one of the few lifelines for many, but greed and the dangers of making the journey led the traders to jack up their prices, which caused mass desertion amongst the poor. Those who could not afford to feed themselves were losing health, which led to the rapid spread of disease, causing the death of a 5th of the army. 


After celebrating a grim Christmas, Bohemond and Robert of Flanders left camp on a mission to find supplies, taking 400 knights and at least as many infantry with them east. The expedition did manage to find a significant amount of forage in the fertile area of Jabal as-Summaq, raiding nearby villages. 


While camping near the town of Albara, the group made one of the worst strategic mistakes one can make: they didn’t post scouts and suddenly realized that a 10 000 strong army was on the horizon. The combined force of Damascus and Homs led by the formidable atabeg Tughtegin was equally surprised to find the raiding party on 31 December, after they answered Antioch’s call for aid. Robert instantly rallied his knights and charged against the overwhelming force, stopping the Muslim force. 


Bohemond stayed back, pouncing at the right moment, as the enemy was trying to flank his ally. Rather than risk failure for themselves and the entire crusade, the men retreated back into camp, abandoning all of the supplies they managed to gather as well as those who were on foot. Such was the lack of war steeds that most of the cavalry chased after a single horse who had lost his rider and galloped west.


 When the dust settled, the troops from Damascus regrouped and attacked the fleeting footmen, killing or capturing most of them. The blow inflicted by the crusader force was not fatal, but it did discourage the already disinterested Muslim troops from continuing their expedition, so they headed back to Damascus. Over the next few days, Robert returned to pick up a few stragglers and supplies, but overall, despite preventing utter disaster, the mission failed to resupply the camp. 


But Bohemond and Robert’s absence didn’t go unnoticed: the all-seeing citadel reported the troop movement to Yaghi Siyan, who ordered the garrison to sally out and attack the crusader camp. To make matters worse, Robert of Normandy was absent, visiting a nearby port and Godfrey was ill. Rushing out of the bridge gate, the Seljuks charged at the Provencal camp, where they met Raymond of Toulouse.


 After a quick engagement, the garrison force began to flee, as the southern French gave chase. Upon approaching the Bridge Gate, more enemies from both sides emerged, turning the attack into a rout. Men snatched riders from their saddles and pulled at their horse’s tails, killing fifteen knights and twenty footmen. Amidst the chaos, the bannerman of Bishop Adhemar, the spiritual leader of the crusade selected by Pope Urban himself, was slain. 


The next day the prized banner was flown atop the wall of Antioch, taunting the besiegers, who saw the flag depicting the Virgin Mary and felt like a legion who had lost its eagle. The turn of the year signaled the lowest point of the crusade: after crossing thousands of kilometers and enduring countless attacks and terrible weather the crusaders were nearing their breaking point. 


An eyewitness reports: At that time, the famished ate the shoots of beanseeds growing in the fields and many kinds of herbs unseasoned with salt; also thistles, which, being not well cooked because of the deficiency of firewood, pricked the tongues of those eating them; also horses, asses, camels, dogs and rats. The poorer ones even ate the skins of the beasts and seeds of grain found in manure. Simultaneously the men witnessed a comet and aurora, felt an earthquake and interpreted the signs as God’s displeasure. It was at this crucial point, when the clergy stepped up and decided to restore the faith, by blaming it all on the sins of those involved. 


“We believed that these misfortunes befell the Franks, and that they were not able for so long a time to take the city, because of their sins. Not only dissipation, but also avarice, or pride, or rapaciousness corrupted them.” Bishop Adhemar took measures into his own hands and began advocating that all women should be expelled from the camp and the rest should fast for three days and form a procession around the city walls. Theft and fornication were forbidden and anyone who broke the rules was publicly punished. Around this time a man and woman were caught in the act of adultery, before being stripped and whipped for the whole army to see. 


These measures generally had a positive effect in restoring morale and discipline to the camp, but there were still some who deserted the cause, including none other than Peter the Hermit, who was caught trying to leave during the night. But by far the most impactful departure was that of the Byzantine general Taticius.


 Seeing the conditions reach an all-time low, the man who acted as quartermaster and representative of Alexios pledged to sail to Constantinople and come back with ships full of supplies. To make a strong statement, he even left all of his belongings in the camp, but for reasons which will become clear later, the shipments arrived, but the general did not. 


Writing with the benefit of hindsight, every Frankish chronicler will condemn both the Emperor and his general, and many of their reports failed to mention these dozens of shipments, which allowed the siege to even reach this point. It was now late January of 1098, and Bohemond himself threatened to leave the campaign, stating that he lacked the funds to pay for his soldiers, which led to creating a common war chest, sponsored by Raymond, aimed at financing the purchase and maintenance of mounts. 


To ensure the army's cohesion, all crusader leaders pledged to stay in the camp for seven years, or until Antioch was taken. The garrison never stopped harassing the crusaders and during one of the many skirmishes, a glimmer of hope was born, as a high-ranking Seljuk nobleman was captured. After learning that his family commanded one of the towers, the Latins negotiated secret access to the tower as ransom, but Yaghi Siyan uncovered the plot and relieved the family from their command. 


The crusaders began torturing their high-profile prisoner, but to no avail. Just when things couldn't get any worse, the first days of February brought the news that a new army was approaching Antioch from the east. Ridwan of Aleppo gathered 12 000 men in order to lift the siege and gave the council an impossible task. 


The answer was in the form of 700 knights, riding the last healthy steeds the crusaders could muster, under the command of Bohemond. This was a big step, taken under desperation and based on his previous successes. With no infantry to slow him down, the Norman set out and hid his men behind a hill near the Iron Bridge, separating his force into 6 squadrons. From there, the Latins waited for the long column moving in from Aleppo. 


On the morning of February 9th, Ridwan was marching down the road with two detachments as a vanguar away from his main force. Bohemond could have easily held a defensive position at the bridge, but instead, he sprung his ambush ordering 5 of his squadrons to charge directly at the column, while he held back. One eyewitness described these first minutes of battle: “The din of battle arose to heaven, for all were fighting at once and the storm of missiles darkened the sky. 


Knowing that they were heavily outnumbered, these knights must have been terrified, but they played a crucial tactical role. Their shock attack drew Ridwan's main force forward into the heart of the battle. His massed troops now began to push the crusaders back, and the Aleppans most likely felt that victory was at hand. In fact, this was the moment for which Bohemond had prepared”. 


The author of the Gesta Francorum, who was amongst Bohemond's troops, wrote an impassioned description of this attack: So Bohemond, protected on all sides by the sign of the Cross, charged the Turkish forces, like a lion which has been starving for three or four days, which comes roaring out of its cave thirsting for the blood of cattle ... His attack was so fierce that the points of his banner were flying right over the heads of the Turks. 


The other troops, seeing Bohemond's banner carried ahead so honourably, stopped the retreat at once, and all our men in a body charged the Turks, who were amazed and took flight. Our men pursued them and massacred them right up to the [Iron Bridge]. The Norman bet the fate of the entire expedition on this brilliant move and as the enemy fleeting head of the column started to trample those behind them, the knights who followed him recognized his genius. 


The garrison, having seen Bohemond leave camp once again, attempted a counterattack, but once again, they were repelled. “With the battle and booty won, we carried the heads of the slain to camp and stuck them on posts as grim reminders of the plight of their Turkish allies and of future woes of the besieged.” Back at the camp, the crusaders held out against another sally attempt from the garrison. 


Biggest Battle of the First Crusade: Battle of Antioch 1098


Winter subsided and seeing the Norman knights returning lifted the spirits of the besiegers who once again believed that God was on their side. This triumphal march from the battle of the iron bridge was also witnessed by an unlikely emissary at the camp. Indeed, representatives of the Fatimid Caliphate had arrived at the camp on the day of battle responding to the letters the crusaders wrote earlier after Alexios suggested that, outlining the political disarray in the Muslim world. 


Despite the religious fervor of the hosts, these guests were shown great hospitality, receiving gifts from the recently plundered camp. Peter the Hermit was chosen to negotiate, but it soon became clear that the Egyptians believed that this army was essentially a Byzantine force. The emissaries knew that those who took the cross and went on a mission answered the call made by Alexios, were paid generously by him and all swore an oath to return any former Byzantine city to him.


 Over half of the initial force had already lost their lives on this journey and over a hundred strategic locations were handed over to the Romans, or were temporarily held in the case of Baldwin, who had not yet made his County of Edessa official. Shipments from the Empire continued to be the crucial lifeline that supported the crusade, but Taticius had left and there was no Byzantine representative to deal with the Fatimids, so why would they deal with these mercenaries? The envoys stayed in the camp for over a month, before returning to Cairo, with a few Franks. 


First Crusade

Both sides agreed to neutrality, which prevented a potential blockade from the only powerful Muslim navy in the region. The coming of March signaled the end of the hardest phase of the campaign so far. Many were slain, others died from cold and disease, the poor died from hunger, those who couldn't endure the horrors of siege warfare deserted, and the women were exiled.


 However, those who remained were some of the most hardened, committed, and toughest warriors in history, with exceptional training and discipline. Looking back on this period, Anselm of Ribemont, a knight who had lived through the Antiochene winter, wrote:“Growing stronger and stronger, therefore, from that day our men took counsel with renewed courage.” 


On the 4th of March, an English fleet arrived at St Simeon carrying supplies, tools, and craftsmen, resources that would not just extend, but end the siege. Up until this point, the garrison was constantly in contact with the outside world, trading information and resources through its southern gates. To secure the heavy supplies from the relatively distant port the two most powerful princes: Bohemond and Raymond were chosen to go on this escort mission accompanied by sixty knights and 500 infantry.


 Once again the all seeing citadel observed these movements and Yaghi Siyan had his mounted archers harass the crusader camp, while laying an ambush close to the Bridge Gate. The return journey from the port took three days and once the convoy was spotted, the trap was sprung. On the 7th of March the Seljuks screamed and galloped at a vulnerable gap in the infantry line. To quote the chronicler: The Turks began to gnash their teeth and chatter and howl with very loud cries, wheeling round our men, throwing darts and loosing arrows, wounding and slaughtering them most brutally. 


Their attack was so fierce that our men began to flee over the nearest mountain or wherever there was path. Those who could get away quickly escaped alive, and those who could not were killed. The majority of the infantry was quickly broken, yet only two knights were lost, pointing to the lack of cohesion in the crusader ranks. Commanding the rearguard, Bohemond rushed in with reinforcements, while Godfrey of Bouillon rallied his troops from the camp and joined the fray. 


An intense battle ensued before the walls of Antioch, which only intensified as Yaghi Siyan poured in more troops from the garrison. After months of staredowns and harassment, the two sides finally met at the open field. Despite the initial success, the garrison was pushed back towards the Bridge Gate as panic overwhelmed the Muslim forces. Our primary source wrote: “Those who did not succeed in crossing the bridge alive, because of the great press of men and horses, suffered there everlasting death with the devil and his imps; for we came after them, driving them into the river or throwing them down, so that the water of that swift stream seemed to be running red with the blood of Turks, and if by chance any of them tried to climb up the pillars of the bridge, or to reach the bank by swimming, he was stricken by our men who were standing all along the river bank.” 


Yaghi Siyan played his hand, knowing he had the advantages of intelligence, mobility, and the element of surprise. Had his ambush succeeded, the crusaders would have lost their leaders, precious supplies, and the initiative from the recent victory. Multiple eye-witnesses who later wrote about this engagement reported that both sides lost 1500 men each, a number which reduced the enemy garrison substantially. The Christian clergy held services, commemorating those who had lost their lives, while the survivors flaunted their newly gained Arabian horses and silk clothes. 


At dawn, the Muslims from Antioch briefly left the city so they could bury their dead in a nearby abandoned mosque, alongside cloaks, coins, bows, and arrows. Once again contemporary sources report: “When our men heard [this] they came in haste to that devil's chapel, and ordered the bodies to be dug up and the tombs destroyed, and the dead men dragged out of their graves. They threw all the corpses into a pit, and cut off their heads and brought them to our tents so that they could count the number exactly, except for those that they loaded on to four horses belonging to the ambassadors of the emir of Cairo”. On the 10th of March, work began on a new fort, built on top of the abandoned mosque itself, which was renamed La Mahomerie or Blessed Mary, this was no fortress, but it provided cover against arrow fire and choked the crucial Bridge Gate, under the command of Raymond. 


By the end of the month, the garrison launched a surprise attack on the fort, testing its strength, and nearly succeeded. However, heavy rain poured down, slowing them long enough for reinforcements to arrive and push them back, another divine sign that lifted the spirits of one side and tested the resolve of the other. 


In April the noose tightened after Tancred was appointed and paid to secure an abandoned monastery near the St George Gate and within days his party managed to capture a Syrian and Armenian trade caravan, taking grain, wine, and oil, which now fed the crusaders, instead of the city. While not totally encircled the city now received limited supplies from the hard-to-reach Iron Gate as tensions grew. Muslim sallies stopped, allowing the foraging to continue, while shipments from the Empire became far more frequent. Then suddenly the crusaders received lavish gifts of horses and weapons, courtesy of the new ruler of Edessa, Baldwin of Bouillon. 


During this period, emissaries were sent to Tripoli, which reveals a truly fragmented Islamic world: Antioch’s neighbor knew full well of the month-long struggle and many were not only unconcerned, but even treated the Latins with great hospitality as they freely traveled the Levant. The only other significant event throughout April and May involved the captured crusader Rainaild Porchet. Yaghi Siyan wanted to ransom the man and dragged him to the walls to negotiate for his price, if he renounced Christianity. Upon the man’s refusal, the ruler of Antioch commanded that all of the remaining captives be rounded up, tied in a circle, and burned alive. 


The screams echoed in the city and crusader camp and acted as a sign to both sides that there could be no middle ground. Despite this, around the end of May, the crusaders received a message from the garrison, who was ready to surrender. A few representatives were sent into the city, including the constable of France Walo, only to be killed once inside. Whether this was a trap, or another discovered and prevented plot, this gave a glimpse of a possible key inside the city, one which Bohemond was already working on for months. 


Back in April, his men made contact with a member of the city guard named Firuz, a Christian who converted to Islam, responsible for one of the southeastern towers on the slopes of the mountain called the Tower of the Two Sisters. The proximity to Tancred’s position, his ability to speak Greek, and the distance from the rest of the crusaders, allowed Bohemond to exchange intel via the Armenian merchant caravans, which were selectively granted entry to the city. 


Without revealing his agent to the rest of the crusaders, the Norman summoned the council and gave a speech: “Most gallant knights, you see that we are all, both great and small, in dire poverty and misery, and we do not know whence better fortune will come to us. If, therefore, you think it a good and proper plan, let one of us set himself above the others, on the condition that if he can capture the city or engineer its downfall by any means, by himself or by others, we will agree to give it to him.” 


Bohemond was a legend within the camp, but the rest of the leaders knew his ambition and refused his offer. There was no point to rush things, the garrison’s morale was failing, crusaders were finally well supplied and fed and from their perspective, it was only a matter of time before they were victorious. But a storm had been brewing in the east for several months as one ambitious leader was rallying the Muslim world and heading straight to Antioch. Yaghi Siyan’s youngest son Muhammad had made it all the way to Baghdad and convinced the caliph to send a relief force. 


The man he chose to lead this army, was none other than Kerbogha, atabeg of Mosul, a Seljuk Turk who had spent the decade chasing down enemies and changing allegiances, before securing Harran, Nisibis and Mosul in the name of the caliph in 1096. The situation in Antioch provided him with the opportunity to truly prove himself, as well as carve out a holding, with which to rise to the top of the collapsing Seljuk world. After six month of careful planning, he had managed to create a coalition with forces from Damascus, Harran, Horns, Mardin, Samosata and Sindjar. 


The previous two relief forces were just over 10000 men, but this coalition numbered between 35000 and 45000, and was highly motivated. It is easy to draw parallels between an equal number of Christians from across the West to this Muslim force and as it made its way to west rumours began to spread. First, Kerbogha arrived at Edessa and besieged it for three weeks, without any progress, before moving on to Antioch. 


The crusaders sent out scouting parties to investigate them and according to the chronicler: “They saw the [Muslim] army swarming everywhere from the mountains and different roads like the sands of the sea, marvelling at their infinite thousands and totally unable to count them.” As the scouts returned on the 28th May, reporting that the enemy was a few days away, the crusaders knew that their position was untenable. 


At this dire moment, Bohemond once against spoke to the council and this time all except Raymond agreed, but adding the stipulation that: If Bohemond took the city on his own or with the aid of others, it would be granted to him, but only on the condition that Antioch would be returned to the emperor if Alexios came to their aid, as their honor was at stake. 


At that very moment, the identity of Firuz was revealed and plans were drawn up to assault the city. Due to fear that this scheme would also be discovered by the defenders, as well as to prevent desertion, the council agreed to keep both the plan and the news of the incoming army a secret. Firuz smuggled his son out of the city to act as a hostage and the exact day and time were decided. 


