The Siege of Jerusalem: Crusade and Conquest in 1099

by Conor Kostick

  Qilij Arslān knew full well that it would be several hours at least before the larger section of his enemies could arrive, during which time the army in front of him could be annihilated. Howling like wolves, his forces charged at the Christian knights, wheeled, and released volley aft er volley of arrows into their mass. Clouds of dust rose in all directions. Th

  e foremost Christian knights lined

  up as though preparing to counter-charge. Th

  is was exactly the tactic that would

  destroy several crusader armies in the future, for unless the terrain helped or there was an element of surprise, the heavily armoured Christian knight invariably failed to strike home against the fl eeter Muslim riders. Remarkably, however, the bulk of the Christian forces behaved with extreme discipline and held their position. While the compact mass of knights stood their ground, beyond them the foot soldiers and poor hurried to set up camp: so that tents and carts would act as a barrier towards the rear.

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  e source of this composure among the Christian troops was Bohemond.

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  e dawn of 1 July 1097 probably witnessed the greatest test of generalship in the Norman prince’s long military career. Any one of the other princes could have led a suicidal charge of the willing knights. In fact, it was far harder to restrain them. Only a general with nothing to prove and a grasp of the dynamics of the crisis could have acted so decisively and yet so defensively. On seeing the enormous black masses of cavalry moving against him, Bohemond had instantly understood that the crusaders’ only hope of victory lay in surviving until the remainder of the Christian army arrived. He dispatched his fastest riders to summon the rest of the army, ordered the establishment of a camp near some swampy ground, and had his most reliable offi

  cers repeat again and

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  again the command: stay together and hold your ground. By way of encouragement Bohemond added the words ‘because today – God willing – everyone will be made rich’.3 Optimistic words, but the fact was that the crusading knights were pinned against their camp, fi ghting in heavy dust, each soldier under constant threat from arrows that fl ew among them. While the chainmail armour of the Christian knight could defl ect a spent arrow, those fi red from close range or those fl ying into unprotected fl esh – such as an eye – began to take their toll.

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  e sun slowly mounted the sky, obscured by the dust and a mist created by the heaving breath of thousands of horses. Again and again, clashes along the front line led to casualties, until even the hardiest of the Normans were wavering. Robert of Normandy, though, was in his element. Seeing a growing reluctance among the Italian knights around him to take their place in the battle line, he tore off his helmet, so all could recognize him, before shouting that no one could hope to return to the towns of their birth by retreating: fl ight meant death. Th

  ey would either be victorious or die at this spot; there was no

  choice but to battle on. Th

  is rallying cry spread down the line and encouraged

  the Christian knights to renew their eff orts. It was of enormous help also that the women of the army, on their own initiative, brought water up to the battle lines and refreshed both men and horses. 4

  Among those for whom the strain of being on the defensive was too much was Tancred. Along with his small band of followers and against the direct orders of Bohemond, who was worried that the rashness of the younger knights would undermine the order of the whole force, Tancred, still feeling disdainful towards his uncle, decided it would be valuable to take a nearby hill. Th e charge

  was a success in that Tancred scattered the Muslim archers from the hill and could plant his ornamental banner at the top of the rise. But soon the arrows came like a heavy rainstorm on to the youthful troop. Even though the main Christian army was close by, Bohemond refused to allow anyone to go to the assistance of their fellow crusaders. It was tantalizing and desperate, but the gap was just too much: to bridge it would disperse the compact formation of knights that was their only hope of survival. Realizing only a small number of crusaders had taken the hill, the nearby Muslim warriors drew their swords and tried to overwhelm them. Th

  e young Normans held their ground and, despite the great

  disparity of numbers, overthrew their attackers with their lances. Regrouping, the Muslim forces then drew their bows again. Th

  is time the relentless fall of

  arrows was decisive. But only when his brother, William, died under the storm of arrows, did Tancred realize the folly of his position and order a retreat, barely able to extract himself alive from the hilltop. Obliged to abandon his banner, the Norman prince was fortunate to survive the adventure.5

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  e greatest losses to the crusading army, however, came among the poor.

  Large numbers of Turkish cavalry rode around the central area of battle, to come across stragglers who had failed to reach the defensive camp in time.

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  ey were quickly run down and slaughtered. Th

  e camp itself off ered poor pro-

  tection and lacked armoured defenders. Inside the ring of carts, priests huddled together, giving each other confession, and preparing for death; it seemed inevitable that at some point a large body of Muslim cavalry would charge in among them. Some of the younger women prepared for this by putting on make-up and their fi nest clothes, so that they would be appealing to their captors and become slaves instead. It was not very devout, to prefer captivity with Muslims to a martyr’s death, but, aft er all, the story of the nun of St Mary of Trier showed that life aft er captivity might not be so harsh. 6

  For six hours the hard-pressed Christian army endured, never far from complete destruction. Every hour that passed, however, meant severe attrition for the forces of Qilij Arslān and a danger that the remaining Christians would arrive. Surely, though, those before him, outfl anked and so outnumbered would have to break soon? Th

  e clashes continued, with considerable numbers

  of bloody corpses from both sides strewn around the defensive line. Yet the Christian knights did not break to fl ee, nor lose their discipline in hopeless charges. Around midday, the sight he had imagined with dread became real.

