In the Middle Ages, Europe and the Middle East were divided between Christian states and Muslim states. They were uneasy neighbours, and frequently at war. On the front line, the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire, the major Christian power in the Eastern Mediterranean.
But in the 11th century, a powerful new force emerged. ...threatened its very survival. The Seljuk Turks, originally from Central Asia, migrated south, converted to Sunni Islam, and carved out a great empire for themselves. In 1071, at the Battle of Manzikert, the Seljuk Turks inflicted a crushing defeat on the Byzantine Empire. They went on to conquer most of Anatolia.
Cities such as Nicaea and Antioch, rich in Christian history, fell to the Seljuk Turks. In 1092, the great Seljuk Sultan Malik Shah died, and his empire began to fragment. The Byzantine Empire came under renewed attack, as local warlords sought territory and plunder. In 1095, Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus wrote to Pope Urban II, making a desperate appeal for military aid from his fellow Christians in the west. It wasn't the first such appeal by the Emperor.
But this time, the results would be unlike anything ever seen before. Pope Urban saw the Emperor's appeal as a golden opportunity, a chance to heal the rift that had emerged between Western and Eastern churches in the Great Schism. To assert his own papal authority over the unruly barons and bishops of Western Christendom, and to drive back the infidel, and reclaim Christianity's most holy sites most of all Jerusalem, lost to Muslim rule 400 years before. At Clermont in France, Pope Urban preached a sermon to a gathering of clergy and nobles.
He called on Christian knights and foot soldiers to go east, to aid their brother Christians, and free Jerusalem from Muslim rule. And he offered a unique spiritual incentive. Whoever, for devotion alone, not to gain honour or money, goes to Jerusalem to liberate the Church of God, can substitute this journey for all penance.
He was offering Europe's knights, who lived in fear of damnation because of the violent lives they led, the chance to atone for their sins through holy war. What's more, their objective, Jerusalem, was a city that captivated the medieval imagination like no other. The most holy place on earth. The Pope's offer exhilarated his audience. His words were met with cries of, Deus Vult!
Deus Vult! God wills it! God wills it! The Pope's appeal was preached across Europe, sparking a wave of religious fervour. Thousands of lords, knights and ordinary people vowed to travel to the Holy Land and fight for Christ.
They identified themselves by wearing a cross, later becoming known as Cruces Signatus Crusaders. A few of these men saw opportunity in the East for fame and fortune. But overwhelmingly they went in search of spiritual salvation, willing to undertake a long, expensive and perilous journey to save their souls from the fires of hell.
Pope Urban had intended the Crusade to be led by nobles, and made up of knights and experienced soldiers. But the viral success of his appeal led thousands of ordinary townsfolk and peasants to take the cross.. many inspired by a French priest known as Peter the Hermit, who became leader of this so-called People's Crusade. In the Rhineland, some of these Crusaders, fired up by old prejudices and talk of holy war, attacked local Jewish communities, slaughtering around 5,000 men, women and children, and extorting money from those they spared. These massacres were condemned by the Church, but to little effect.
In the summer of 1096, the People's Crusade, 20,000 to 40,000 strong, made its way east. The main contingent, led by Peter the Hermit, travelled along the River Danube, but they were ill-disciplined and poorly prepared. When they ran out of food in Hungary, they attacked and looted Christian settlements.
They continued to pillage the land of their supposed ally, the Byzantine Empire. When they reached Constantinople, the Emperor quickly ferried them to Anatolia, to be rid of them. In enemy territory, lacking discipline or leadership, their main force was soon ambushed and slaughtered by the Turks.
Meanwhile, some of Europe's most powerful feudal lords were departing for the Holy Land, at the head of their own contingents. They were much better armed and organised than the disastrous People's Crusade. They included, from Lorraine, Godfrey of Bouillon, with his brothers Eustace and Baldwin of Boulogne. Hugh of Vermandois, younger brother of the French King. Count Robert of Flanders, and Duke Robert of Normandy, son of William the Conqueror.
The wealthy Stephen of Blois. From Provence, Count Raymond of Toulouse, accompanied by the Crusades'spiritual leader, Papal Legate, Adhemar of Lepuy. And from southern Italy, Norman Lords Bohemond of Taranto, and his nephew Tancred. The various contingents converged for their agreed rendezvous at Constantinople.