The next few days were tense as the crusaders sensed that something must be going horribly wrong for the acting chairman of the council Stephen of Blois to desert under the pretext of being ill. Then on the evening of the 3rd of June, 700 crusaders departed from the camp, in order to fool the defenders of the citadel. At roughly 3 am, the men returned to the slopes above the Gate of St George. A sizeable contingent was under the command of Godfrey and Robert of Flanders, while the rest followed Bohemond. Everyone held their breath as they whistled at the Tower of the Two sisters, before seeing Firuz throw down a thick rope, to which they attached a ladder. 


Not knowing what expects them, the crusaders were reluctant. Would they be climbing to their death, much like the French constable? Would they end up in the flames like the prisoners? Or would they become the ones who broke this long siege? After being encouraged by Bohemond, one by one they started climbing , but burdened by their heavy equipment and rushing to the top, a few of them fell, killing some and injuring others. 


Everyone braced for disaster, but no watchmen appeared on the battlements. Sixty men in total, including Bohemond reached the top of the tower and stealthily killed the guards in the nearby three towers, as well as Firuz’s brother by mistake. A postern gate was opened and the remaining 600 crusaders rushed in. Bohemond sounded his bugle and while Godfrey and Robert rushed towards the citadel, a small band of men made as much noise as possible as they penetrated the city. 


Within minutes, the city erupted in chaos, as the besiegers who had threatened them for months, were now finally inside. The Normans slashed at anything that moved in the darkness and as the fear spread there was no resistance as everyone fled for their life. Dawn broke and the blood red banner of Bohemond could be seen from atop mount Silpius. 


The city was taken by less than a thousand men, so the frightened Christian populace opened the main gates and invited the crusaders in, begging for their lives to be spared. None were spared that day, Christians, Muslims, men, women, children and elders. Chronicler wrote: “All the streets of the city on every side were full of corpses, so that no one could endure to be there because of the stench, nor could anyone walk along the narrow paths of the city except over the corpses of the dead.” 


The siege was over, but the attack on the citadel failed, leaving an isolated pocket of defenders with access to the Iron Gate. As for Yaghi Siyan, he managed to avoid the slaughter and evacuate from the city, only to be caught by some local Armenians who delivered his head to the crusaders for a price. However, the Latins soon discovered that the horses in the garrison were unsuited for their style of warfare and the supplies were dwindling. 


The very next day on June 5th 1098, they looked over the ramparts and saw the army of Kerbogha, yet again utter ruin was avoided, but yet again they had to face an impossible challenge. A knight named Roger of Barneville charged at the host with fifteen of his men only to be lured by a feigned retreat and wiped out. The besiegers now became the besieged and they tried to fortify the city, while Kerbogha attacked the only fortification the crusaders didn’t abandon: La Mahomerie. 


Wave after wave was repelled, but it was too much for the makeshift fort and it was abandoned and destroyed a few days later. Now both sides were fixated on the citadel: Kerbogha replaced Yaghi Siyan’s son with one of his own his men, showing his true intentions regarding Antioch and prepared his forces which could trickle into the city via the Iron Gate, while the crusaders made camp against it, knowing that they would never be secure if it was in enemy hands. 


Outnumbered 2 to 1, the Latins made another audacious attack, by charging at the Muslims from a southern postern gate and catching them by surprise. While initially successful, this attack led to many casualties, as the crusaders either overstayed their welcome by looting the Muslim camp or were trampled on their way back to the tiny gate. 


Rather than risking a prolonged siege, where he had to feed 40000 men, Kerbogha launched an offensive along the steep slope of the mountain and his troops poured out of the citadel into Antioch, through a single jagged pass. This attack was coordinated with another assault along the south walls, forcing the crusaders to fight on two fronts. For two days the assault raged on from dawn to dusk, and a crusader who lived through this terror remarked that “a man with food had no time to eat, and a man with water no time to drink”. 


Endless waves of attackers were cut down, only for more to appear. The cold winter now seemed like a distant dream as men collapsed from exhaustion under the summer heat. Many, including well-known knights, began to desert by throwing ropes over the walls: their number was so great that the rest called them rope dancers. Most of them were rounded up and slain by the Seljuks. In order to prevent the total collapse of the garrison, the leaders swore an oath not to abandon the city and sealed the gates. The unrelenting assault, difficult conditions, and death toll were more severe than anything the Crusaders had to face before. 


At one point, Bohemond who was in the thick of the fighting was surrounded by enemies and was narrowly saved by Robert of Flanders and Robert of Normandy, while elsewhere an Italian knight known to us as Mad Hugh defended a tower single-handedly breaking three spears in the process.


 Four days into the endless onslaught Bohemond ordered several buildings to be burned down after finding out that some men were hiding there. As one might expect, the fire got out of hand and burned a large chunk of the city. On the night of 13/14 June at the brink of the crusader collapse, a comet was seen in the dark sky, there are too many comets in this sci-fi story... which the clergy used to rally the soldiers one last time. This glimpse of hope gave them the strength to last the night. 


This comet alongside the fire burning from within the city demoralized the Seljuks who pulled back after one of the bloodiest battles in medieval warfare. Kerbogha suffered terrible losses, but so did the crusaders, so the Muslim army spread out and completely surrounded the city. Now all they had to do was wait and watch the Latins die from starvation atop the citadel. Desperate and with no way out, Godfrey lost 200 men in an attempt to raid the Muslim camp outside St Paul’s gate. Meanwhile, Tancred went on a stealth mission with 10 men and returned with 6 Seljuk heads and Henry of Esch repelled a whole contingent attempting to climb the walls with ladders with just just two of his relatives, who gave their life in the process.


 Despite these brave attempts, the situation seemed hopeless as the weeks dragged on. To fight off hunger, the crusaders boiled the skins of horses, camels, donkeys and woodland plants as their numbers continued to decline. But then on June 10th a peasant from Provance named Peter Bartholomew confessed that he had been having visions, telling him that the spear that pierced Jesus during his cruficition was now buried under the Basilica of St Peter. 


Many, including bishop Adhemar were skeptical about this tale, since they saw the Holy Lance in the vault of Constantinople during their journey, but others like Raymond believed Peter and commissioned twelve men who began the excavation. Despite digging for an entire day, they found nothing until Peter jumped in the hole barefooted and began to pray. 


Then suddenly a small shard of metal was found and the entire host rejoiced. It’s difficult to imagine or describe the profound effect that this relic had on the army, but even the modern scholars agree that this shard had a profound impact on crusader morale. Later that year, the Latins would write to the Pope: “We were so comforted and strengthened by [the Lance's] discovery and by so many other divine revelations that some of us who had been discouraged and fearful beforehand, then became courageous and resolute to fight, and encouraged each other”. 


The next two weeks were uneventful as the starving, but uplifted crusaders hoped to be reinforced. Peter the Hermit was sent to negotiate with Kerbogha and offered a group trial by combat, where 5, 10, 20 or 100 men on each side would fight to prevent mass casualties, but the atabeg simply laughed to his face and demanded that they surrender and convert to Islam, if they wanted to live. 


The Latins were trapped and decided pursued an extremely aggressive and bold strategy: They would forfeit their defensive positions in order to sally out and attack the enemy head-on. Bohemond was elected as commander-in-chief of the entire army, the men fasted for three days, shared bread and wine and marched out of the city on the first light of June 28th 1098. 


Bohemond divided his now nearly entirely infantry army of 20 000 including some non-combatants into four equal contingents: The Northern French under the two Roberts; Lotharingians and Germans commanded by Godfrey and the Southern French led by Adhemar, Bohemond himself as always held the reserve made up of Southern Italians and Raymond who was ill, was left with 200 men to guard the city against the citadel. Heralds were deployed to ensure the cohesion of each of the four groups and Hugh of Vermandois led a squadron of archers which beat back the first line of Muslims. 


Under the cover of Frankish arrows, each division was allowed to cross the river onto the plain and join in formation. The Muslim force was far larger, but spread out in order to maintain the blockade and it took some time for Kerbogha to receive the news of the audacious movements, since his camp was 5 km to the north. Writing many years later, the Muslim chronicler Ibn al-Athir explained events by claiming that the following discussion between Kerbogha and his advisers happened: 'The Muslims said to Kerbogha: "You should go up to the city and kill them one by one as they come out; it is easy to pick them off now that they have split up." 


He replied: "No, wait until they have all come out and then we will kill them.'" Kerbogha knew that if he ordered a quick response, the crusaders would most likely retreat back into the walls after a brief skirmish and what he wanted was a decisive victory. But rather than taking his time, taking the city or using his mounted archers to harass the sluggish and hungry crusaders, he then ordered a rushed, disorganized advance. 


Meanwhile, the Latins were busy fighting off an enemy from the south which rushed in from the back, but the rearguard fought with such ferocity, despite taking heavy casualties, that the enemy was repelled and forced to flee, disconnected from the rest of the Seljuk host. Numerous tents were scattered around the siege lines, preventing the Seljuks from fully committing to their steppe tactics, especially since their commander was missing, it is important to remember that, unlike the crusaders, their coalition only had one leader, who was now smashing against his own routed troops. 


He tried to rally his men and charged against the riderless knights, but the line of heavy infantry held. At close quarters the Muslims were no match for the westerners and it didn’t take long for them to turn and flee. One Muslim chronicler reports: The Franks, though they were in the extremity of weakness, advanced in battle order against the armies of Islam, which were at the height of their strength and numbers, and they broke the ranks of the Muslims and scattered their multitudes. 


The camp was overrun and ravaged, the citadel surrendered and the Muslim coalition was defeated. Every leader stuck to Bohemond’s plan and capitalized on the morale from the Holy Lance as well as the desperation. The crusaders seemed to have been worlds away from home and yet again they were victorious against all odds. 


First Crusade

Civil war of the First Crusade


The road to Jerusalem was open. The triumph at Antioch was nothing short of miraculous. Heat, cold, disease, and desertion failed to disperse the expedition, yet now the council of princes decided to stop and wait out the summer in order to recuperate. The plan was to leave for Jerusalem on November 1st, but in reality, no crusader would see the walls of the Holy City for over a year. 


Rather than consolidate the crusaders were split into two large camps, arguing over the claim over Antioch and the oaths to Alexios. On one hand, everyone swore to return every city they took to the Romans, but on another, the princes agreed to cede the city to Bohemond provided that he took it, which he did. 


To settle the differences, the crusaders sent out Hugh of Vermandois as an envoy to the Emperor. This brings us to one of the most important and misunderstood moments in this story: Did Alexios abandon the crusaders? Back in June 1098, Alexios was leading an army in Anatolia and camped at Philomelion, when he met Stephen of Blois and a couple of other deserters from the siege of Antioch. There the crusader told Alexios that the situation was hopeless and that he should abandon the cause. Latin sources denounce both men as cowards and pick this moment as the reason why their relationship soured, but the reality is as usual a lot more nuanced. 


Alexios did turn back, but he never intended to march as far as Antioch, due to the logistical strain it would entail on a large army, not to mention that he was well aware that his absence could lead to rebellion or even a civil war, both of which he already had to deal with on multiple occasions. Furthermore, he also received news that the Seljuks were preparing another invasion, a threat he took seriously, since he evacuated the citizens of that region, to protect them from the nomads. 


Indeed, an attack was attempted on Paipert, which ultimately failed, due to the military prowess of the semi-autonomous leader of Trebizond Theodore Gabras. So even when Hugh met Alexios in Constantinople some months later, the Emperor could offer little more than the continuous naval supply that kept the Latins fed until this point. 


And yet the reports that Bohemond was serious about keeping the city for himself infuriated the Byzantine court, ending their goodwill and starting a new phase in the history of the crusade. Rather than return to his fellow crusaders, the count left for France only to be chastised by his countrymen who saw him as a coward and embarrassment. He would later join the crusade of 1101 and die fighting, but that is another story that we will tell in the future. 


Back in Antioch, the lines were drawn and most of the princes aligned themselves with Bohemond, secretly ceding their portions of the walls to him. Raymond of Toulouse positioned himself as his archnemesis and occupied the Bridge gate, the lifeline to the coast, as well as the governor's palace. He even attempted to take the citadel for himself, but its commander Ahmad ibn-Marwan proclaimed that he would only surrender to Bohemond. 


Despite being the most stubborn of the princes, when it came to swearing his oath to Alexios, Raymond insisted that the words he uttered, while holding the sacred relics shouldn’t be discarded and he was willing to sabotage the entire crusade, just so Bohemond wouldn't get what he wanted. In the meantime, Bohemond was busy. He restored the cathedral of St. Peter, allowed the Greek patriarch John IV to return to his duties and signed a deal with Genoa on July 14th, 1098. This surviving document tells us so much about the political situation at the time. 


Genoa received thirty houses near the church and the rights to run a market on the square. Bohemond was not mentioned as the owner of the city, but Raymond was singled out from the rest of the crusaders and the Empire was not even mentioned. The Latins were at an impasse and both parties were doing everything in their power to prevent the other from winning, while the lesser knights and peasants starved to death. Antioch was now friendly territory and Byzantine shipments dried up, leaving the less fortunate stuck, only a three-week march away from their goal. 


The leaders made an extraordinary announcement, declaring that all participants could freely change their liege lord. This was a game changer and it is important to take a moment to explain, because we often forget that the medieval world was one bound by religion and vassalage, not culture and nationalities. There was a strict social structure and hierarchy, which was maintained throughout the long expedition, with liege lords big and small on top, and knights who swore fealty to them below. Additionally, there was a substantial number of commoners hired by the same lords. 


What we have seen so far was half a dozen branches from different parts of Europe, but in reality, there were hundreds of them, to begin with. There was a complicated system of oaths of fealty holding it all together, which was not always based on dynastic ties. 


For example, Bohemond's nephew Tancred was a leader in his own right, with a retinue of his own. So why did the crusade leaders decide to unravel this structure? On one hand, some were wealthier than others either due to the funds they had raised at the start of this journey, or because they were more efficient in looting. 


But more importantly, the mounting death toll as a result of battles, weather, famine and disease had killed an enormous number of the Latins, both high and lowborn. There were many followers, who lost their liege lord and were now free of their oaths, so all traditional ties were now broken and many flocked to the rich entourage of Raymond, but even more, decided to join the firmly established county of Edessa as mercenaries. 


Its ruler Baldwin used this manpower to capture local towns and forts, such as Tell-Bashir. What the crusaders didn’t anticipate however, was for several lesser lords to use this opportunity to carve out domains of their own, such as Raymond Pilet who gathered a small force and attacked the fertile Jabal as-Summaq plateau. He briefly besieged a castle called Tel-Mannas before its occupants, Syrian Christians, welcomed him inside and accepted his lordship. 


A week later, he attacked an unnamed castle and re-enacted the terrifying chapters of the People Crusade, by slaughtering thousands of Muslims who refused his forced conversion. From there he left overconfident and low on supplies to take on the large city of Marrat an-Numan. As the garrison saw his contingent, they sallied out and killed nearly every single member of the expedition. 


There were probably many small-scale adventures such as this one, but no others are recorded. Tensions were rising, manpower and supplies were depleting, and the connection with the Empire was severed, but the crusade could still be salvaged, because, as always, Bishop Adhemar was there to moderate and lead the princes to a compromise… until he died on the 1st of August. At the time, most of the princes left the city to pursue their own interests, leaving behind only the poorest crusaders and the local population. As usual, the charitable defender of the less fortunate Adhemar stayed behind, as a typhoid epidemic swept through the city. 


Some modern estimates indicate that over 100 000 people died across the region in the span of a few months, with the spiritual leader and papal legate, being one of the first to succumb. At the exact same time, 1500 fresh German crusaders arrived, eager to join the crusade, only to be annihilated by the deadly disease. The consequences this had on morale were devastating. 


As historian Jay Rubenstein puts it: “If the Franks were the Chosen People wandering through the desert, Adhémar had been their Moses”. But before his body was even cold, politics came into play as Peter Bartholomew, the man who received visions, that led to the “discovery” of the Holy Lance used this as an opportunity to become a prophet. 


Within forty-eight hours of the bishop's death on 1 August, Peter Bartholomew claimed to receive his first vision of Adhemar's spirit. According to him, they had a conversation, where the bishop admitted that his doubt of the authenticity of the Holy Lance led him to hell. “'Following the uncovering of the Lance, I sinned deeply and so was drawn down to hell, whipped most severely, and as you can see my head and face were burned. 


Bohemond said that he would carry my body to Jerusalem. For his sake, he shall not move my corpse from its resting place because some of the blood of Christ, with whom I am now associated, remains there. But if he doubts my statements, let him open my tomb and he shall see my burned head and face”. No one was more respected than Adhemar, who was buried at the same place where the Lance was found and now Peter used his spirit to reshape politics and boost his own legitimacy, basically appointing himself as the new spiritual leader. 


In another claimed vision of Saint Andrew, Peter relayed the message that the city should not be given to Alexios or Raymond and that the two parties should make peace. Despite being a part of Raymond’s retinue, the self-made prophet now had an agenda of his own and answered to no one, which gained him the adoration of the masses. 


The third major leader of the crusade, Godfrey of Boulogne, grew in popularity and strength. His wealth attracted many Latins and his brother gave him the towns of Tell Bashir and Ravendan. Around this time Omar, a local Muslim ruler of the city of Azaz approached him for aid against Ridwan of Aleppo, giving his own son as a hostage. When Godfrey finally agreed, the news was carried back to Azaz via carrier pigeon. Godfrey duly led a relief force towards Azaz and quickly frightened off the Aleppan army. Raymond rushed to try to get a slice of the pie but was too late. 


