Jerusalem

=__// Siege of Jerusalem 1099 //__= The 1099 Siege of Jerusalem was the climax of the First Crusade, which was a direct result of the Seljuk Turk capture of the much of Asia Minor, modern Turkey, most importantly including Jerusalem. Although Jerusalem had, in fact, been held be Muslims for over four hundred years it was the Seljuk Turks that refused to allow Christian pilgrims access Jerusalem and even the kidnapping and murder of some pilgrims that sparked most of the European outrage. Under Muslim rule, other religions were generally accepted and allowed free passage to the Holy City. However, the capture of Jerusalem was not the original objective of the Crusader armies. They initially came to the aid of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos after he appealed to the Western European powers to aid his empire in the fight against the invading Turks, not the conquest of the Holy Land.

At the Council of Piacenza in 1095, Alexios' envoys spoke to Pope Urban II about the suffering of the Christians of the East, and emphasised the fact that without help from the West they would continue to suffer under Muslim rule. Urban saw this request as an opportunity to secure Western Europe and reunite the Eastern Orthodox churches with the Catholic Church already under his control. On 27th of November 1095, Pope Urban II held the Council of Clermont, and urged all those present to take up arms under the sign of the Cross and launch an armed pilgrimage to recover Jerusalem and the East from the Muslims. The response in Western Europe was overwhelming. //‘All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins.’// After Pope Urban II made his famous speech calling for a ‘holy war’, the call was answered by many prominent Western factions including The Kingdoms of France and England and The Holy Roman Empire//. ‘But be true shepherds, with your crooks always in your hands. Do not go to sleep, but guard on all sides the flock committed to you. For if through your carelessness or negligence a wolf carries away one of your sheep, you will surely lose the reward laid up for you with God. And after you have been bitterly scourged with remorse for your faults, you will be fiercely overwhelmed in hell, the abode of death.’// As people at the time were extremely devout, a threat of punishment in hell was to be taken very seriously. As a result, the answer to Urban’s call was remarkable and many thousands became immediately involved.

The Crusader army had been reduced to around 13,000 men, roughly 12,000 infantry and 1200 knights after many months of heavy, costly fighting. These soldiers, or what was left of them, came from all over Europe, mainly Western Europe.

The exact number of the Muslim garrison defending Jerusalem is unknown. However, the whole garrison was wiped out during the battle. The garrison was made up of men from the Fatimid Caliphate, a huge Muslim ruled empire that covered all of North Africa, parts of the Middle East and even Sicily. It was estimated that among the large garrison there were 400 cavalrymen and many Nubians, troops from the modern Egyptian and Sudanese region, amongst the Muslim troops.

The accounts of the battle suggest that the Crusaders, starving and severely outnumbered, were forced to employ siege tactics. However, the insufficient numbers and disloyalty among the now multiple Crusader armies made a proper siege impossible. The Crusaders were now faced with a seemingly impossible assault upon Jerusalem, one of the most notoriously well defended cities of the time. Yet the city proceeded to fall. The standout of the entire battle was the use of siege towers. Theses towers were constructed using the wood gathered from nearby forests, and were cunningly built. Other standard machines of war were built including catapults, iron-clad battering rams and among other things many ladders for which the Crusaders would scale the walls. This tells us that although still almost primitive, the style of fighting had not changed much for hundreds of years. Yet the construction of such impressive machines, including a sixty foot tall siege tower that could be broken down into smaller parts and transported easily, highlights the innovation and willingness to embrace new the technologies to come in years to come. At the time, however, there was little or no variations into the way battles, in particular sieges, were fought.

As the Siege and Capture of Jerusalem was the main Crusader objective, after this was achieved the Crusade was ended. The attention of ‘God’s Soldiers’ was then turned to their new conquests. It was obvious that the new territories would have to be governed and garrisoned as soon as possible. However, many Crusaders had returned to Europe following the mass slaughter of civilians, Muslims and Jews alike, during the final hours of the battle. One Crusader joyfully described the looting and murder that followed Jerusalem’s downfall: //‘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.’// By the thirteenth century an Iraqi Muslim Ibn al-Athir estimated number of Muslim dead to be 70,000. However, this is generally agreed to be an exaggeration and the real figures may have been less than 10,000.

Godfrey of Bouillon, who had led the Crusaders to victory was appointed took power over Jerusalem, however, insisted on having the title of ‘Advocate of the Holy Sepulchre’ stating that he was merely Jerusalem’s protector and he did not see it fit to be ‘king’ of the city in which Christ had died.

However, Christian victory was short lived when word arrived in early August telling of a 20,000 relief force of North African troops ready to recapture Jerusalem for Islam. Godfrey risked everything and decided on a pre-emptive strike on the new Muslim force with the around 10,000 battle hardened Crusaders that survived the Crusade. The battle soon turned into another slaughter as the Crusaders sacked the Muslim camp after the over confident leader, al-Afdal, had set insufficient watchmen. The Muslims were //‘cut...to pieces as one slaughters cattle for the meat market.’// It was only after this final test that the First Crusade was deemed a success and would finally draw to a close.



=__//Bibliography//__= Asbridge, Thomas 2010, //The Crusades//, Simon and Schuster, London. Excellent source. A great description of the causes of the Crusades.

‘First Crusade’, viewed 1/9,  Good general understanding of political structure and situation at the time.

‘Fulcher of Chartres’, viewed 1/9,  Excellent accounts of Pope Urban II speech.

‘Great Seljuq Empire’, viewed 1/9,  Gives an understanding of the enemy and why they caused the First Crusade.

Matthews, J and Stewart, B 1988, //Warriors of Christendom//, Firebird Books, Poole. Gives a good understanding of the Crusaders.

‘Siege of Jerusalem (1099)’, viewed 1/9,  Good account of what happened during the battle.

//The Worldwide History of Warfare// 2009 Thames and Hudson, London. Good overall description of the Crusades.