  Clouds of dust from the arriving Christian forces were seen in the east. Victory, which would have been costly but certain, was now in doubt. Nevertheless, Qilij Arslān persisted; aft er all, his army still had more mounted troops than the Christians.

  From the perspective of those who had been persevering in the face of constant deadly arrow fi re, repeated enemy charges, and growing fatigue, the arrival of the Christian reinforcements meant the return of hope that they were not yet at the end of their lives. Hugh the Great was fi rst to reach them and with him those grim knights who wished to make him king of Jerusalem, now anxious to cover themselves in fame and the blood of their enemies: Drogo of Nesle, Th

  omas of Marle and Clarembald of Vendeuil. Joining Hugh was Robert of Flanders and soon aft er came the Lotharingians. Godfrey had ridden ahead with just 50 knights so as to arrive as quickly as possible. Th

  is hand picked force

  was enough to drive back outlying Turkish riders. With the arrival of Raymond of Toulouse and his Provençal knights, Bohemond fi nally allowed his battered forces to take the off ensive and the everywhere the Christian lines troops began to advance.

  Despite this enormous change in the dynamic of the battle, its outcome was still in doubt due to the ability of the Turkish riders to retreat while continuing

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  to fi re arrows. Th

  at it became a decisive Christian victory was due to Adhémar,

  the papal legate. Th

  e bishop of Le Puy had brought his Provençal knights along

  a higher route than that taken by the other Christ
ian princes and this meant that while he was delayed, when he did arrive to take Qilij Arslān’s army unexpectedly in the fl ank, the impact of his charge was devastating. Suddenly the Turkish riders were routing, shattered, and with all order lost. Th eir baggage

  and supplies were abandoned as they fl ed, south and west and without halt, until they were safely away from the path of the crusading army. As they fl ed they took with them the news of the true strength of the Christians and the calamity of the defeat alarmed the Muslim world.

  For a western army to have won a decisive victory against a Turkish one was unprecedented and the troubadours on the crusade immediately began to compose verses to celebrate the outcome. Bohemond was the hero of the hour, of course, but each of the leaders got a mention and the stars of Robert of Normandy and Hugh the Great in particular glowed brighter. For those intending to stay in the Holy Land, perhaps as king of Jerusalem, making political capital out of the victory was essential. Yet having come joyfully through the hardest fought battle of entire crusade, the celebrations of Christian army were only temporary. Th

  ey now faced a new enemy on the Anatolian plateau, one

  more implacable and almost as dangerous as the Turkish warriors: thirst.

  Having exhausted all their supplies, the crusaders had hoped to be able to live off the land until they reached the relatively wealthy cities to the southeast.

  But the Christians found that the region they were travelling through had been stripped of all obvious sources of sustenance. Th

  ey had plenty of coins and

  military equipment from the looting of Qilij Arslān’s army, but nothing to eat or drink to sustain them as they crossed arid highland during the hottest time of the year. Hunger and thirst drove many to seek sustenance from cacti, which they gathered and rubbed between their hands. Th

  e human suff ering was

  wretched enough, but many of the army’s horses died through lack of fodder.

  Rather than give up on the enormous gulf in social status between those on foot and those with mounts, some knights even resorted to riding upon oxen.

  Desperate to drag arms and armour along with them, goats, sheep and even dogs were harnessed as beasts of burden. Th

  irst brought about premature

  labour in pregnant women, leading to very distressing scenes.7

  During this diffi

  cult passage, Count Raymond became so sick that the Bishop

  of Orange administered the last rites to him. A Saxon count in the Provençal contingent, however, comforted Count Raymond, saying that he would not die of this illness. Th

  e Saxon claimed to know this directly from having inter-

  ceded with God on behalf of Raymond. Count Raymond accepted this divine

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  intervention as a genuine miracle and not only was he restored to health, but also his belief in his special role a divinely appointed leader of the crusade was reaffi

  rmed.8

  At last, in early August 1097, the crusade came to fertile country again and found that the important city of Iconium had been abandoned by its Turkish garrison. Heraclea was reached by the end of the month and was taken with similar ease. Th

  is brought the Christian army out of the domain of Qilij Arslān,

  who was only too pleased to see the back of them and begin the slow process of reassembling an army capable of restoring his sultanate. Th

  e lands the cru-

  saders now travelled through were mainly inhabited by Armenians, a Christian people over whom the Seljuk Turks had established a relatively insecure rule.

  At this point two small breakaways took place from the main crusading forces. Tancred departed the expedition on 15 September 1097 with a few hundred knights. Baldwin hurried aft er him with a force that was twice as strong, some 300 to 500 knights. Both bore away to the west in the hope of capturing towns that they could become rulers of, above all, the major city of Tarsus, ancient capital of Cilicia. First to arrive at Tarsus, Tancred drew the Turkish garrison out by a ruse. He had some light cavalry loot cattle outside the city, only to turn and fl ee as the Turkish forces emerged from the gate to chase them.