Godfrey received a richly decorated armor, inlaid with gold and silver, as well as a lot of prestige. Bohemond on the other hand was busy in Armenian Cilicia, where his nephew Tancred had secured a Norman foothold. Bohemond was the most charismatic and won the most victories, but he was content with what he had achieved and would go no further, leaving Godfrey and Raymond to compete for the crusade leadership. 


Despite his old age and rivalry with most of the other crusaders, Raymond still possessed the Holy Lance and the largest contingent, but not enough to break the deadlock. And so the crusaders turned to the man who initially called the crusade: Urban II. On 11 September, a joint letter was sent to Rome, relating the news of Adhemar’s death and imploring the Pope to lead the crusade in person: “Since you initiated this pilgrimage and by your sermons have caused us all to leave our lands... 


we [now] beg you to come to us and urge whomsoever you can to come with you. For it was here [in Antioch] that the name of Christian first originated ... Therefore what in the world would seem more proper than that you, who are the father and head of the Christian religion, should come to the principal city and capital of the Christian name and finish the war, which is your project, in person ...


 For if you come to us and finish with us the pilgrimage that you inaugurated the whole world will be obedient to you”. Similarly to Alexios, Urban II was busy with other affairs in Europe and couldn't risk the journey to the Holy Lands. With the ongoing leadership struggle, the date when the Crusaders were planning to depart to Jerusalem - November 1st arrived, yet no leader was mobilizing their force as they continued to argue. 


Disgruntled gossip turned into rebellion as the lower ranks protested: 'It is obvious that our leaders, because of cowardice or because of the oath to Alexius, do not wish to lead us to Jerusalem ... If the Antiochene quarrel continues, let us tear down [the city's] walls; then the era of princely goodwill existing prior to its capture will return with its destruction. Otherwise, we should turn back to our lands before hunger and fatigue exhaust us'. The winter months continued the drag on and Raymond was unwilling to let go of his bitter rivalry with Bohemond. 


His main goal was building a platform, centered around his holy relic hoping to gain more support, but he soon realized that the only way he could take Antioch from him was to confront him with more than just words. The prince then decided that he would indirectly attack the Norman by establishing his own base around Antioch and starve out Bohemond and everyone who supported him. Raymond already controlled the way to the sea, so now he only had to secure the south by taking the city and succeeding where his namesake Raymond Pilet failed.


 And so, after their greatest triumph, where they managed to take the strongest citadel in the Levant, defeating a capable garrison and three relief armies in the process, the crusaders were now on the brink of self-destruction. It is easy to consider them as foolish and greedy as you can see, but the reality was a lot more complicated. This was an expedition featuring dozens of leaders with different characters, who experienced some of the harshest conditions and fought the same opponents, who crippled the Eastern Roman Empire. 


The plot twists and challenges, no doubt changed many of them, and finally, the desertion and rebellion of many of their followers, shows that the leaders didn’t fully represent the entire expedition. These were not one note characters and now without bishop Adhemar, their differences would collide and pull them in three separate directions. 


Battle that turned Crusaders into Canniballs: Siege of Ma'arra 1098


Until this point, Bohemond was the most battle-tested leader of the Crusade, but he decided to remain in Antioch as its ruler. But Raymond of Toulouse was so determined to prevent that outcome that he launched a campaign aimed at isolating and starving the city. He turned his gaze to the fertile Jabal as-Summaq plateau, conquering the ancient city of Albara, and capturing thousands in the process.

 

The Provencals continued to believe that all taken lands should be returned to Alexios, but, for the time being, they took control over the city, even appointing a Latin bishop, just so that their rivals didn’t get their hands on the land. On November 23, 1098, Raymond was joined by Robert of Flanders as they took the road to Marrat an-Numan, a strategic and wealthy settlement and the site of the humiliating crusader defeat a few months prior. 


Bohemond recognized the danger of the Provencal exclave, so he quickly followed, reaching the city by the end of November. The city had none of the geographical advantages of Antioch, however, it still had a formidable wall surrounded by a dry moat. One Provencal eyewitness recalled, 'the haughty citizens railed at our leaders, cursed our army, and desecrated crosses fixed to their walls to anger us. We were so enraged by the natives that we openly stormed the walls”. 


This, however, proved to be a rash decision, since the Franks only brought two siege ladders that didn’t even reach the top of the wall. The three leaders then decided to encircle the city and starve it out, but by the end of the first week, their supplies were dwindling. One Latin eyewitness remarked: 'It grieves me to report that in the ensuing famine one could see more than ten thousand men scattered like cattle in the field scratching and looking, trying to find grains of wheat, barley, beans or any vegetable”.


 The crusaders sent terms, but after they were rejected, a more aggressive strategy was adopted. They began filling the moat in multiple sections and digging underneath the walls. This was done under a constant barrage of stones, javelins, and hives of bees. Trees were cut down and larger, sturdier ladders were built alongside a formidable siege tower. 


The four-wheeled siege engine was dragged towards the wall, using iron hooks, while the defenders bombarded it with catapults and Greek fire. As knights began to climb the siege tower and fight on the walls, on the other side of town, another Provencal detachment climbed the ladders onto the walls, which were barely guarded, as the garrison focused on the main assault. Their success, however, nearly turned into a disaster and according to the chroniclers, “The ladder broke at once under the weight of the crowd who followed him, but nevertheless, he and some others succeeded in reaching the top of the wall. Those who had gone up cleared a space around them. 


Others found a fresh ladder and put it up quickly, and many knights and foot soldiers went up it at once, but the Saracens attacked them so fiercely, from the wall and from the ground, loosing arrows and fighting hand to hand with spears, that many of our men jumped off”. The fierce fighting went on for hours as the crusaders struggled for the ramparts, the intensity was too much for some, who jumped off the walls to their doom. 


Amidst the panic, as crusaders were pouring in from multiple breaches, the sappers collapsed another section of the wall, completely breaking the will of the garrison. However, the fighting dragged on for hours and only the night ended the fight, leaving some of the towers and parts of the city under Seljuk control. 


The logical thing to do was to await the dawn, rather than risk the danger of urban warfare in the dark. The leaders agreed to wait and the knights obeyed, but the poorer crusaders, still filled with adrenaline, couldn't stop now. Chronicler wrote: 'Because starvation had made them [desperate, they] carried the fight to the besieged in the shades of the night. Thereby the poor gained the lion's share of booty and houses in Marrat while the knights, who awaited morning to enter, found poor pickings. 


In the morning, Bohemond rounded up the city’s aristocracy in one spot and stripped them of their possessions, while the brutal sack was in full swing. Eyewitnesses report: Our men all entered the city, and each seized his own share of whatever goods he found in houses or cellars, and when it was dawn, they killed everyone, man or woman, whom they met in any place whatsoever. 


No corner of the town was clear of Saracen corpses, and one could scarcely go about the streets except by treading on their dead bodies. According to some Islamic chroniclers, this was the worst massacre in the entire First crusade, including Antioch and Jerusalem. Rumors began to spread that some locals escaped to underground caves beneath the city, so the crusaders smoked them out and tortured them until they either revealed the hidden location of valuables, or threw themselves into wells. Amidst the screams, the princes were at it again. 


Raymond did most of the heavy lifting in capturing the city, but Bohemond, cunning as ever, instructed his men to occupy as many towers on the wall during the fighting. Apparently, Bohemond stated bluntly: I shall agree to nothing with Raymond unless he cedes the Antiochene towers to me. Naturally, Raymond refused, and now each leader owned two halves of two different cities. As the turbulent 1098 came to a close, the spoils of war were exhausted, and the followers once again started discussing open mutiny. Raymond declared that he would be ready to commence the expedition in two weeks, eroding support for Bohemond, who refused to go further, before Easter. 


With resentment growing and his lines stretched thin, the Norman abandoned his foothold in the city and returned for Antioch, while Raymond convened another council, but this time in Rugia, his own domain. The first order of business was a last-ditch effort to resolve the Antioch despite, which, of course failed, but then after taking the moral high ground Raymond decided to buy the allegiance of his fellow princes. 


According to his chaplain Raymond offered Godfrey and Robert of Normandy 10,000 solidi each, 6,000 to Robert of Flanders, 5,000 to Tancred, and considerable amounts to the rest, who refused. To Bohemonds surprise, his nephew Tancred was among the many who took the deal, including Robert of Normandy. Robert of Flanders and Godfrey of Bouillon on the other hand refused. The crusade was now broken into 3 different armies, but at least it was now going somewhere. Raymond managed to attract notable leaders and their followers to his camp, but in the first week of January 1099, disaster struck once more. Back in Marrat, starvation gripped the city as supply dwindled and no words can truly paint the desperation and pain the Franks endured. 


Without guidance from their leaders, some crusaders began doing the unthinkable. At first, the Muslim corpses were ripped open, since occasionally coins would be found in their entrails, but then men began carving out pieces of flesh from the dead, devouring it, in some cases raw. While some partook in this act, others looked with disgust. This was an era of brutality and savagery, the very Bible these men read, contained a code of war that allowed enslaving the entire population of a conquered city and wholesale massacres and sacks were the norm, but even in this world this infamous act was looked upon by disgust, by every single chronicler we have access to. 


This act was so disgusting, that it strangely had an incredibly beneficial effect for the crusaders. Around the 7th of January, Marrat itself declared open rebellion after their discovery that Raymond intended to hold the settlement, so the mob tore down the city walls stone by stone. This made the count of Toulouse finally abandon his anti-Bohemond crusade and from then on, he disavowed his territorial ambitions and made his way for Jerusalem. 


To show how committed he was, Raymond abandoned the city and led a religious procession, where he walked barefooted in a simple robe, accompanied by his clerics. Once again, in an interesting plot twist, this show of piety now attracted many new followers, and morale was significantly boosted. But even if his popularity made him the de-facto leader of the crusade, Godfrey, and Robert of Flanders, still remained in Antioch with their armies. As his army moved towards Jerusalem, another blessing in disguise was laid at his feet. The tale of cannibalism spread throughout the region like wildfire, coupled with the tales from the siege of Antioch, many emirs pleaded for mercy, fearing that they would be submitted to cannibalism or worse. 


One by one they sent delegations, gifts, and offers of submission. Banu Munqidh, ruler of Shaizar was the first to offer safe passage throughout his lands, as well as cheap food and horses. Once again we see that, when approached in the right manner, the crusaders were willing to bend their religious convictions. Their military capabilities, physical strength and conviction in their cause was restored, an important milestone, which prevented the total collapse of the expedition. Next, the Franks found the town of Raphania abandoned by its denizens, but full of provision. Raymond took his time and enjoyed his blessings, but held the rear guard, while Tancred and Robert of Normandy led the vanguard, as it slowly advanced, hugging the coastline. 


On the 28th of January, the garrison of Hisn al-Akrad, a relatively small fortification placed exactly where Krak des Chevaliers stands today, launched a series of sorties and almost killed the leader of the crusade, but the vicious counter-attack terrified the garrison, forcing them to leave the next day. The fact that this strategic fortress fell was yet another news that paralysed the region. Homs and Tripoli quickly confirmed their truce with generous gifts. In reality, Raymond led no more than 5000 combatants and his hope was that through action and piety, he would inspire the rest to join him, but it was now February and as the army neared Tripoli, there was no sign of the rest of the crusaders.


 Frustrated and confused, Raymond decided to lay siege to the nearby fortress of Arqa on 14 February 1099, not because the fortress had a significant strategic value, but because the emir of Tripoli offered him a large reward, if they were to take it. Not to mention that they had nothing better to do, so the crusaders proceeded to make one of the worst mistakes of the expedition. One eyewitness attests: 'This castle was full of an immense horde of pagans, Turks, Saracens, Arabs, and Paulicians, who had made its fortifications exceedingly strong and defended themselves bravely. After encircling the city, Raymond dispatched two other Raymonds - Pilet and Turenne with a small force, aimed at taking the port town of Tortosa. But after they discovered, how well defended it was, they decided to trick the garrison. Under the cover of darkness, they lit many fires, mimicking a large camp. The defenders gazed upon the numerous lights and began to panic, many deciding to leave before the dawn. 


In the morning, the crusaders took the city without a fight, capturing valuable supplies and provisions The trickery worked and it even forced another neighboring Marqab’s surrender. The crusaders now had access to naval supplies, but Arqa was still a day’s march away. Back at the siege camp, the crusaders struggled to make any progress against the stubborn defenders, who used projectile weapons to cause substantial casualties amongst the Latins. Two chronolicers: Pons of Balazun and Anselm of Ribemont, were both struck by a catapult and perished. The siege dragged on for three long months, with little progress and as winter waned an embassy from the vizier of Fatimid Egypt al-Afdal arrived. 


Following Kerbogha’s defeat at Antioch the Fatimids attacked and took Jerusalem from the Seljuks in 1098 and soon after they were approached by Alexios, who not only revealed that the crusaders were now off his leash, but detailed their dwindling numbers. Regional lords trembled at the sight of the crusader banners, but al-Afdal could now call their bluff. His offer was simple: the division of all former Seljuk lands. Raymond loved the idea, but upon requesting Jerusalem, he was refused. The Fatimids were only interested in a truce, but still countered by allowing all pilgrims safe passage to the holy site. In an instant, the two natural allies became enemies and Raymond was well aware that he had a long road up ahead. Back at Antioch, Bohemond expelled all Provencal troops from their outposts and finally became the master of the city. But then, an emissary from Raymond arrived, detailing that a new army was assembling at Damascus, which would then march on his position and annihilate him.


 Despite their differences, Godfrey and Robert of Flanders couldn't let Raymond perish, so they quickly left for Arqa. Little did they know, this was either misinformation or a ploy to get them to join him, either way it worked. The crusade was still missing Bohemond, but it was as united as it was ever going to get, but Raymond spent too long and lost too many men to abandon Arqa now, so the siege dragged on. The emir of Tripoli offered 15 000 gold pieces, alongside horses, mules, garments and yearly tribute, while the emir of Jabala sent 5 000 gold pieces, horses and large supplies of wine. 


With so much wealth pouring in, some wondered if they should even take the city. For the first time in a while, the crusaders were wealthy and well fed, why sacrifice the golden goose, considering the misery many of them had to go through? But as time passed on, some lesser crusaders became greedy and started sending their own messengers, to extract tribute of their own, to the point that the emir of Tripoli was starting to wonder, when this was going to end. In response the crusaders decided to launch a brutal raid against the city, slaughtering hundreds and choking the aqueduct with corpses.


 And then on 5th April 1099, Peter Bartholomew shook things up even more with another vision, this time featuring Christ, St Peter and St Andrew. Raymond of Toulouse was to call forth the entire army and have them line up in battle formations. Peter would then 'miraculously' find the crusaders arrayed in five ranks. The Latins in the first three ranks would be devoted followers of Christ, but the remainder were those polluted by sins ranging from pride to cowardice. 


Peter actually came forward saying that God had instructed him to oversee the immediate execution of any crusader found wanting in this bizarre selection process. The camp was furious, the upstart prophet went too far and now everything he ever said was called into question, including the Holy Lance. He was then publicly challenged and had to prove his innocence through an ordeal. 


Ordeals were a rare, last resort measure in the Medieval legal system, where the accused would have to hold a red hot iron or place their hand in a boiling cauldron. If they were innocent God would protect them and the wounds would be free of any infection days later. However, Peter was fully convinced in his visions so he pleaded: 'I not only wish, but I beg that you set ablaze a fire, and I shall take the ordeal of fire with the Holy Lance in my hands; and if it is really the Lord's Lance, I shall emerge unsinged. But if it is a false Lance, I shall be consumed by fire.' After four days of fasting, the self-proclaimed prophet walked in front of a crowd of tens of thousands, bearing the Holy Lance. A group of bishops made three circles around the stacked wood chanting: ‘If omnipotent God spoke to this man, face to face, and if blessed Andrew showed him the Holy Lance while he kept vigil, let him walk through the fire unhurt. If it was a lie, let him burn, along with the Lance he shall carry in his hand.


 Ironically one of them was Peter the Hermit. Olive branches stacked four feet high, thirteen feet in length, were now set ablaze creating an inferno. A few arrows were fired at the rising pyre, but none came out on the other side. The crowd gasped as they watched the man walk through the fire and come out on the other side, his body seared from the blaze, flesh melting. After enduring twelve days of excruciating pain, Peter died and was buried at the site of the trial. 


The Holy Lance was now nothing more than a worthless piece of metal and Raymond's reputation was severely damaged, he tried to save face by fetching one of his followers to grab Bishop Adhemar’s piece of the True Cross, replacing one relic with another, but by this point, the people had lost interest. Around this time, Tancred, switched his allegiance and joined in with Godfrey’s forces - it was finally time for Raymond to admit defeat and march south in the first week of May. 


The count managed to bring the princes together, feed them and make them rich, but as he neared Jerusalem, he knew that he failed at both securing himself as a leader and carving out a principality of his own. 


