Crusades

Such as the capture of the city of Jerusalem, which was the ultimate goal of the first campaign (1095-1102 ad), the beginning of the Crusader project. This campaign was organized with the participation of European princes, the papacy and the Byzantine State. The city fell on July 15, 1099, after a quick siege that did not take long, followed by a terrible massacre of civilians inside the city walls. Three weeks later, an Islamic force that tried to liberate Jerusalem was defeated, the Crusader rule was confirmed, and the historic achievement was warmly welcomed in the West. The challenges caused by the annexation of the Holy Land to the papal monarchy, such as logistical support and hostile armies, diseases and epidemics, famine and internal enemies have all been overcome in some way, but the defense of the city of Jerusalem in the future will require sending more military campaigns over two centuries, campaigns that will not achieve the desired successes as those achieved by the first campaign.

 

The First Crusade began on the orders of Pope Urban II (R.1088-1099 ad) in response to the appeal of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios Komnenos (R. 1081-1118 AD), who wanted to resist the Turkish-Seljuk Muslim expansion, this expansion, deprived the Byzantine Empire of large parts of Asia Minor. The fall of the city, along with the appeals of comnenus and urban, prompted the European knights to join the Crusader military bands with great enthusiasm, setting their sights on the restoration of "Jerusalem", the holiest city in the Christian world. The combined crusader-Byzantine forces achieved some initial successes, represented by the fall of the city of Nicaea in June 1097 ad, and their victory in the Battle of dourliem on the first of July 1097 ad. In addition to their occupation of the city of Antioch on the third of June 1098 ad after a long and very expensive siege.

The next target, the city of Jerusalem, the Fatimids - the Ismaili Shiite branch of Islam - simultaneously with the start of the Crusader military operations, managed to turn the balance of power on the southern front. While the siege of Antioch was at its most intense, the Fatimids managed to recapture the city of Jerusalem in 1098 ad from the hands of their Sunni Muslim Seljuk Turkish rivals after losing it in 1073 ad. Jerusalem - the holy city from the point of view of both Christian attackers and Muslim defenders – represented a symbolic target of the crusade, according to the historian T. V. Asbridge:

In the first of December of the year 1098 ad. The Crusader forces moved and began their march towards Jerusalem, and during their march many Syrian coastal cities collapsed in addition to the historical city of Bethlehem. They finally reached their main destination on Tuesday, June 7, 1099 ad. Only about 1,300 horsemen and about 12,500 infantrymen remained of the huge army that left Europe, a siege force that is relatively modest compared to the huge fortifications of the holy city, the creation of which dates back to the time of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (reigned 117-138 ad). Over time, the Byzantines and Muslims restored and expanded the city's double walls, and some parts of the fortifications rose more than 18 meters (60 feet) by 3 meters (10 feet) thick. In addition to fortifications, nature also provided defensive services, from three sides the city was surrounded by deep ravines, cliffs and moats. Inside the city there were two tall towers with large fortifications, the tower of David and the Quadrangular Tower. The siege turned out to be the optimal strategy for achieving positive results on the ground, but the invading crusader forces lacked the time factor: additional support forces were likely to arrive in Jerusalem, just as happened at the siege of Antioch last year.

Jerusalem, which was surrounded by huge walls, with a mixture of ditches and rugged cliffs, was a very difficult task for the Crusaders, but fortunately for them, and at the right moment a number of ships arrived from the Italian city of Genoa loaded with the necessary timber for the manufacture of two Siege Towers, a catapult and pestles for tamping the fortresses. Despite having these weapons, they encountered stubborn resistance, but apparently the Muslim garrison was noticeably reluctant to launch raids on the Crusader troops to break the siege, waiting for the promised support from Egypt. Then, in mid-July, Godfrey the Prince of Bouillon decided to attack what he thought was the weakest part of the wall. The Crusaders erected the siege tower under cover of darkness and blocked part of the moat, managed to get close to the walls, and with Godfrey advancing from the front, the attackers climbed over the defenses and found themselves inside the city on July 15, 1099.

 

 The siege

Iftikhar Al-Dawla al-Fatimi was the governor of Jerusalem and the commander authorized to defend it in the event of an attack on the city, he led a military contingent composed of both Arab and Sudanese soldiers – in addition to a few thousand foot soldiers and an elite Egyptian cavalry estimated at about 400 Horsemen. The number of the defending force was insufficient to defend all the sections of the newly restored fortifications and occupy the attacking force, although Iftikhar Al-Dawla possessed both defensive and offensive "al-Marj'am" weapons. The city lacked water sources in the interior, but it had huge cisterns, which, with the right supplies, were enough to hold out until the promised military support arrived from Egypt. The Fatimid ruler Iftikhar Al-Dawla ordered the withdrawal of all herds of cattle from the surrounding areas, he also ordered the poisoning of wells so that the attackers would not benefit from them, and as a precaution against espionage and agents expelled all Christians from the city, in return, Jews were allowed to stay.

Inside the city this was the scene , but on the other side, the Crusader troops were under the command of a trio, Robert II Duke of Flanders, Godfrey or candfrey ruler of Boulogne, and Robert Duke of Normandy, these three set up their separate camps near the northern and Northwestern fortifications, they spoiled the ports and Gates at these points. Meanwhile, Raymond, the governor of Toulouse, had taken control of Mount Zion, and the Norman Tancred, who would later become Prince of Galilee, secured many cattle and herds from the city of Bethlehem, before he was stationed in the northwestern corner of the city.

The Crusader bombardment of the city began immediately, using a catapult, but the attackers soon encountered problems with the supply of provisions and water, thanks to the ingenuity of Iftikhar Al-Dawla and the hot weather during the month of July in particular. The fact of the situation revealed that the attackers would suffer more than the defenders due to the targeting of the Crusader supply convoys, therefore, the plan was amended, and it was agreed to launch a direct attack. On June 13, the Crusaders attacked the northern fortifications, but due to the lack of logistical equipment necessary for a large-scale offensive, they were forced to withdraw.