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  is chase led to woods in which the full strength of the Norman cavalry was hidden. Th

  e ambush was eff ective and Tancred was able to break the Turks,

  many of whom had not had time to put on their armour. In the panic at the city gates only so many of the garrison could get back in due to the press; the rest had to ride around the city or be cut down. During the night, the survivors of the ambush fl ed, allowing Tancred to enter the city, to a great welcome from the Christian population.9

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  e very next day, however, Baldwin arrived and insisted upon obtaining the governance of Tarsus. Now there was an important source of income at stake, the Lotharingians and Normans were as much rivals as comrades. Outnumbered, Tancred departed, furious. In doing so he just missed the arrival of some 300

  Norman foot soldiers, who turned up at the city the following day looking to join Tancred’s forces. Despite the pleading of his own people, Baldwin did not trust these Normans enough to let them inside the city walls. As a result they were slaughtered during the night by the Turkish cavalry that had been skirting the main Christian forces since their abandonment of the city.

  On seeing the bodies and pools of blood around the walls of the city the next morning, a great uproar broke out and even Baldwin’s own troops fi red arrows at their lord as a result of this incident. He had to take refuge in a tower until

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  their anger had been assuaged. And an even greater clash between crusaders was to follow. At Mamistra, early in October, Tancred had once again ousted the Turkish garrison with the help of the local Christians. Th

  is time when Baldwin’s

  army drew near, Tancred attempted to resist his rival’s demands for the city and battle took place between them. It was an extraordinary moment: two crusading leaders marshalling their troops to fi ght one another. In part the confl ict was fuelled by the fact that both the leaders were princes with an insecure position. Not yet in command of substantial forces and serving under more prominent lords, both Tancred and Baldwin were desperate for the streams of revenue that control of cities could bring to promote them to equal status with the senior princes. Neither therefore was willing to back down and their knights charged back and forth, infl icting casualties on each other’s army. Not until the Lotharingians captured Richard of the Principate, to match the fact that Tancred held the sick Conan of Montague prisoner in the city, were negotiations begun to exchange prisoners and establish peace. 10

  Ironically, Baldwin’s eff orts to establish dominion over these cities was soon abandoned in favour of a much more attractive prospect further to the east. He received an invitation to come and fi ght for the major city of Edessa, governed by an Armenian lord, Th

  oros. On the 6 February 1098 Baldwin arrived at the

  city, with a relatively small number of knights. Nevertheless, the population saw in him the possibility of an alliance with the Christian army that off ered freedom from the threat of a Turkish take-over. Th

  eir enthusiasm was so great

  that Baldwin was in a strong position to insist that he had not come as a mere mercenary, but as an ally. Th

  oros was obliged to adopt Baldwin as his son and

  heir. Th

  e ceremony was a curious one but it made the point clearly: bare-

  chested, Baldwin had to wriggle under the same garment as Th

  oros and the two

  embraced. Th

  e fact that Baldwin was now in line for succession only created

  further momentum for the idea that Baldwin as ruler was a better guarantee of independence for the city than the current lord. On Sunday 7 March 1098 a crowd stirred up by a council of leading citizens att
acked the royal family, who sought and obtained refuge from Baldwin. By Tuesday, however, this protection was either unable or unwilling to stand in front of the popular forces of revolt. Th

  e palace was stormed, Th

  oros – Baldwin’s new father – was killed, and

  the Lotharingian prince declared ruler. 11

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  is massive turn in fortune for Baldwin had important implications for the leadership of the crusade. Baldwin now had access to a regular and ample source of revenue from which he could attract followers and support his brother Godfrey. While other lords were slowly sinking into complete destitution,

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  the Lotharingian brothers were not only able to maintain their vassals, but assimilate others willing to take service with them in return for sustenance.

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  eir star was on the rise.

  Meanwhile, the main body of the Christian forces had arrived at Antioch on 21 October 1097. Situated on the Orontes river, Antioch had once been one of the great cities of the ancient world. Th

  e circuit of walls that defended the city

  was vast, climbing up a mountain to encompass the high ground on which the citadel was built. Although past its most glorious days, Antioch was still a major trading centre and a near autonomous Seljuk garrison was based there under the command of Yaghī Siyān, a former slave. A major goal of the crusade, at least as far as the Byzantine emperor was concerned, was to regain such an important city for the empire. Th

  e Latin Christians too considered the capture

  of Antioch essential. It would not be possible to safely march south towards Jerusalem if an active Muslim army remained in the city.

  Arriving at the city when the recent harvest had been gathered meant that a great quantity of foodstuff s existed there to seize or buy cheaply from Armenian merchants; the crusaders set up camp in some comfort. But as the readily available food was consumed and autumn turned to winter, the siege began to take its toll on the Christian army. A famine developed that devastated the ranks of the poor and diminished the whole army. Th