First Crusade

Siege of Jerusalem 1099

After the failure at Arqa, the crusaders regrouped and marched on Jerusalem, taking a vow to not distract themselves with any other side missions. The princes consulted local Christians and Muslims in order to pick the safest and fastest route towards the city until finally agreeing with a Muslim guide supplied by the emir of Tripoli, who led them across the coastal road. On one hand, this was the quickest road, which allowed for continuous naval supply, but it also had several narrow passes, ideal spots for an ambush, making it risky. 


On their first day, the crusaders marched through one of those passes in single file, a place called Raz ez-Chekka - the Face of God, but there was no sign of the Fatimid forces. On the 19th of May 1099, they entered Palestine by crossing the Dog river. On the next day, upon reaching Sidon, their foragers were attacked by the Muslim garrison, before being beaten back by a group of mounted knights. In fact, the local wildlife was so far the biggest threat to the outsiders, after a number of them succumbed to the venomous bites of some deadly snakes. 


During the following nights, the crusaders banged stones together to protect themselves from the vipers. A new strategy was adopted, where after several days of marching, the army would stop and rest for a day. Tyre, Acre, and Caesarea also showed no signs of resistance. The cannibalistic and savage nature of the crusaders dissuaded the enemy garrisons, while the crusaders didn’t want to repeat the misfortunes of Marrat. 


On May 30th, the Latins sent a scouting party to inspect the last major settlement before Jerusalem - Ramleh, only to discover that it had been completely abandoned. This town had both strategic and spiritual importance, as it featured the Basilica of St George, a patron who the crusaders hoped would guide them to victory. It is here that we truly see how far Raymond had fallen, as the crusaders elected Robert of Rouen to garrison and hold the city. 


The power and influence within the crusade had firmly shifted from the southern French lords to the northern. On June 6th the resupplied army set off toward Jerusalem and encountered a group of local Christians from Bethlehem who begged them to free their city immediately. Tancred was dispatched leading a hundred knights, who rode through the night and secured Christ’s birthplace after the locals welcomed him with open arms. 


A huge mass was held at the Church of Nativity, before Tancred rejoined the main host, having raised his banner on one of the most important holy sites in Christendom. Upon his return on June 7th, he witnessed the army already setting camp, men, and women who traveled 1000s kilometers, now standing in front of the historic walls of Jerusalem. 


The Fatimids ineptitude allowed the crusaders to cover 300 kilometers within a month, but at the cost of having no line of communication back to Antioch. The crusaders were well aware that they had to risk everything and now there was no way back. While many believed in the force of divine protection, the leadership understood that success could only be achieved by throwing everything they had at the walls of the Holy city. There would be no protracted siege like in Antioch, not even an encirclement, there would only be death or glory. Between them and the finish line stood massive walls, four kilometers long, fifteen meters high, and three meters thick. 


To the east and west, the Judean hills acted as a natural barrier. The ground to the north and southwest was flatter, however, those positions were reinforced by the secondary outer wall and several dry moats. There were five major gates, each guarded by a pair of towers. In the northwest corner stood a stronghold called the Quadrangular Tower, while midway along the western wall stood the Tower of David itself, made up of solid stones sealed with molten lead. It took no more than 15 men to turn that giant heap of rock into an impregnable fortress. 


The Fatimid Caliphate had just regained Jerusalem from the Seljuks the previous years, under the leadership of vizir Al-Afdal Shahanshah, who believed the crusaders to be no more than Byzantine mercenaries, who were easy to control. As for the garrison in Jerusalem, it was commanded by the Fatimid governor of Palestine Iftikhar ad-Daulah. We don’t know the exact number of troops, but it is said that the governor had a sizable contingent of footmen and archers, reinforced by 400 fresh Egyptian cavalrymen. 


He expelled most of the Christians living in the city and poisoned all the nearby wells, while filling all the cisterns in the city. The circumstances were dire, but the crusader resolve had never been stronger. One Latin chronicler recounts the atmosphere by describing Tancred as he stood on the Mount of Olives: 'He turned his gaze towards the city, from which he was now separated only by the Valley of Josaphat, [and saw] the Lord's Sepulchre... 


Drawing a great sigh, he sat down on the ground, and would willingly have given his life there and then, just for the chance to press his lips to that [most holy church].' The Latins had 1300 knights and 12 000 soldiers, divided into many camps with barely enough cohesion to hold them together. There were now two remaining factions. 


The larger one led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Robert of Flanders, and Tancred, moved to besiege the city from the north between the Quadrangular Tower and St Stephen’s Gate, while Raymond of Toulouse and the southern French set up camp before the Tower of David, before relocating in front of the Zion gate. Godfrey was not the definitive leader of the crusader and was even granted a holy artifact by one of his clerics to solidify that position: a golden cross bearing the image of Christ, which served as a standard, boosting the morale of his men.


 This new aura of adoration attracted Robert of Normandy, who switched sides and took his men out of the Provencal camp and moved up north. Raymond even saw some of his own Provencal bannermen abandon him. Apart from not knowing if and when the Fatimids would send a relief force, the Latins struggled with the lack of woodlands around Jerusalem, which were needed to build siege weapons. But then one day as Tancred made his way into a cave to relieve himself during a bout of dysentery and found a small stack of wood hidden inside. 


Once a few scaling ladders were constructed the crusaders launched their first assault on June 13th. The climb up the wall was extremely difficult and a great skirmish ensued. On top of the battlements, some defenders used two-handed swords, using brute force to cut down the attackers, severing limbs and sending bodies flying down. Both sides sustained heavy casualties, but in the end, the first assault ended in failure. This defeat convinced the Franks to change their strategy and both crusader camps agreed to avoid further assaults until the necessary siege weapons were built, despite lacking the materials and craftsmen needed for siege towers, rams or catapults. 


Sitting in the middle of the arid hills under the hot summer sun with no drinkable water around them, the crusaders began to suffer the effects of thirst. One chronicler recounted: “We suffered so badly from thirst that we sewed up the skins of oxen and buffaloes, and we used to carry water in them for the distance of nearly six miles. We drank the water from these vessels although it stank, and what with foul water and barley bread we endured great distress and affliction every day, for the Saracens used to lie in wait for our men by every spring and pool, where they killed them and cut them to pieces.” 


Some of the marsh water was so contaminated that men even accidentally swallowed leeches, causing a painful death. But right when all hope seemed lost, on June 17th, six ships, most of them Genoese, docked at Jaffa. Unbeknownst to the Franks, the port that they didn’t bother to secure was left abandoned. A messenger was sent out and arrived at the dismayed crusader camp. 


The Latins then dispatched three squadrons: the first under Geldemar Carpnel with 20 knights and 50 infantry, 50 knights under Raymond of Pilet, and finally William of Sabran with an unspecified, but similar number of men. On their way to Jaffa, the first group encountered a 600-strong Fatimid detachment, which engaged them. Just when the crusaders were about to flee, the second group under Pilet arrived and pushed the Fatimids back. The battered crusaders arrived at Jaffa and feasted with the sailors who welcomed them with bread, wine, and fish. 


The celebration lasted all through the night with no sentries posted, and, as a result, the Latins woke up and saw a large Fatimid fleet surrounding the 6 western vessels. The port was overrun before everyone made their escape. Still, the majority made their way back to Jerusalem, carrying supplies and siege materials. In the following days, some of the Christians expelled from the city met up with the princes and advised them on where to find wood. 


The leadership sent out squads who cut it down and transported it back on camels, starting the construction of several siege engines. The construction itself led to yet another confrontation after one of the key engineers defected from the Provencal to the northern camp. Morale was so low that Raymond had to pay his own men extra wages just so they could stay, but tensions only rose. 


One of the main arguments that followed the crusaders since Antioch was who is going to be the lord of Jerusalem. The princes disagreed on who to crown as king, while the priests argued that it would be sinful to raise a king over God’s patrimony, suggesting that the city should be governed by the Church and protected by a Holy Order. Chronicler and crusader Raymond of Aguilers described this situation as such: “We now called a meeting because of the general quarrels among the leaders and specifically because Tancred had seized Bethlehem. 


There he had flown his banner over the church of the Lord's Nativity as if over a temporal possession. The assembly also posed the question of the election of one of the princes as a guardian of Jerusalem in case God gave it to us.” In between devotion and desperation, the hard work continued, as the crusaders built two of the finest siege towers of the time. Each one was three stories tall, with wheeled platforms designed to push up against a wall, protecting its passengers from projectiles. The towers were covered by interwoven branches and animal hides. 


Godfrey’s tower was even designed in a way that it could be disassembled in parts and repositioned on another section of the wall if needed. Additionally, the crusaders built a huge ram with an iron-clad head, several catapults, numerous scaling ladders, and a few protective screens. Meanwhile, Raymond ordered his soldiers to fill the moat in front of the Zion gate with rocks, a process which took three days and nights. On the other side of the walls, the Fatimids maneuvered their own catapults to the sections of the walls the crusaders intended to hit and began to bombard them. 


The barrage slowed down the Frankish progress, so in order to intimidate the defenders, a noble Muslim captive was beheaded in full view of the tower of David. Crusaders also caught a spy relaying messages in and out of the city. After questioning the man was catapulted to his death as he crashed on top of the stones piled in the moat. The garrison responded to this psychological warfare by fixing crosses on the battlements, which they then spat and urinated on. 


A rumor began to spread that this was an indication that the Muslims were desecrating the Holy Sepulchre. In early July one of the clergymen reported yet another vision of bishop Adhemar, who allegedly instructed the crusaders to lead a religious procession around the city walls with bare feet . As the huge mass of people passed along the walls blowing trumpets, they were bombarded by the garrison, which resulted in many men, especially priests being pierced by arrow fire. Desperate, yet full of bloodlust and determination the crusaders readied themselves for another assault. 


On July 14th, as daylight broke across a reddened sky, a horn cried out through the camp announcing the beginning of the attack. To the dismay of the Muslim garrison, Godfrey managed to fool them by building his tower in different locations for the past 3 weeks, staring directly at the Quadrangular Tower. During the night before the assault, he had it reassembled and moved to St Stephen's Gate, which was one of the greatest technological achievements of the era. 


On the northern front, for hours many brave men pushed the massive ram towards the wall inch by inch, until they used it to tear down a part of the wall. The defenders then poured fire kindled from sulfur, pitch, and wax setting it ablaze. The Latins frantically threw the remainder of their water supply trying to save the ram, but only charred beams remained. But then in an almost comical reversal, the crusaders lit the construction on fire again, so it would clear the path through the breach. Seeing this, now the Fatimids started throwing buckets of water, but before long the ram was gone and the breach was now fully open. On the southern side, Raymond had far less success, since the majority of the garrison was positioned in his location. 


That included nine out of the 14 catapults at the garrison’s disposal. Big rocks were hurled at them, alongside hails of arrows. As the siege engine came closer to the walls, flaming pieces of wood were also added to the barrage after being wrapped in pitch, wax and rags. Many of the projectiles had nails attached to them, so they would stick in whatever they struck. The fortifications, ditches and defenders proved to be a unassailable obstacle and the tower had to eventually pull back. 


By the end of the first day the news was mixed, but one thing became clear: their enemies had just as much determination as the crusaders did. On the morning of 15th July, the onslaught continued. Raymond’s tower approached the wall again and it was once more repelled by a barrage of catapult fire until it started to burn and collapsed. The other tower, bearing the golden cross standard and filled with men including Godfrey of Bouillon himself, moved slowly towards its destination, just one well-placed shot away from collapsing on top of the crusaders and all of their hopes. The garrison fired upon them with slings, hurled flaming projectiles dipped in oil and grease, setting some of the men and portions of the tower on fire. Indeed Godfrey nearly met his death when a stone was hurled and instantly killed the soldier standing next to him.


 The duke then grabbed his crossbow and fired back at the crew manning the catapult. The tower managed to prevail, thanks to how well it was built, since most of the fire was repelled by the animal hides, allowing it to make its way to the wall. Once they got close and had the height advantage, the crusaders started returning fire, clearing the wall from enemy archers. They were no more than a meter away, when the Fatimids used their secret weapon, reserved for only the direst of circumstances: Greek fire. Several flaming projectiles were hurled at the tower, producing flames that could not be put out by water, but when the commander of the garrison expelled his Christian citizens, he also gave the crusaders the antidote. 


Prior to the battle, the princes were given a crucial piece of advice: Greek fire could be neutralized by vinegar, so they made sure to fill many wineskins with the liquid, which was now poured over the Fatimid secret weapon. Either due to a combustible substance being mishandled or due to crusader fire, a nearby guard tower was lit ablaze and produced so much smoke that no defender could stand near it.


 In this crucial moment, Godfrey ordered his men to prepare, and cut loose one of the skins that held the tower together, unleashing a makeshift bridge: The Crusaders were on the walls of Jerusalem at midday. Ludolf of Tournai and his brother Engelbert were the first men to step foot in the holy city, rushing forward and establishing a foothold. 


Shields were raised and in the commotion, a squad of men underneath brought a scaling ladder and attached it to the same section of the wall. At that point, the Muslim garrison panicked and lost all cohesion, every man fleeing for their life: the crusader reputation preceded them and all it took was a single breach for the entire city to fall. News spread to the southern front where Muslim defenders abandoned their posts, some even jumping from the walls to their death and Raymond pressed the advantage as he entered the city. 


The First crusade had achieved its goal, but instead of celebration, what they proceeded to do was unspeakable. This was the greatest victory in the history of the crusades and it culminated in one of the most atrocious acts committed in the medieval era. Eyewitness Raymond of Aguilers reported: “With the fall of Jerusalem and its towers one could see marvellous works. Some of the pagans were mercifully beheaded, others pierced by arrows plunged from towers, and yet others, tortured for a long time, were burned to death in searing flames. Piles of heads, hands, and feet lay in the houses and streets, and men and knights were running to and fro over corpses.” 


Many Muslims fled to the Temple Mount, while crusaders like Tancred and Gaston of Beam gave a group of men stranded on the roof of the Temple of Solomon their banners for protection. But once discovered by other crusaders, none were spared. To quote Raymond:

 

“After a very great and cruel slaughter of Saracens, of whom 10,000 fell in that same place, they put to the sword great numbers of gentiles who were running about the quarters of the city, fleeing in all directions on account of their fear of death: they were stabbing women who had fled into palaces and dwellings; seizing infants by the soles of their feet from their mothers' laps or their cradles and dashing them against the walls and breaking their necks; they were slaughtering some with weapons, or striking them down with stones; they were sparing absolutely no gentile of any place or kind.” 


The only Muslim inhabitants who survived seemed to be the garrison commander and the elite cavalry, who locked themselves in the Tower of David and later negotiated terms with Raymond. As for the spoils, the chaos and emotions gave way to a systematically brutal approach: After this great massacre, they entered the homes of the citizens, seizing whatever they found in them.


 It was done systematically so that whoever had entered the home first, whether he was rich or poor, was not to be harmed by anyone else in any way. He was to have and to hold the house or palace and whatever he had found in it entirely as his own. Since they mutually agreed to observe this rule, many poor men became rich. Tancred personally entered the Temple of Solomon and left with all the gold and precious stones he could carry. 


Once again, after discovering that many inhabitants had swallowed coins before their demise, many began to disembowel the thousands of bodies on the streets, creating a revolting stench. With their hands still laden with gold and covered in blood, the Latins rejoiced at the sight of the Holy Sepulchre, singing songs and thanking their Lord for his protection. 


This is the point where most narratives re-told their adventures and even the most biased takes couldn't ignore the severity of the crimes committed in the aftermath of the victory. On the next day, a few remaining Muslims were tasked with dragging the dismembered corpses out of the city, while commander Iftikhar ad-Daulah surrendered the tower and was safely passed towards the nearest Fatimid stronghold: the southern port of Ascalon, the site of the last battle of the first crusade. 


First Crusade

Last battle of the First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon 1099


On July 17th, as bodies still littered the streets, the crusader council convened and discussed urgent matters such as how to dispose of all the corpses, where to house the soldiers and pilgrims as well as how to prepare for the expected Egyptian retaliation. But the biggest agenda in the meeting was who to elect as the city’s ruler. From the very start, this was what Raymond of Toulouse wanted more than anything else, but his lackluster performance in the siege, as well as his previous failed attempts, fake relics, and old age, put him in a bad position. 


Godfrey of Bouillon had a much better claim, but the clergy continued to resist the idea that a layman could rule the city of God. Raymond of Aguilers recounts: “ About this time a public assembly was held, for the leaders of the army were quarreling with each other. There was dissatisfaction because Tancred had occupied Bethlehem and had placed his standard over the church of the Nativity. An effort was also made to elect one of the princes king to have custody of the city. The bishops and clergy replied "You ought not to choose a king where the Lord suffered and was crowned.” But with the last patriarch Simon, only recently deceased, they had no candidate of their own.


 5 days later, a compromise was reached: Godfrey was chosen as the city’s ruler but styled as Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri or Advocate of the Holy Sepulchre,’ a title meant to distinguish him more as a protector, subordinate to the church. Raymond was furious and even refused to vacate the Tower of David, which lost him the little respect the rest of the crusaders had for him. Even his own followers began leaving him in droves and started making plans for their journey home. To ease the tension a little, Raymond gave the tower to his trusted ally Peter of Narbonne, the recently elevated bishop of Albara, who then quickly solved the dispute by betraying Raymond and opening the citadel to Godfrey. Raymond’s dreams had been crushed, so he left the city and made camp in Jericho. 