Fortunately for the Crusader troops, the solution to their problems was on the horizon. On June 17, the Genoese and English Vanguard ships arrived at the nearby Port of Jaffa, loaded with supplies, ammunition, and, most importantly, ropes and timber, which were used to build two siege towers, quarries and catapults, ladders and pestles to smash and take down the gates. Investing in the time factor was necessary and essential, especially after the confirmed news came in the first days of July about the imminent arrival of a huge Egyptian force to support the besieged. The news of the support force reached the ears of the Fatimid ruler and he kept it secret, which explains his reluctance to attack the Crusader camps.

On July 8, The Crusader preparations for a large-scale offensive were completed. Led by priests and monks carrying their holy relics, the Crusaders paraded around the city walls barefoot, wanting to atone for their sins and in confirmation of the main reason that prompted them to come here. At the level of the leadership in the north, the Crusader leaders tended to put aside differences and unite ranks, after three years of great difficulties, and painstaking battles in Antioch and other places, morale was high in preparation for the great victory, because apparently the Crusader project had reached its conclusion.

 

On the tenth of July, the attacking forces moved the siege towers in preparation for the storming, and concentrated the towers on Mount Zion facing the fortifications and the northern wall. A small third tower was also centered facing the northwest corner. Naturally, the defenders did not stand idly by, but fired sporadic volleys aimed at the siege towers with huge stones and highly flammable Greek fire, which, paradoxically, had been developed by the Christian Byzantines. The Crusaders finally launched the attack on the night of July 13, the attack was followed by a bloody and violent day, and on July 14 the tower on the northern wall was dismantled and moved to another place. The defenders were surprised at the dawn of the morning when they realized the new point of attack late, as the tower approached the ramparts in such a way that it became easy for many men led by kendfrey to climb the ramparts and control parts of them, and this coincided with many men climbing the other ramparts using long ladders. On July 15, one of the main gates was opened, and the attacking troops poured into the city.

Victory and massacre

The remaining defenders of the city retreated in panic towards the dome of the rock, and at the loss of the feasibility of continuing the defense, they handed themselves over to tankerd, who raised his pink flag on the Al-Aqsa mosque (just as he did when he entered Bethlehem several months ago). Meanwhile, a second group led by the pride of the state gathered at the tower of David in the Southern District of the city where Raymond met them. The governor offered Raymond a huge ransom for his release and his own guard, Raymond accepted the offer. They were lucky to be one of the few Muslims who would see the light of day again.

The fall of the city was followed by a terrible mass massacre carried out by the invading forces against both Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem, and the Jews were accused of being complicit in the massacre. The numbers of victims were conflicting and differed according to the sources, the massacre claimed about 10 thousand dead (according to William al-Suri), and 65 thousand (according to Matthew Al-rahai), while Ibn al-Athir put the figure at 75 thousand, but Ibn Arabi, who had no motivation to reduce the severity of the massacre, showed that the numbers of victims in him is something of an exaggeration, and put the figure at 3 thousand of the total population then about 30 thousand. However, the barbarity of the Crusaders shocked the Christians themselves, and the Muslims will not forgive or forget what the Crusader troops did.

Although he was born about 30 years after the great event, William's fictional report on the massacre, written in the 12th century AD, formed the basis of historical sources that described the massacre in the smallest detail:

The city was subjected to systematic looting and looting, its precious relics were stolen and removed, and when the corpses piled up to such an extent that their presence became a threat to public safety and spread epidemics, Muslim prisoners were forced to burn the bodies of their co-religionists in huge crematoria erected outside the city walls, before they themselves were killed in cold blood. In Italy, Pope Urban II died, not knowing about the news of the fall of the city and the violence caused by his call for a crusade.

The capture of Jerusalem was a pivotal moment, but keeping it under control will require more fighting and counter-fighting. Within a month, the Egyptian force tasked with retaking the city of twenty thousand soldiers had arrived in Jerusalem. The best Fatimid Vizier, who led the military force, sent a group of scouts, but when they were exposed, they were arrested by the Crusaders, who, in turn, decided to launch a surprise counterattack on the positions of the Fatimid force. The Egyptian prisoners were forced to disclose the details of the presence of their troops. By August 10, The Crusader forces had massed in the town of yibna, a few kilometers away, and encamped in the city of Ashkelon. The Muslims were taken by surprise and panicked, and many of them retreated to the nearby Sycamore forests, but lost their lives after setting them on fire. The others retreated to the shores, and the banner of the best minister sang. At the end of this day, everything was over, the city of Jerusalem was completely saved and the hero of the siege, candefre, was installed as king of Jerusalem.

Results

For some historians, the Battle of Ashkelon marked the end of the First Crusade, and many Crusaders returned home, including the leaders Raymond, count of Toulouse, who would later be known as Raymond de Saint-Gilles or Sangel, Robert, Duke of Normandy, and Robert, Duke of Flanders. Later, new Crusader forces arrived from Constantinople, and more victories were recorded, especially in Caesarea on May 17, 1101, and Acre shortly after on the 26th. As for the Fatimids and the Seljuk Turks, becoming familiar and familiar with the northern European military tactics, they began to prepare for future confrontations. Preserving the new territorial gains known as the Latin East will not be an easy task for the Crusaders ;the Principality of Edessa will fall, and this will force the Christian forces to launch a Second Crusade (1147-1149 ad), and even the city of Jerusalem will not surrender and they will lose it in 1187 ad, and this will push them again forced to launch a third crusade (1189-1192 ad).

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