While he was away, the new patriarch of Jerusalem was elected: exactly a year after the death of bishop Adhemar, on August 1st, 1099, a Norman crusader by the name of Arnulf took his place. This was an open attack against the rights of Byzantium, which had kept a Greek patriarch in the city for a long time. The new patriarch left the Orthodox Christians alone, but violently persecuted Armenians, Copts, Nestorians, and Jacobites, who were prohibited from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. To strengthen his position, Arnulf then started a cult around a new holy relic: a battered silver and golden crucifix believed to contain a piece of the true cross. 


According to one source, the patriarch tortured locals to discover its location. When we examine how fragile the cohesion of this expedition was in its later stages, it is easy to underestimate them at every turn, which is exactly what most of their opponents did, including the Fatimids. But vizier al-Afdal was not going to let this stand. Ever since 1094, he was the de-facto ruler in Egypt, so he needed to maintain his legitimacy by dealing with the newcomers. Even before the city fell, a powerful force was assembled, and now it entered Palestine. 


History was now repeating itself, but this time the Franks decided to avoid the near disaster of Antioch and rode out to meet the incoming threat head-on. Originally the crusader force had more numbers than some countries, but now out of the 150 000 people, if we count the People’s Crusade, just over 10% remained. It was Tancred who managed to capture a few of the Fatimid scouts while patrolling the coastline, who discovered that a large army was only days away. Raymond and Robert of Normandy however refused the call to arms, requesting more proof of the existence of said army. 


And so with a combination of bravado and hubris, Godfrey marched out on August 9th, with his forces, supported only by Robert of Flanders. The soldiers left barefoot, accompanied by the Patriarch and the holy relic of the True cross, in what must have looked like a pitiful sight. The next day, under the pressure of their men, both Raymond and Robert joined Godfrey and assembled with the rest at Ramleh. Meanwhile Jerusalem was left un-garrisoned, with only Peter the Hermit and the clergy saying prayers, hoping for a Christian victory. 


This all-out strategy, once again meant that if they were to lose this battle, the city was guaranteed to fall, making the entire journey pointless. With all the leaders together again, the morale of the army was lifted and on the 11th of August 1200 knights and 9000 footmen made their way towards Ascalon. Late in the day they captured another group of Egyptian spies, who revealed the size of the Fatimid army. 20000 Muslims, with a core of heavy cavalry, incorporating Bedouins, Berbers and fearsome Ethiopians wielding giant flails able to kill a man and his horse in a single blow, were camped just outside of Ascalon and were going to push for the city the very next day. 


Godfrey realized he was outnumbered, so he relied on the element of surprise. After a short nearly sleepless night a few miles north of the port, the crusaders moved south before the dawn of 12th of August with Raymond on the right, Godfrey on the left and the two Roberts and Tancred in the center. The camp was not too difficult to locate on account of the massive herds of oxen, sheep, goats and camels and once in sight the crusaders made their move. The three groups charged at a moderate pace, catching the Muslims completely by surprise. 


Al-Afdal prioritized mobility and failed to set up a parameter or send out scouts, so most of his troops were still sleeping in their tents. Robert of Normandy headed directly towards the camp, capturing the vizier's personal coat of arms and most of his possessions. Galloping alongside the coastline, Raymond pushed many Fatimids into the sea, drowning them, while others rushed towards Ascalon, only to be crushed to death in the chokepoint formed at the gates. That initial shock totally broke the Egyptians and what could have been an epic battle, was nothing more than a rout. 


One eye-witness recalled: “In their great fright [the Fatimids] climbed and hid in trees, only to plunge from boughs like falling birds when our men pierced them with arrows and killed them with lances. Later the Christians uselessly decapitated them with swords. Other infidels threw themselves to the ground groveling in tenor at the Christians' feet. Then our men cut them to pieces as one slaughters cattle for the meat market.” Al-Afdal managed to escape into Ascalon and then sail back to Egypt, disappointed in how easy it was for the crusaders to destroy his army. 


Not only that, but they captured a wide array of treasures from his camp, reportedly those featured: 'gold, silver, long cloaks, other clothing and [twelve kinds of] precious stones. helmets decorated with gold, the finest rings, wonderful swords, grain, flour and much else'. His sword alone was later sold for sixty gold pieces. The bounty was so vast, that the army couldn't carry all of it, resorting to burning what was left behind. As for Ascalon, the port city refused to surrender to anyone but Raymond, the only prince known to have kept his promise of safe passage during the sack of Jerusalem. Godfrey was insulted and didn’t intend to give his rival such a crucial exclave that close to Jerusalem, so the Franks simply left. 


The strange combination of great martial success, followed by idiotic bickering, was still present. Because of this decision, the powerful Fatimid navy could maintain this foothold for more than half a century and Al-Afdal would use Ascalon as staging ground from where he would launch annual attacks. Regardless, the mission was complete, and the few survivors were some of the luckiest and tough people in history, with an adventurous and miraculous story so colorful that it could rival that of Alexander. As summer passed, many of them were ready to tell that story back home, and in September of 1099, Robert of Normandy and Robert of Flanders, along with the majority of the crusaders, sailed away. 


Raymond lingered, and Godfrey was left with just 300 knights to hold Jerusalem. News of Jerusalem spread, but Pope Urban II died in Rome on the 29th of July, just two weeks before the news of his success could reach him. For the mighty warriors who returned, their treasures were almost entirely spent by the time they returned home. They were exhausted, sick, and broke, but revered as heroes by anyone who crossed them. 


Robert of Flanders, now known as the Jerusalemite, returned to find his homeland in a desperate state. While he was away, emperor Henry IV, had attempted to seize it. He then pushed him back twice. Another war was waged against Normandy, which he also won, and then in 1111, Robert fell from his horse in battle. The crusader was trampled to death, but his reputation as a pious and victorious servant of Christ inspired many future crusaders. A man who met the Byzantine Emperor, fought the Sultan of Rum, Vizier of the Fatimids, rescued Jerusalem, defeated the Holy Roman Emperor and English king. It is no wonder that Flanders, which was one of the most highly populated regions in Europe, went on to become one of the biggest contributors to the crusades. Either by land or sea, recruits from this region were present in nearly every crusade that would follow. 


As for Robert of Normandy, his fate was considerably worse. To leave for the crusade, he temporarily sold Normandy's rights to his brother. To buy it back, he had to resort to marrying a young bride, but by this point, his brother Henry had taken the crown of England for himself, sparking a war. Robert landed in England and started an invasion, which was terribly planned. Lacking popular support, he was defeated and captured in 1106. 


He would spend the next 28 years being moved from one prison to another, including the Tower of London, until his death in 1134. In his cell, he reminisced how he regretted refusing the crown of Jerusalem “not out of reverence, but out of fear of the work involved.”. Many historians tend to gloss over these events, but the reality is that Robert had the claim and the supporters needed to take the English throne. In fact, he and Geoffrey Plantagenet are the only dukes of Normandy who didn’t become English kings, and had he done so, the history of England, France, and the crusades would be entirely different. Then there was Gaston of Bearn, the mastermind behind the siege weapons at Jerusalem. He went on to assist the Reconquista in fighting the Moors. 


Other warriors gave up combat for good and devoted themselves to becoming monks or priests in monasteries they founded. A man named Gulpher of Lastours, who was the first man on the walls of Marrat, is said to have come back with a pet lion. Peter the Hermit also made it home, with a piece of the Holy Sepulchre and John the Baptist. He founded a religious cult in France, which started a trend where pilgrims would make their journey to Jerusalem, enter the holy church and open a flask to capture its essence, a souvenir to bring back home. 


Other examples of such tourism included palm leaves, single strands of hair from Christ’s beard, a whole ball of the Virgin Mary’s hair, pieces of the True Cross, and numerous Holy Lances. This would set the trend, and modern archaeologists have found thousands of these flasks, meant to contain holy water or oil, called ampullae. They would be worn around the necks of those who wanted a piece of divinity and something they could show off back home. The reverence and stories that came out of the First crusade, spawned the Christian version of the Hajj. 


There were also those who deserted the crusade, and now that it was seemingly over, they faced the scorn of Latin society. Among them were Hugh of Vermandois and Stephen of Blois, who fled from Antioch and were now under the threat of excommunication. The overwhelming public shame was so powerful that it prompted a new, third wave of Latin armies in the Holy land, joined by numerous enthusiastic Franks who wanted either absolution, fame, or an artifact. 


However this time, the crusade was proclaimed by Pope Paschal II and featured numerous Germans and Italians. This campaign is now known as the crusade of 1101 or the crusade of the faint-hearted, highlighting two problems you must have already thought of. Wasn’t the first crusade over and why wasn’t it named the second crusade? Over the course of this long story, we went over many misconceptions, but today we will tackle the biggest one of them all. For many past and present historians, the battle of Ascalon was the perfect place to end this chapter. 


Crusade of 1101

The crusade was a miraculous success, Jerusalem was taken, and some of the chroniclers went home. This simplistic notion, somewhat cultivated by the historians of old and new, ignores that not a single of the main characters was brought to the conclusion of their story. 


Raymond was scorned for being overlooked as a new monarch, Alexios was yet to react to the capture of Jerusalem and expected the promises given to him by the Crusaders to be fulfilled, and Godfrey, who was just crowned, had not proved himself as a ruler yet, Bohemond’s squabbling with everyone around him continued, the Fatimid leadership hadn’t lost its resolve, and the Seljuk sultan of Rum Kilij Arslan still lurked in the Anatolian mountains. 


But arguably, the biggest oversight of so many historians had to do with the response of the west and the fate of the expedition we now call the crusade of 1101, which is why it is an often forgotten chapter of the crusades. 


Following the return of many crusaders who spread their adventure stories, many more now wanted to make their pilgrimage to the holy lands. The archbishop of Pisa Dagobert was particularly eager as he saw the opportunity for his republic to expand its influence to the east, a move already made by Venice and Genoa. 


After being appointed legate by the new Pope Paschal II, he set out with a fleet of 120 ships in the autumn of 1099, stopping and plundering the Byzantine islands of Corfu and Kefalonia along the way. Alexios rolled his eyes once more as he had to deal with plundering westerners and mustered his fleet. After a few skirmishes, the Pisans decided not to pick up a big fight with the Byzantines and sailed east, eventually landing in Antioch. There Dagobert gained the support of Bohemond and then finally arrived in Jerusalem a few days before Christmas in 1099. 


Almost immediately, the archbishop was accepted by most of the crusaders as the new patriarch of Jerusalem, replacing Arnulf of Chocques. This strong connection to Pisa meant that the crusaders now had a direct line of communication and supply with the west and no longer had to rely on Byzantine shipments. 


It was in the year 1100 that the new Outremer states, meaning the states beyond the sea as they were actually called at the time, would be set on a completely different path. In May, Raymond abandoned the Levant and sailed to Constantinople, where he asked emperor Alexios for aid to carve out a state of his own in Tripoli. 


Similarly, after an Armenian soldier of fortune, Gabriel captured the city of Melitene from the Turkic Danishmendids, Bohemond also received a request for aid from him. Using the overall chaos, Alexios began to slowly put pressure, asking the Norman to fulfill his oath and relinquish Antioch, and this would be the moment when the two came to blows. As Bohemond wasn’t budging, Alexios acted swiftly, sending his fleet to capture two critical Cilician ports: Seleucia and Corycos, off the coast of Cyprus. In response, Bohemond replaced the Greek patriarch of the city with a Latin one and what had so far been a cold war quickly turned hot. 


Bohemond needed to expand his base, and so he decided to fulfill his oath to help Melitene. He took his army and made his way toward the city, hoping to eliminate the Danishmendids. Unfortunately for him, however, his luck had run out. The steppe riders, who had a profound knowledge of the terrain and which passes to occupy, lured him into a trap and captured him at the battle of Melitene. His followers were killed, and he was moved to Neocaesarea. Alexios offered to pay 260 000 gold pieces to get his enemy into custody, well over the 100 000 they initially asked for, but the Danishmendids refused, as they preferred Crusaders to the Byzantines as their neighbors. 


In his absence, Tancred took charge of Antioch and was busy defending the city from a series of opportunists. Alexios surrounded the city on either side by taking hold of Cilicia and capturing Latakia in the south. While the Eastern Romans were squeezing Antioch, Godfrey was busy expanding the kingdom of Jerusalem to the south, making Acre, Jaffa, Ascalon, Arsuf and Caesarea tributaries, but then he suddenly fell ill. 


After fighting off the sickness for a month and a half, he finally succumbed on July 18th, ending his almost one-year reign. This nearly caused a civil war, as his supporters rushed to secure every tower in Jerusalem before the Pisan patriarch could fulfill his dream of annexing the city for the Papal State. Instead the crown passed to his brother the ruler of Edessa Baldwin, who in the words of his chronicler: “grieved somewhat over the death of his brother, but rejoiced more over his inheritance". Baldwin of Le Bourcq was selected as the successor of the county of Edessa. 


On the journey from Edessa to Jerusalem, Baldwin refused the pleas of the citizens of Antioch who wanted him to take over the city, which he refused to do. As he made his way south he was warned by the emir of Tripoli that Daqaq of Damascus prepared an ambush for him. With the crucial piece of intel, Baldwin located his enemy and vanquished him. He then chased Daqaq to Damascus and demanded that the city surrender, but its doors remained shut. 


After arriving in Jerusalem on November 9th he showcased his capabilities by raiding the envisions of Ascalon and launched an expedition in the nearby caves, slaughtering a group of bandits hiding there. Dagobert of Pisa was forced to accept defeat and crowned him King of Jerusalem on Christmas. The nearby towns made sure to send the new king precious gifts in order to ensure his good will. Back in the west, the immense efforts to rally a new group of crusaders started to produce results. 


The Pope purposefully targeted regions that didn’t send large contingents previously, which led to a multicultural and very diverse selection of warriors ready to join the fray. Much like the original members, these were separate groups who made their way to Constantinople on their own. They spoke different languages and had different customs and currencies but shared a common goal. 


Surprisingly that was not the liberation of the Holy Land, which had already been done for the most part. Instead, many set out on the long journey to free their hero Bohemond from captivity. Others wanted to repair their reputation, among them those who had abandoned the crusade during the siege of Antioch, as well as the prince of France Hugh and count of Blois Stephen. The largest contingent, however, was from an entirely new region: Lombardy, led by the archbishop of Milan, Anselm, who Pope Paschal II personally selected to lead the crusade. 


As he made his way through the highly populated Italian region, crowds greeted, him chanting “Ultreja! Ultreja!” - a common pilgrim salute, roughly translating to have a good journey. He was joined by Milo of Montlhery, Guy II of Rochefort, Albert of Biandrate, Albert of Parma and the bishops of Pavia, Piacenza and Tortona. While the contemporary figure of 50 000 men is vastly exaggerated, this force was at least 10 000 strong and filled with powerful knights. 


In late spring 1101, the Lombards peacefully made their way through Carinthia, Bulgaria and reached the lands of Alexios, who gave them access to his markets and supplies. While some sources report that order was quickly restored thanks to the quick response of Anselm, others paint a far more dire situation, where the insurgents broke into the Blachernae palace and killed Alexios’s pet lion. One way or another, the pilgrims were ferried over the Bosphorus and led to the chosen rallying point of Nicomedia. There they met a character we are all too familiar with: Raymond of Toulouse.


 The count failed to secure a piece of the Levant for himself, so he fled to the Byzantine camp with the few men he had left and offered his services to the emperor, as his interests now firmly aligned with those of Alexios, who also considered Bohemond an enemy. The old Frank had already made the journey through Anatolia once, so he was to act as a guide. 


To his dismay, the majority of the Lombards were more interested in freeing Bohemond than joining the rest of the crusaders and refused the carefully planned route in favor of a more direct approach to Neocaesarea, one that took them through the heart of Kilij Arslan’s territory. While the men argued over their route and priorities, the second contingent arrived, led by Stephen of Blois, who was accompanied by Duke of Burgundy Odo, count of Burgundy Stephen and Joscelin of Courtney. Many of the Franks, such as the Viscount of Bourges Arpin sold all of their possessions in order to be sufficiently provisioned with equipment, horses, fodder and coin, betting everything they had on this mission. 


Once again, we are uncertain about the exact number, but in all likelihood, it was around 10 000. Smaller groups from all over Europe arrived in Nicomedia, including the constable of the Holy Roman Empire Conrad, leading a large German contingent. Overall the army consisted of around 25 000 fighters, including a Pecheneg elite force led by Raymond. Spirits were high, and with each new recruit, the voices shouting for Bohemond’s rescue were getting louder. On June 3rd, 1101, Raymond finally relented. By late June, the army arrived at Ancyra, which was quickly captured from the Seljuks and returned to Alexios. 


Without even noticing it, the giant and sluggish host was shadowed by small groups of Seljuks, following their every move, as years after his defeat, Kilij Arslan saw his opportunity for revenge. The sultan was busy ever since his defeat at Dorylaeum, creating a coalition with the singular purpose of repelling any future Latin incursions. He knew the land well and was well aware not to underestimate his opponents again. 


Wells and cisterns were destroyed, towns ahead of the crusaders were emptied, night raids were launched at the back of the columns, foraging parties were harassed, but beyond that, there was no attempt at a pitched battle. The westerners now made their way towards the safety of the Black Sea, bringing them to the territory of the Danishmends, who, alongside Ridwan of Aleppo, were part of Kilij Arslan's alliance.

 

By August, their supplies were exhausted, and the heat had sapped their strength and morale. As the crusaders approached Mersivan, they were organized into five divisions: The Lombards in the vanguard, followed by Raymond, his Pecheneg riders and the Burgundians, The Germans behind them and lastly, the French. The horses were weak, the equipment heavy, and the army size made them slow down to a crawl, with communication between the different contingents extremely difficult due to distance and language barriers. Meanwhile, the nomadic warriors worked as one in the land they had known since their childhood. 


On the first day of this drawn-out engagement, Kilij Arslan cut off the separate armies and surrounded them after a feigned retreat maneuver. On the next day, Conrad led the German force in a failed raid that cost many lives. Unable to return to the main host, the survivors took refuge in a nearby stronghold, while the rest began to fear that Conrad betrayed them. The third day was uneventful but added to the pressure and anxiety, which, was drowning the crusader camp by this point. On the fourth day, the crusaders attempted to break out of the encirclement, inflicting heavy losses on their Seljuk enemies at a high cost. But then, on the next day, Kilij Arslan was joined by Ridwan of Aleppo and more Danishmendid princes.


 The Lombard vanguard was decimated, sending the Pechenegs in full retreat.Before long, the French and German contingents broke all cohesion and began fleeing. Raymond fell and was left trapped, but Conrad and Stephen helped him and together, they made their way toward the coast. 


The camp was captured, where the nomads found many priests, women and children that they enslaved. Those who didn’t possess horses, particularly the Lombards, didn’t manage to go very far as they were hunted down like wild game by the Seljuks. Raymond, Stephen of Blois and Stephen of Burgundy fled to Sinope and sailed back to Constantinople. 


Anselm and Odo both died from the injuries of this battle, and the Holy Lance found in Antioch was now in the hands of Kilij Arslan. While one army was ambushed and annihilated, another formed back in Constantinople as more groups arrived. William Duke of Aquitaine, Welf Duke of Bavaria, William count of Nevers and lastly, the French prince Hugh of Vermandois assembled, were given gifts and swore oaths to Alexios. Together they had over 30 000 troops. The count of Nevers was in no mood for waiting for the second group to ride out together, knowing there were others on their way to glory, so his contingent left Nicomedia and headed towards Bohemond. 


He came very close to the first army on numerous occasions but never caught up to them. At one point, he managed to lay siege to the Seljuk capital Iconium in mid-August while the sultan was distracted, but to no avail. Soon after he gathered the spoils from Mersivan, Kilij Arslan made his way against this new threat and ambushed William at Heraclea Cybistra. The Seljuks anticipated the move toward the Cilician gates and positioned themselves in the right place at the right time. 


Previously we saw how a force of 10 000 crusaders won multiple battles and took several heavily fortified cities, but here at the plateau of Anatolia, this force would become little more than a footnote in history. Only count William and a few dozen knights managed to survive and reach Antioch. Unfortunately, the details of the battle are lost, possibly due to the lack of European survivors. Lastly, there was the third group led by William of Aquitaine, Welf of Bavaria, Hugh of Vermandois, Hugh of Lusignan and the first woman to lead an army on a crusade, the Margravine of Austria, Ida. 


Together they made their journey across Anatolia, oblivious to the fate of the other two forces. Thanks to the advice of Hugh, this army did follow the Byzantine plan to reach Antioch, but regardless it was still mid-summer and the same problems that plagued the rest of the crusaders, stalled their progress. Seljuk skirmishes and supply issues broke their morale as they were guided towards Heraclea like lambs to the slaughter. 


Once on the horizon, the city looked like a breath of fresh air, a place where they could restock and drink fresh water, but as they neared, they saw the destroyed cisterns and dead bodies of the previous group. There was not much of a battle to speak of, the crusaders were exhausted, dehydrated, demoralized and not suited for the warfare the Seljuks had perfected. Many, including Hugh and Welf, died, while others including Ida were captured. According to a later false legend, she then became a part of a harem and became the mother of Zengi, the future founder of the Zengid dynasty. 


While that claim was completely false, we cannot ignore the impact these expeditions had on the minds of the western world. When they set out to the east, the Lombards were discussing plans on how to march on Baghdad, but in the end this calamity reshaped the borders and mentality of the Christian world. In terms of numbers the crusade of 1101 is amongst the largest crusader forces ever assembled, behind the first and third crusade. One can only imagine how big of an impact all of these knights would have had on the depleted crusader states, who were in dire need of reinforcements. 


Bavaria, Nevers, Lombardy and Aquitaine could have built entire lines proud of their crusader lineage and continue to be active contributors to the cause, but within a single year, Kilij Arslan turned the tables. However, this failure didn’t dissuade all future crusaders, in fact, the colossal failure of these expeditions only re-affirmed the legendary status of Godfrey, Baldwin and Bohemond. It also highlighted the dangers of Anatolia and incentivized the sea route, an incentive the merchant republics of Italy were more than happy to facilitate. 


The crusader states themselves were never actually called that. Instead, they were referred to as Outre-mer, meaning land beyond the sea in French. But if this expedition, which was clearly tied to the first crusade, had such a profound impact on the world, why was it ignored by western historians for centuries? Hopefully, by now, you can realize that this was a choice made for convenience, as well as an attempt to simplify the incredible story of the first crusade. 


Not to mention that going forward, historians would continue to make the same mistake of numbering some crusades, even if they had a smaller impact like the 8th and 9th, while other very important crusades, such as the Venetian and Barons’, are not among the numbered ones. 


First Crusade against Romans


The campaign started by what is now known as the First Crusade is widely considered the most successful crusade in history, so it is only fitting that it was followed up by its greatest failure. In reality, both of them and the upcoming events are part of the same convoluted chapter, which we will attempt to shed some light on. Raymond of Toulouse was chosen by Alexios to act as a guide to one of the large groups and ultimately managed to save his life and sail to Constantinople. From there he sailed to Antioch seeking to rejoin the struggle for power but was imprisoned by Tancred. 


Bohemond’s nephew only agreed to let the old man go after he swore that he wouldn’t attempt to conquer any land in the Levant. Raymond then proceeded to conquer a piece of the Levant for himself, but only this time, he did do it on Alexios's behalf. Yes, this is not a typo, Raymond who was the only major leader who refused to bend the knee to Alexios in 1095 was now laying siege to Tripoli, aided by 10 Byzantine ships which blockaded the city. 


The defenses of Tripoli were formidable, so he proceeded to build a castle overlooking it, called Mons Peregrinos or Pilgrim’s Mountain, with the help of Byzantine engineers. His minuscule army of 300 knights managed to capture Tortosa and Gibelet, but the defenders of Tripoli refused to surrender. In the meantime, the survivors of the Crusade of 1101 had made their way into the Holy Land and were regrouping in Jaffa in the presence of king Baldwin in 1102. That was when scouts gave him reports of a small Fatimid army moving to their position. 


Baldwin feared and respected the armies of the Seljuks and Aleppo, but after the victories in Ascalon and Ramla, he was well aware that the more stationary Fatimids, who used a mixed force of Arab and Berber cavalry supported by Sudanese bowmen, were easy to break using the traditional Frankish tactics. And so the king of Jerusalem rode out to meet his foes accompanied by no more than 200 knights. To their dismay, they wouldn’t meet a small force, but a 20 000 host led by vizier Al-Afdal’s son Sharaf al-Ma’ali. 


The crusader army fled to the nearby city of Ramla and barricaded themselves in its single tower. The situation was hopeless, and in the cover of night, Baldwin, his scribe and a single knight escaped, leaving the rest to their fate. In the absence of their king, the remaining crusaders said a prayer and charged out against the besiegers. There were no survivors. Many knights and notable nobles were among the casualties, including powerful nobles like Hugh of Lusignan, Stephen of Burgundy and most importantly, Stephen of Blois, the man who abandoned the crusaders in the siege of Antioch. 


The Fatimids then went to Jaffa, a crucial stronghold, where the Queen of Jerusalem resided and laid siege to it. There they employed a very deceptive tactic as they grabbed the corpse of one of the fallen knights, mutilated its body and paraded it in front of the walls of Jaffa. Sharaf wanted to weaken the garrison's morale, pretending to have killed Baldwin, and the trick worked. But just as the defenders were getting ready to surrender, the king returned.


 Baldwin, who had made his way to Arsuf and boarded an English pirate ship, now ran through the Fatimid blockade, while Hugh of Fauquembergues and 80 knights broke the lines near the coast. Once inside, Baldwin assembled a force of eight thousand and charged at the Fatimids, scattering their siege lines and forcing them into a full retreat. In 1103 the close call was followed up with more successes for the crusaders as Tancred sacked the city of Al-Muslimiyah, taking many Muslim captives and ransoming them back to Aleppo. 


He had also managed to capture the Byzantine cities of Tarsus, Adana and Mamistra, and in that very year, Bohemond’s ransom was paid, and he was released from the Danishmendid captivity. Bohemond then proceeded to attack Kafar Latha, but was repelled by a resilient Banu tribe. Despite this minor setback trade with Genoa, Pisa and Venice was flourishing, and each of them soon had their own quarter in every major crusader city. 


However, things started to change for the worse for the Crusaders in 1104. It all started with Baldwin of Bourg, ruler of Edessa, who laid siege to the city of Harran. The influential crusader needed aid and requested assistance from both Antioch and Jerusalem. For a moment the crusaders were re-united with a common goal as Bohemond, Tancred, Joscelin of Courtenay, the archbishop of Pisa, Dagobert, and archbishop of Edessa, Benedict, were all on the same side. 


Together they mustered a force of around 1000 knights supported by 9000 infantry and archers. This unity would not last as the Seljuk rulers of Mosul Jikirmish and of Mardin Sokman launched an attack on Edessa with 7000 horse archers, hoping that it would force the crusaders to lift their siege. Indeed both armies lifted their siege in order to meet at the battle of Harran in 1104. The crusaders were so rushed that Baldwin and Bohemond? didn’t even wear their armor. What happened next was a two or three-day-long feigned retreat, the classic move that armies throughout history never stop falling for. The crusaders from Edessa were positioned on the left, while those from Antioch took the right in a loose formation that kept changing as the days passed. 


The chase began near the city of Raqqa and continued until Harran, a distance of just over a hundred kilometres. The crusaders were decisively crushed, with Joscelin and Baldwin of Bourg captured, while Bohemond and his nephew barely escaped. This was another decisive defeat which stopped the seemingly unstoppable momentum of the First Crusade. 


This defeat cost Bohemond so many men that almost instantly, the cities Tancred fought so hard to take from the Byzantines rebelled and flipped to Alexios. Cilicia was lost, but even worse, the harbor of Laodicea was taken by a Byzantine admiral. Bohemond barely held out in the city's citadel, knowing that his days were numbered. He was well aware that unless he gained reinforcements, his cause was hopeless, especially with his lifeline to the west now being cut. 


Only a few weeks after the battle, Baldwin of Jerusalem managed to take Acre with the help of the Genoese and Pisan navy, putting even more pressure on the prince of Antioch to act. As we covered earlier, in 1081, Robert “the fox” Guiscard and his son Bohemond launched the first Norman invasion of the Balkans, giving Alexios his first test merely months after he took the throne. Together they took Larissa and won several major victories. 


Alexios proved to be more cunning and outmaneuvered Robert, forcing him to leave a young Bohemond in charge, who the Emperor then beat. In the following years, the Byzantines hired Normans to fight Seljuks and Seljuks to fight Normans before Alexios weaponized Christian fever to create an amalgamation which was already spiralling out of control. And now, in 1104, exactly 100 years before the sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, Bohemond of Taranto, prince of Antioch, decided to set sail for the destruction of the Eastern Roman Empire. 


But for him to get there, he needed an army, and between him and his army, Bohemond had to make several stops in Byzantine ports. Luckily he was very resourceful. The prince ordered his men to dress up as if they were in mourning and lay him in a coffin, with secret air vents in the middle of the deck. A rooster was killed and placed inside so that the stench of death was all around it. 


Whenever they set anchor in a trade port, they would loudly announce the death of Bohemond, the scourge of the empire. This rouse went on for a while, but then just as they were about to set out from Corfu, Bohemond revealed the truth and sent Alexios a letter, which Anna Komnena describes in great detail: “Overtime your empire have learned what sort of man I am - my courage and firm resolve as an adversary. When I turn my luck around, God knows I will not leave unavenged the woes I have suffered. Ever since I marched across Roman lands and took Antioch and enslaved all Syria with my spear, I’ve suffered much pain because of you and your army. Hope after hope has been dashed, and I’ve been tossed into thousands of calamities and barbarian wars. But now here I am! Know that, though I was dead, I have arisen, returned afresh, slipped through your hands.


 Disguised as a dead man, I evaded every eye, every hand and intelligence. And now living, moving and breathing the air, from Corfu I send Your Majesty extremely disagreeable news, which you will not receive with pleasure, that I have handed over the city of Antioch to my nephew Tancred, bequeathing him as a suitable match for your generals. 


As for me, I am going to my own country. To you and your friends, I’m considered a corpse, but to myself and my friends, I’m living and planning clever schemes against you. To upset completely the Roman realm under your command, I died while living and while dead, lived. If I should reach the mainland across the sea and catch sight of the Lombards and all the Latins and Germans and our own Franks, warriors memorable in battle, I will fill your cities and countryside full of slaughter, full of blood, until I plant my spear in Byzantium itself.” In January 1105, Bohemond landed in Apulia in a similar manner to how Napoleon landed in France after his exile in Elba. 


In the eyes of the west, Bohemond was a superhero. Tales of his exploits had been circulating for half a decade, including a famous manuscript written by an anonymous Norman knight, which we know as the author of the Gesta Francorum. This manuscript had found itself in every court in France and everywhere Bohemond went men and women flocked to see this legendary conqueror of Antioch, who vanquished Kerbogha and numerous other armies. 50 000 men from every corner of Italy, France and Germany died for his freedom, and now he was parading around Italy and preparing for another invasion. 


He personally met with Pope Paschal II, and while the bishop of Rome was reluctant to make the third call to crusade, this time against another Christian nation, he was also desperate to wipe the stain of the crusade of 1101. Following in Urban’s footsteps would be difficult for any Pope, and now Paschal felt responsible for the blunder in Anatolia. And so he wrote a papal letter and put a papal legate under Bohemond’s command. The call to crusade was now in full effect, and while the end goal was Jerusalem, Bohemond was allowed to take into the heart of the Eastern Roman Empire and vanquish Alexios. In March 1106, he travelled to France and met with king Philip I. 


After a lengthy negotiation, Bohemond secured a marriage for himself with none other than his king’s firstborn daughter Constance, who he married in Chartres. He even arranged the marriage between Tancred and another French princess Cecile. The prince of Antioch now had the funds, connections, manpower, papal decree and motivation to complete his task, but he didn’t rush it. 


He carefully planned his invasion for over a year in Italy while training his men, building his fleet and spending time with his already pregnant wife. On the other side of the Adriatic, Alexios was also not idle. When he first met the Normans, the emperor was a young, hot-headed man who learned much from their encounters. Now he took every precaution to prevent the destruction of what he had been building for decades. In 1104 he ushered in a new era of Byzantine diplomacy, by establishing a marriage alliance with Hungary, as his son and heir John married the Hungarian princess Piroska, who was renamed Irene after her conversion to the Orthodox faith. 


Alexios called upon his Venetian allies, who fulfilled their oath by patrolling the seas and slowing the Norman progress. For a while now, he had been training 300 sons from the most powerful noble houses, preparing them to lead. Each of them was given a contingent and ordered to patrol and fortify the Balkans so that they became accustomed to its difficult terrain. Then the emperor left the comforts of the capital and made his way to Thessaloniki, reminiscing the actions of Basil II and surviving yet another assassination attempt. There he established a base camp and ordered every governor in the Balkans to stockpile supplies and fortify their defenses, giving them the necessary funds to do so. 


He also pulled his best generals who were engaged in Armenian Cilicia, focusing the entire empire on this impending invasion. The best of the Latin world was about to clash with the best of the Eastern Roman world in a clash, and both sides were ready. On October 9th, 1107, Bohemond finally launched his expedition, slipped through the Byzantine and Venetian navy and landed at Valona with 15 000 troops. By the 13th, he was already laying siege to Dyrrachium.


 Alongside the numerous ferocious warriors, he also had a member of the Diogenes family - a relative of Romanos IV, who was defeated at Manzikert in 1071, a puppet he meant to install on the throne. In almost every way, this was a repeat of his father's invasion, but this time the Byzantines were ready for him. Bohemond’s scouts reported that the defenses were impenetrable and that every valley and mountain pass was blockaded by small bands of soldiers, so The Norman pulled back to the safety of Valona and re-assessed the situation.


 Although Bohemond was a master tactician, Alexios left him no available moves on the board and in frustration, he besieged Dyrrachium again in the spring of 1108. Rams were built and rolled towards the gates, before being set on fire. Tunnels were dug, but the defenders dug tunnels of their own, and once they connected with those of the enemy, fires were lit to smoke them out. Finally, Bohemond built a massive siege tower, similar to the one in Antioch, but it, too, was set ablaze, probably by the use of Greek fire. 


He then ordered his men to try and break the encirclement by attacking the Byzantine positions in the mountains. Both sides took heavy casualties, but there was no breakthrough. As time went on, resources became more scarce. Bohemond had brought over 15 000 well-trained, well-armed, inspired men, but thanks to the Venetian blockade, they were now starving and wasting away. Rumors began to spread as his followers questioned his greatness and the value of this entire expedition. If they couldn't even take Dyrrachium, how could they hope to take Constantinople, others questioned the entire journey altogether, wishing that they had sailed to the Holy Lands. 


And then a letter arrived. Alexios knew that he had Bohemond in the corner again. The fact that the emperor wrote a letter promising lands, titles and riches to all those who defected to his side was to be expected at this point, however, he did something else, which was brilliant. He wrote the letter as if it was a reply. This clever act of deception made it seem as if the Norman leadership had already asked the emperor for these gifts in return for them changing their allegiance, and as a result, rumors and paranoia spread through the camp, alongside the diseases which were becoming rampant. 


Bohemond didn’t fall for it, but many did, and after months under immense pressure, the most legendary figure in all of Christendom walked over to the imperial tent near Devol unarmed. If it were any other Byzantine Emperor, Bohemond would have been imprisoned or even killed on sight, but Alexios chose to show mercy and treated him with humility. 


Together they discussed terms and signed the Treaty of Devol, the ultimate triumph which Anna recorded in great detail since her husband was present during the negotiations. Later she even took it out from the imperial archives while writing her Alexiad. The lenient terms allowed Bohemond to keep Antioch and be its governor as a vassal to Alexios, he was even given the titles of sebastokrator and doux, which came with a nice salary of 200 talents. 


He was even given the right to pass the county of Edessa to his newborn son and heir, to which Bohemond replied: “I will observe all the conditions to which I have agreed and spoken by my mouth and will keep them inviolate for all time and the things that are for the good of your Empire I care for now and will for ever care for, and I will never harbor even the slightest thought of hatred or treachery towards you.” Rather than making Bohemond a martyr, whom the west would want to avenge, Alexios took their great hero and humiliated him. 


It was now winter, and the weather couldn't allow for the safe return of his armies, so they were now fed and clothed by the Imperial treasury. Some stayed and served Alexios, others went back home without glory, religious artifacts or even the tale of an epic battle. As for Bohemond, one of the most impactful and interesting figures of the Medieval era… well. He went back to Apulia, never to return to Antioch as a final slight against Alexios. 


He died a few years later in 1111, making him one of the two major first crusade leader not to die in battle: Robert of Normandy died in prison after being defeated by his brother, Raymond, Godfrey, Hugh, Robert of Flanders, Baldwin even Stephen all died in battle, and the great Bohemond, who was the main reason they even made it to Jerusalem, died as a humiliated and failed old man. 


First Jihad against the Crusadrs: Battle of Shaizar 1111


After a drawn-out civil war that depleted most of its manpower and resources, the Seljuk Empire was now in the hands of Muhammad I Tapar. However, this state was more of a loose confederation that the new sultan had to consolidate, as many atabegs were fully autonomous and pursued their own interests. The two most important examples for our story are the last remaining powerhouses in the Levant: Damascus and Aleppo. They, too, saw a major shift in policy after Duqaq of Damascus died of tuberculosis in 1104. 


And here, once again, we are reminded of how important it is to have a healthy heir of age, as one of his officers, Toghtekin took the opportunity to rise above his station, by deposing his junior son Tutush II, exiling his brother and marrying his widowed wife. In one swift move, Toghtekin founded the Burid dynasty, which would rule the city for 50 years. This new change could potentially mean an end to the Damascus-Aleppo rivalry, but in reality, their relationship became even tenser. In 1105, the final link between the crusaders and Byzantines was broken as Raymond of Toulouse died from injuries he sustained while laying siege to Tripoli. 


Alexios had made a substantial investment, making him a vassal and allowing him to carve up Tripoli for himself, while maintaining an imperial claim over it and the rest of the region. Raymond was succeeded by his two-year-old son Alfonso, but once again, his nephew William II Jordan, count of Cerdanya, took his chance and seized control. 


Raymond was the richest of all the crusaders, who supplied the most amount of resources as well as the engineers who managed to turn the tide in multiple sieges, but on his deathbed, his ambition of a leading role in Holy Land was unfulfilled. Whether he knew about the change in power or not, the emir of Aleppo, Ridwan, assembled an army aimed at relieving Tripoli, after the qadi ruling the city called to his aid. 


But on his way there, he was notified of another development. The city of Artah, which had rebelled against Tancred sided with Aleppo and expelled the city's garrison, was now under siege. Ridwan marched towards the city, and once the crusader camp was in range, he ordered a full-scale attack. The crusaders retreated, abandoning their camp, but while the enemy had already resorted to looting, they were set upon by a greater force. 


Apparently, after witnessing the feigned retreat maneuver so many times, the crusaders decided to employ it and did it to great effect. The numbers of participants in the battle of Artah are exaggerated, but what we know for sure is that the majority of Ridwan’s untrained infantry was slaughtered after the Frankish cavalry dominated their Seljuk counterparts, leaving the flanks exposed. Tancred and his men proceeded to chase down their foes all the way to Aleppo, looting the countryside as they went. Ridwan would remain in power for another 8 years, but after this engagement, he would no longer be a threat to the crusaders. 


The Principality of Antioch was secured, but to the south, the Kingdom of Jerusalem was facing a far greater foe. The Fatimids were hoping to settle the score and break the Ramla tie that same year. For the fifth year in a row, a large army, between 10 and 12 thousand, was assembled and marched against the crucial point between Ascalon and Jerusalem, however, this time, they were supported by a strong contingent of Seljuk horse archers in a rare moment of collaboration between the two states. The Fatimids had made Baldwin bleed three years prior and now wanted to finish the job with the biggest army since Ascalon. 


Sadly for those of us who enjoy sophisticated formations and exciting battles, this would prove to be yet another disappointment. By this point, these continuous engagements were becoming part of everyday life in the Levant, and the chroniclers spare very few words for this engagement that raged on for almost a day. What we do know is that Baldwin took charge of a far smaller force, repelled an attack from the rear, then came back and led a final charge that broke the enemy. The Egyptian camp was looted, and the third battle of Ramla was won. 


To their credit, the Fatimids were not a weak opponent, nor did they lack the will or the means to crush the Latins. Between 1099 and 1118, they launched major invasions that included naval support in 1099, 1101, 1102, 1103, 1105, and 1118 with smaller raiding parties sent out in 1104,1106, 1107, 1108, 1110, 1111, 1113 and 1115. 


This means that in 19 years, the Kingdom of Jerusalem had to fight off at least 14 assaults while laying siege to multiple cities, dealing with internal disputes, Italian merchant cities, Byzantines and the Seljuks. Keep in mind that after Ascalon, the crusaders never fielded more than 1000 knights: usually, their army consisted of around 500, supported by a few thousand infantry and archers. When compared with data from other campaigns, such as those against the Sultanate of Rum, Byzantines and Seljuks, it is hard to draw a conclusion that disputes how brutally effective the Frankish knights really were. And through this period, the crusader states were fighting for survival, not dominance, since every city had to be garrisoned and supply lines were constantly disrupted. 


One can only imagine how different things could have been if either the alliance with Byzantium was preserved, the crusade of 1101, featuring 10 000 knights, arrived in the Levant or if Bohemond’s crusading force sailed to Antioch instead of Dyrrhachium. Speaking of the crusade of 1101, the Seljuk sultan of the Rum Kilij Arslan had vanquished more Latins than he could count, so he felt secure enough to launch his own campaign against them. His forces initially tried to take Edessa, but after assessing its strong fortifications, he decided to turn on his Danishmend allies. Upon his arrival at Harran, the city surrendered to him, and Diyarbekir quickly followed. 


These victories emboldened the sultan, from his perspective, everyone around him was falling apart, so when he was presented with an opportunity to expand his domain even further by taking control of Mosul, a key city that recently changed hands after a brutal assassination. The Sultanate of Rum did manage to conquer the city, but not for long. 


The Seljuk sultan assembled a coalition that featured Ilghazi of the Artuqids and Ridwan of Aleppo, who managed to defeat Kilij Arslan on the field. In his attempt to escape, another great figure of the story met his demise, as he drowned in a river. To make matters worse, his son Malik Shah was held prisoner at the time, leaving the fate of Anatolia in the balance. 


Around this time, while Bohemond was laying siege to Dyrrachium, Tancred took the opportunity to advance his holdings since the Byzantines were busy defending the Balkans against Bohemond. And so, in 1108, Tancred assaulted the key cities of Laodicea, Tarsus, Adana and Mamistra, shifting the regional balance of power yet again. As for Alexios, one might assume that fending off a crusader invasion led by one of the most cunning men in medieval history who wanted to conquer Constantinople itself would have his hands full, but as usual, he was one step ahead.


 Raymond’s death was a significant loss, but the emperor was willing to go all in and offered rich gifts to both claimants of Tripoli. On one hand, there was William Jordan, who received and ignored his embassy, but on another, there was Bertrand, Raymond’s eldest son, who sailed east on Genoese ships at the head of a 4 000 strong army that raided Thessaly. Normally this would have been severely punished, but Alexios knew how to turn enemies into allies, so instead, he invited him to the imperial court, where he offered rich gifts instead of an oath of vassalage, which Bertrand accepted. The Provencal then sailed to Antioch, where he met Tancred. 


The Principality of Antioch had seized some of the lands under Raymond’s control, so naturally, Bertrand asked for their return. The Norman agreed, but only if the Provencal army helped him against the Byzantines. In a rare show of loyalty to one's word, Bertrand refused, suggesting that they take Gibel from the Seljuks instead, but Tancred was uninterested. Bertrand departed empty-handed and made his way to Tripoli, where he found William’s siege camp, and a conflict erupted over succession rights. 


The situation started to spiral out of control, so outside forces got involved. Baldwin decided to mediate the conflict and offered a resolution, where once the city was taken, its lands would be divided equally between them. The two sides begrudgingly agreed and Bertrand was then made to swear another oath of vassalage, but this time to Baldwin, while William turned to the aid of Tancred, creating a cold proxy war between the crusader states. Then on July 12th, 1109, the crusaders, supported by the Genoese fleet, made an assault and successfully captured Tripoli. 


The resistance was strong, and many men lost their lives, but most notably, William sustained an injury to which he succumbed in days. Suddenly Tripoli had only one ruler, who owed his allegiance to both Jerusalem and Constantinople. Unfortunately for Tancred, his sphere of influence was diminished even further after both Jocelin of Courtney and Baldwin of Bourg were ransomed in 1107 and 1108. During their absence, Antioch held control over Edessa, but now that they were free, they refused to bend the knee to him, especially since Bohemond was nowhere to be seen. 


The two then openly went to war against each other, with Baldwin seeking aid from an Armenian king who supplied him with an army and 300 Pecheneg mercenary riders. These punitive raids caused severe damage to Tancred’s lands and angered his subjects, which led to the clergy getting involved. A council was formed, and the prelates ruled in Baldwin’s favor, restoring his rights as count of Edessa, a semi-autonomous crusader state under the vassalage of the kingdom of Jerusalem. Four considerable crusader victories mark the following year of 1110. 


First, in the spring, a large army, assembled by the atabeg of Mosul, attempted to lay siege to Edessa, but was forced to retreat after king Baldwin arrived with a relief force. Then after a two-month blockade, Baldwin, Genoa and Pisa assaulted and brutally sacked Beirut, killing most of its inhabitants. Fatimid ships from Tyre and Sidon tried to break the blockade but were unsuccessful. 


Then in October, Baldwin welcomed the first-ever European monarch to visit the crusader states: King Sigurd I of Norway, whose incredible adventure story deserves its own video that we hope to make in the future. After stopping by England, Iberia, and Sicily, the Norwegian king finished his pilgrimage by praying in Jerusalem, bathing in the river Jordan and laying siege to Sidon. 


This time, however, the Fatimid fleet nearly broke their navy, but a last-minute action by a Venetian squadron under Doge Faliero saved the expedition. Sidon fell on December 4th after surrendering to Baldwin. And then, finally, Tancred led his own assault against the castle that would end up becoming Krak des Chevaliers, solidifying his domain. 


By this point, Bohemond had signed the treaty of Devol but did nothing to enforce it. Alexios offered him an annual salary of 200 gold pounds, the title of sebastos and a generous amount of land as long as he held them in his name, but the norman didn’t even write a letter to Tancred. Alexios opened pandora's box and was now willing to do anything to close it, so he started writing letters and sending gifts. In 1110 the Pisans were approached and offered not just an end to hostilities, but special trading privileges similar to the ones he granted to the Venetians. 


Normally merchants had to pay a 10% tax, and while the 4% he offered wasn’t as good as the 0% Venice paid, it was still a bargain. Additionally, Pisa would receive yearly payments from the Empire, special legal rights, titles and lucrative trade opportunities. In return, the merchant city agreed to become a Byzantine vassal and assist them in war. 


The treaty that both sides signed has survived and illustrates many important points: “Nor will we, inhabitants of the city and land of Pisa, combine with any other person or people at enmity with you for the purpose of taking from you your empire whether Romania or any other lands or islands which you hold under your imperial power now or from this time fourth in Croatia, Dalmatia, or Dyrrachium as far as Alexandria itself.”


 Note that Alexios was not simply interested in reclaiming Anatolia and Antioch; his ultimate goal was a full restoration of the Eastern Roman Empire. To get there, he signed a deal with the same state that pillaged his trade ports and assisted his enemies. But why did the emperor choose Pisa over Genoa, alienating his Venetian allies? The wording of this treaty and what followed after reveals that Alexios was planning a massive invasion of the crusader states, and since the Pisan archbishop was exiled from his post in Jerusalem, they made the ideal ally. 


The negotiations stalled, and the Byzantine royal decree affirming the new rights was only issued in late 1111 after Lombard, Genoese and Pisan ships raided the Dardanelles. Another indication of Alexios’s ambitions was his embassy to the Pope. The emperor expressed his sympathy and spoke harshly against the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, who openly threatened the Papacy, offering Byzantine troops to guard the eternal city. He even suggested the possibility of a church union and an end to the schism. The Pope, however, wasn’t interested. 


The next correspondence is based on slim evidence, but some records show that Alexios sent letters to the sultan in Baghdad, incentivizing him to attack the crusader states. In the meantime, the most serious diplomatic work was entrusted to the general Butumites, who in 1111, sailed to Cyprus with a fleet of 12 ships laden with supplies and gold. His first stop was Tripoli, where Bertrand welcomed him and provided storage for the vast treasury. 


He reaffirmed his oath to Alexios and was ready to go to war with him, provided that he arrive personally at the gates of Antioch. Once word got out, Baldwin called Butumites and began negotiating with him. The idea was to form a coalition against Antioch, one which the king of Jerusalem was willing to join, but only after Alexios gave him a large quantity of gold and provided naval support. Giving so many resources to the potential enemy while receiving nothing seemed more like a scam than a bad deal, so talks continued for almost a year without progress. 


During that same period, Butumites approached Jocelin of Courtney with the same idea, but he refused. By this point, it was 1112, and the ruler of Tripoli died, leaving his 14-year-old son Pons as the count of Tripoli. Yet again, a regency complicated things, and upon his return, when Butumites asked to access his treasury, the local bishop refused him. Suddenly there was a standoff, and despite threatening to cut off the grain trade for Cyprus, the money was never returned. 


Instead, the council sent Pons to Antioch so that Tancred could become his mentor and that the relations between the two crusader states could be mended. The following year not only did Butumites return empty-handed, but the Venetians showcased their resentment of the Byzantine deal with Pisa by requesting aid for their invasion of Dalmatia. Despite affirming his claim over the region, Alexios begrudgingly agreed but managed to stall and delay the potential invasion for another day. The emperor was an old man, and with Malik Shah free from captivity, major raids in Anatolia continued to threaten his rear, the clock was ticking, and the diplomacy was starting to prove inefficient. 


Then either due to the Byzantine machinations or pure coincidence in 1111, every single crusader state rallied together and stood firm against a massive expedition launched by the Seljuk Sultan Tapar. What was possibly the first Jihad against the crusader states was led by the new atabeg of Mosul Mawdud, with him were the emirs of Ahlat and Hamadan. At first, the army marched against Edessa, but yet again found itself incapable of capturing the formidable fortress, then they moved against Turbosell, held by Jocelyn of Courtney and besieged it.


 Lines were drawn, and the defenders were tested. Before long, sickness began spreading throughout the siege camps, and the emir of Ahlat succumbed to illness. Almost immediately, his followers left the army, while the emir of Hamadan also abandoned Mawdud, hoping to gain Ahlat for himself. But before the diminished army could make their final assault, a messenger of Aleppo requested assistance against the crusaders, who were on the verge of taking the city. 

When Mawdud got there, he was surprised to find that there were no crusaders to speak of, worse still, Ridwan refused to open his gates. Instead, the army of Damascus, led by Toghtekin, who also answered the call, joined the main host, giving it a much-needed boost. By this point, the crusaders were able to unite their forces, as Tancred, king Baldwin, count Bertrand of Tripoli and count Baldwin of Edessa merged their armies and marched against the enemy near Shaizar. As soon as they were in sight, Mawdud employed the traditional skirmishing tactics, sending wave after wave of horse archers to harass the crusaders. But after years spent fighting the Seljuks, the crusader resolve prevailed, and they refused to give chase, instead blocking their arrows and establishing a defense perimeter.


 Small-scale charges were utilized only if the enemy got too close and never overextended. The battle became a standoff; day after day, the crusaders held the line despite the harassment. The Seljuks waited for opportune moments, like when the knights were watering their horses by the Orontes river to attack them. After two weeks with supplies running low, Baldwin gave the order, and the crusaders fell back to Afamiya. Even during their withdrawal, every contingent of the crusaders held the formation until the Seljuk soldiers were completely demoralized. 


With two major contingents abandoning the army and after gaining absolutely no spoils, the warriors refused to follow their commander, and the Seljuks accepted defeat, as they pulled back. The Battle of Shaizar was a clear message to the enemies of the crusaders. Despite their rivalries, low numbers and limited resources, the crusaders preferred Latin neighbors to Islamic or Byzantine ones and were here to stay. 


Last Year Of First Crusade and Conclusion 


In the course of this story, we examined the unravelling of the Byzantine Empire after the death of Basil II, culminating in the Battle of Manzikert and Norman invasions. In the chaos that followed, what seemed to be just another usurper climbed the steps and sat on the throne in Constantinople. Alexios Komnenos had no treasury, no army, little legitimacy and few allies, so he conjured up a story and meticulously aimed it at the Latin world, sprinkling religious artifacts as trinkets that spurred the imagination of peasants, nobles and clergy alike. 


The Emperor was successful and carefully guided the largest army assembled in Europe in the past 700 years, directing it towards the heartland of treacherous Anatolia, despite many provocations and raids. Now in the year 1111, less than 10 percent of that splintered army remained. But their stubborn existence in the face of Seljuk, Fatimid and Byzantine attacks would change the course of history forever. Alexios was becoming wiser with age, but that also came with illnesses such as gout and asthma, letting him know that the clock was ticking. 


That same clock had already run out for both Bohemond, who died isolated in Apulia and Bertrand of Tripoli, who was succeeded by his 14-year-old son Pons. Tancred, who was acting regent of Antioch, pounced at the opportunity and reconciled with the Occitan contingent in the Holy Lands by granting Tortosa, Maraclea, Safita and Krak des Chevaliers, all claimed by the counts of Tripoli to Pons as fiefs. The young lord, technically a vassal of both Byzantium and Jerusalem, was now indebted to the Normans. That following year, the man instrumental in both capturing and holding Antioch, Tancred, succumbed to typhus. In his will, he ordered his wife, Cecile, daughter of the French king, to be engaged to Pons, further cementing the alliance between the two factions. 


The princedom of Gallie passed to Joscelin of Courtenay, while Antioch was inherited by Bohemond’s four-year-old son Bohemond II, who was back in Italy with his mother, Constance. Naturally, this meant that a new regent was needed, and Tancred personally chose Roger of Salerno. 


These moments of instability were exactly what the regional rivals were waiting for, so in 1112 the atabeg of Mosul, Mawdud ibn Altuntash, launched a campaign that started with the siege of Turbosell, the core of Jocelin’s domain. In June, a small crusader force he led pushed the Seljuks back. Shortly afterwards, an attempt by an Armenian peasant army to capture Edessa was discovered, and Baldwin of Bourg, ruler of Edessa, galloped towards the city walls and slaughtered them. Down south, Baldwin of Jerusalem’s advances were halted at Tyre, which he failed to capture, partly due to the departure of his Norwegian allies. 


In April 1112, a large combined force from the newly allied Fatimids and the atabeg of Damascus, Toghtekin, forced him to lift the siege and ride back to his capital. Mawdud proposed to unite all Islamic forces against the Christians and repulse them once and for all resulting in the most promising anti-crusader coalition since 1098. In 1113 The armies of Mosul and Damascus stood as one and crossed the river Jordan south of the sea of Galilee. In response, Baldwin and his bannermen offered battle near the bridge of al-Sannabra. 


The numbers on both sides are unknown, but a decisive blow here could have meant a disaster for either side. Mawdud used the classic feigned retreat and drew many of the Crusaders out of their defensive positions, including Baldwin, who charged in. 


Almost immediately, he realized his mistake as he encountered the full force of the coalition army and his soldiers were attacked from every side. Yet again, a string of luck and good armor saved the king, but the same could not be said for a big portion of his army. The survivors formed up and held their ground against the arrow fire while the Muslim coalition began sending columns to raid the countryside. 


One of them sacked the town of Nablus, all while the crusaders could only hold their ground on a nearby hill. Contingents from Tripoli and Antioch soon reinforced Baldwin, but he still lacked the means to repulse the raiders. Despite that, Mawdud and Toghtekin failed to take any major stronghold and soon turned back once supplies ran out. The victorious leaders feasted in Damascus, where before long, the Hashashins struck their next blow. Mawdud was slain after his prayers by the secret order, which would later end up killing the next two rulers of Mosul in 1126 and 1131. Later that year Emir of Aleppo, Ridwan, died of old age, and the streets of Aleppo were flooded with violent militia, who captured every supporter of the Order of Assassins and executed them for conspiring with the crusaders. 


The successor Alp Arslan was 16 then, but suffered from a severe speech impediment, which gave him the nickname al-Akhras or the mute. Upon his ascension, many of his brothers were killed, and only a year later, a usurper called al-Baba killed the boy in hopes of obtaining power for himself with the support of Damascus. Taking advantage of the fact that his enemies were distracted and killing each other, ruler of Edessa, Baldwin of Bourq, hatched a plot of his own by inviting Joscelin of Courteney under the pretense that he was writing his will. Upon arrival, Joscelin was imprisoned and forced to relinquish all his fiefs except Galilee. 


Soon after, the two sides mended their relations with the classic marriage alliance pact as they married each other’s sisters. The latter phase of the First Crusade is a constant rotation between years where all sides are taking a pause and preparing for the upcoming conflicts and ones filled with impactful events.


 1113 is easily one of the busiest of those years. Back in Byzantium, Alexios was struggling with the fact that almost all of the crusader leaders he had personally met and received oaths from were now dead. This new generation of leaders didn’t experience his hospitality firsthand and was quick to forget the many shipments that prevented their annihilation, as well as the guides that got them through Anatolia.


 They knew him as the treacherous Emperor who abandoned them at Antioch and attacked the hero Bohemond. Alexios exhausted every diplomatic measure, yet he was nowhere closer to securing the Holy Land, especially Antioch. Unfortunately for him, his dream had to be postponed as the death of Kilij Arslan led to a new wave of Seljuk incursions. 


His son Malik Shah didn’t ratify the truce between the two sides, and in both 1110 and 1112, major raids were conducted around Smyrna. In 1113 a massive army marched up to the gates of Nicea and began pillaging and looting the countryside. The city’s governor sallied out with his forces and confronted the Seljuks, only to be captured in the fighting. It was then that Alexios did the unthinkable and crossed over, personally leading his army as he tried to catch up to the enemy. 


The Emperor rescued vast amounts of loot and prisoners after a quick skirmish, and the governor of Nicea was saved. Unfortunately, all hope of securing the Holy Land was abandoned, as a new war with the Sultanate of Rum was at hand. In 1114, all sides were licking their wounds, and there was little to no activity, especially since a massive earthquake destroyed most of Antioch’s formidable defenses, forcing its regent to devote most of his time to restoring them. The other notable event was the continued assault on Edessa by the new atabeg of Mosul Bursuqi, who invaded in May, before being repelled. 


The following year, however, would be filled with action on nearly every front. In 1115 the Seljuk Sultan Muhammad Tapar, who had been calling for action against the crusaders appointed Bursuq II the lord of Hamadan as the leader of a large force made up of soldiers from upper Mesopotamia, numbering between 8 000 to 10 000. News of this force shocked not only the crusader princes, but other regional powers, too. The new atabeg of Aleppo al-Baba sent envoys to both Toghtekin of Damascus and Ilghazi of Mardin and asked them for aid against the sultan, while they, in their own right, approached Roger of Salermo. 


Messengers galloped all over the Holy Land, and pretty soon everyone in the Levant was in a temporary alliance against the Seljuk Sultan: this included Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli and Jerusalem. In short, the only way to unite all of these squabbling states was for an outside force like the Byzantines or Seljuks to invade them. The allies gathered their armies and moved 80 kilometres south to the walled town of Afamiya, strategically located at the crossroad between Aleppo, Damascus and Antioch, allowing them to maneuver and rescue whichever city Bursuq headed to. The next time scouts reported movements of the Seljuk army was when it captured Hama, a town 30 kilometres from their locations, before camping at Shaizar. 


Baldwin of Jerusalem immediately mobilized 500 knights and 1,000 foot soldiers and marched north. Along the way, the now-adult Count Pons of Tripoli joined the fray with 200 knights and 2,000 infantry. The king sent a message forbidding Roger from engaging the enemy before reinforcements arrived. Bursuq's forces soon closed around Roger's armed camp, attempting to lure the Antiochenes and their allies into a charge. Their skirmishing tactics severely provoked the Latins. 


Things were so tense that Roger threatened to put out the eyes of any man who sallied out of the camp without permission. Later, he rode through the camp with his sword drawn to emphasize his point. When Bursuq heard of Baldwin's relieving force, which included 5,000 Muslim allies, he withdrew to the east. Baldwin's combined army may have been as large as 10,700 men. 


The coalition quickly followed and burned much of Shaizar as punishment for allying with the Seljuks. When Bursuq didn't turn back to defend the town, the allied leaders assumed the campaign was over and left for home. As soon as the allied host dispersed, Bursuq invaded again and captured the Christian-held town of Kafr Tab, near Afamiya.


A weary and abandoned, Roger recalled his Antiochene army and took to the field again with just 700 cavalry and 2,000 infantry, supported only by the Baldwin of Bourq’s contingent from Edessa. Meanwhile, Bursuq took his army toward Zerdana, not far from Antioch. Roger stationed his army south of the city at the castle of Rugia, near a bridge on the Orontes river. Early on September 14, Roger received intelligence that his opponents were carelessly going into camp near Sarmin to water their horses. 


He rapidly advanced and took Bursuq's army by complete surprise. As the Crusaders launched their attack, some Turkic soldiers were still entering the camp. Roger divided the Frankish army into left, center, and right divisions. Baldwin led the left wing while Prince Roger personally commanded the center. 


The Crusaders attacked in an echelon formation with the left wing leading. As we often see in these charge or feign retreat battles, once one side surprised the other, victory was imminent. The Seljuks were pressed back to a hillside behind their camp, which quickly became overrun by the Crusaders. 


The Frankish right was the only place where the Latins struggled as a Seljuk counterattack broke the Turcopoles stationed there. The fighting continued for some time, but ultimately Roger was victorious and proved himself a worthy successor to Tancred. At least 3,000 Seljuks were killed and many captured, along with property worth 300,000 bezants. In contrast, the Frankish losses were minor. 


This victory solidified the crusader domains in the north and neutralized the danger of Mosul for a whole decade. With the Seljuk threat eliminated, the Muslim atabegs quickly broke their alliance with the crusaders, and some personally travelled to Baghdad to obtain a pardon from Muhammad Tapar. Baldwin of Bourg made good use of this victory by moving against some small Armenian principalities in the valley of the Euphrates, taking Birejik and a few other towns, whose population he resettled elsewhere. 


As for Baldwin of Jerusalem, he decided to make a move against the Fatimids who were attempting to capture Jaffa. The Latins rescued the city and pushed further into Jordan, even establishing some crucial outposts such as Montreal. The following year, he returned to the region and marched as far as Akaba on the Red Sea. 


After the local inhabitants fled, Baldwin constructed castles in the town and on a nearby island, leaving a garrison in both fortresses. The three strongholds—Montreal, Eilat and Pharaoh's island—secured the control of the rich caravan routes between Syria and Egypt. They also enabled Baldwin to survey the movements of the Egyptian troops continuously. From the Red Sea coast, Baldwin hastened to Tyre and began the construction of a new fortress at the Ladder of Tyre, known as Scandelion Castle, which completed the blockade of the town from the mainland. 


Tyre was a major stronghold that continued to resist the crusaders and was a vital front they had to close. But late in 1116, Baldwin fell seriously ill. On his deathbed, he ordered all of his debts to be paid off and began distributing his wealth and considered his successor. But this was not the end of Baldwin. 


The man who traveled all this way still had one good fight left in him, as did the other main protagonist of this story. In 1116 Alexios Komnenos got tired of waiting for someone else to finish the job and rode out in force. The Byzantine emperor who had saved Eastern Rome from annihilation mustered an army aimed at reconquering Anatolia, by striking at the very heart of the Sultanate of Rum. But as his troops were still being drilled near Nicomedia, several nomadic groups began raiding western Anatolia. 


This didn’t dissuade the Emperor, so he marched along the known route from Nicaea to Antioch in Pisidia as he headed towards Iconium. Smaller fortresses and outposts were captured, and many captives were rescued. Then the army entered the plateau. Malik Shah had gathered his own army and awaited the Romans in an ambush. However, in a rare sight of character growth, the 59-year-old Alexios, once the stubbornly impulsive young man who rushed head first into danger, felt disaster looming and decided to turn back. 


As he withdrew, he gathered numerous local Romans and escorted them back east. Aware that danger could loom around every turn, the emperor commanded that his soldiers make a hollow square formation. Soldiers made firm rectangles, with civilians at the center, slowly moving through the dangerous landscape. Indeed the now-returning raiders from the west stumbled upon the large host and began attacking them with their usual hit-and-run tactics. 


At the rear, Malik Shah also pounced with his men. Day and night, the discipline and morale of the Byzantine soldiers were tested, but they did not falter under the Komnenoi standard. After realizing he could not break the formation, Malik Shah sent envoys and called for a truce. Sultan and emperor met in person and shook hands as they ratified the treaty made under Malik Shah's father. 


The Sultanate of Rum kept control of Central and Eastern Anatolia, while the wealthy Byzantine Western Anatolia would be free from raids. This was the best that Alexios could hope for, and while not all of Anatolia was in his hands, every major city in the region was under his rule. But yet again, fate had different plans. As Malik Shah returned to his camp, his officers captured and blinded him as punishment for complacency. 


The source of their wealth was raiding, and this treaty could harm their way of life and their power. Alexios had saved the lives of thousands of his citizens, but yet again, he worked so hard to obtain so little. Only two years later, after 37 years on the throne, Alexios Komnenos finally succumbed to his illnesses. Few rulers have a resume as rich as his. His deeds are still being discussed today, with some historians laying the fault for the impending crusades and rivalry with merchant states flatly on his feet.

 

To them, he is the man who opened Pandora’s box while trying to save his empire. Others see him as the greatest Byzantine emperor, surpassing the likes of Justinian and Basil II, for his reforms of the clergy and monetary system, as well as the successful defence against Normans, Pechenegs and Seljuks and the reconquest of western Anatolia despite a dozen assassination attempts and starting with nothing. But both sides agree that few rulers have ever been as devoted to their state and people as Alexios. 


But our story, which took two years to make and correctly adjust the end date of the First Crusade, concludes with a different bittersweet ending—that of the last of the original princes who answered Urban’s call. Baldwin of Jerusalem miraculously recovered in early 1117 and continued doing his best. He aimed to secure the southern frontier with a fresh new expedition against the Fatimids, which began in March 1118 and went as far as Farama on the Nile Delta without a fight as Muslim civilians fled before the crusader army. 


Baldwin’s retainers were hopeful and urged him to attack Cairo itself, but suddenly an old wound to his kidneys, received in 1103, re-opened. The king of Jerusalem succumbed in a matter of days, days spent securing the succession, for which he named his brother Eustace III, but also allowed the barons to elect Baldwin of Bourq if necessary. Five days later, his body was buried in the calvary chapel of the Holy Sepulchre next to that of his other brother Godfrey on Palm Sunday. 


1118 saw the death of the Byzantine Emperor, King of Jerusalem, Abbasid Caliph, Seljuk Sultan, and the Bishop of Rome, acting as a hard reset that shuffled many political alliances and interests. The stories of the Seljuks, Romans, Latins and Fatimids were far from their finale, but the story of the First Crusade and the main characters who caused this geopolitical shift had reached its conclusion. So ends our retelling of the First Crusade. 



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krushnakanta raj

krushnakanta raj

I am a blogger and write content on UNALTERED HISTORY. I am content director and Graphics designer of Unaltered History. reddit linkedin twitter youtube

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