Together they formed a huge army, perhaps 60,000 strong probably the largest seen in Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Byzantine Emperor Alexius had expected to welcome a small force of western mercenaries, who'd serve under Byzantine command. But the giant Crusader force that began arriving in December 1096 made him nervous and distrustful particularly the presence of Bohemond of Taranto, who'd spent much of his life attacking the Byzantine Empire.
Alexius gave the Crusaders money, supplies and guides, but only after their leaders swore oaths of fealty, and promised to return all Byzantine territory to the Emperor, not keep it for themselves. Only then were they ferried across the Bosphorus, into Anatolia. The Crusaders were a mighty military force, particularly the armoured knights, who made up about a sixth of their strength.
But they'd have to adapt rapidly to the heat, terrain, and hit-and-run tactics of their Turkish enemy. In their favour, the Islamic world, and the great Seljuk Empire itself, was badly divided. Its Turkish governors, or Atabegs, were busy fighting each other. As well As the Shia Fatimids of Egypt, none of them was prepared for the First Crusade, or had any real understanding of its strength or aims.
The Crusaders'first success came at Nicaea, which fell after a six-week siege. But the city surrendered to the Byzantine forces, cheating the Crusaders, as they saw it, of their rightful plunder. It was a further strain on the delicate relations between Crusaders and Byzantines. They began marching inland, through intense summer heat, in two columns a vanguard under Bohemond of Taranto, and rearguard under Godfrey of Bouillon.
Near Dorelium, Bohemond's vanguard was ambushed by the main Turkish army. Based on Crusader Chronicles, this is our best understanding of how the confused fighting unfolded. Bohemond, seeing he was about to be attacked by a large force of enemy cavalry, sent an urgent message to the rearguard, asking for assistance.
Then he formed up his knights, and ordered his infantry into a defensive formation behind them, protecting the camp followers. The Crusaders came under attack from all sides, facing a hail of arrows from Turkish horse archers, as well as javelins, and hit-and-run strikes from their faster light cavalry. The knights were driven back onto their own infantry. Over several hours, losses mounted, but the Crusader line held.
Meanwhile, Godfrey was racing up with the rearguard to join the battle. Troops were fed into the fighting as soon as they arrived. On the Turks'left flank, the Crusader advance was hidden by the terrain, so that they appeared suddenly, threatening the Turks with encirclement.
When the Christian Knights all charged together, the Turks panicked, turned, and fled. It was a major victory for the Crusaders, and allowed them to continue their advance across Anatolia without serious opposition. At Heraklia, they defeated a small Turkish force, then split up.
The main force struggled through the mountains of Cappadocia, losing many of their baggage animals and running dangerously low on supplies. Meanwhile, Baldwin of Boulogne and Tancred, probably out to seize land and plunder for themselves, travelled south into Cilicia, capturing the city of Tarsus and other settlements. Tancred later rejoined the main army.
But Baldwin was invited by local Armenian Christians to travel to Edessa, where he was soon installed as Count Baldwin of Edessa, ruler of the First Crusader State. In October 1097, the rest of the Crusaders reached Antioch, the next stepping stone on the road to Jerusalem. But outside its walls, the First Crusade would come to the brink of disaster. Decimated by disease and starvation, and encircled by their enemies, it would take a miracle to save them from annihilation. October 1097. Two years had passed since Pope Urban II preached a crusade to help the Byzantine Empire in its war against the Seljuk Turks.
Now the First Crusade had reached the great city of Antioch. It was the last major Turkish stronghold, standing between the crusade and its goal. Holy City of Jerusalem. But Antioch was virtually impregnable, with its citadel atop a 1,000-foot mountain, and too large to encircle. The giant Crusader army could only camp outside its walls and pray for a miracle.
But that winter, they ran out of food. Horses, men and camp followers began to starve. A trickle of supplies continued to arrive by sea, mostly from the Byzantine-controlled island of Cyprus, and they defeated an attempt by Radwan of Aleppo to break the siege at the Battle of Lake Antioch. But the Crusaders'situation seemed hopeless. Morale fell, as deaths and desertions rose steadily.
In March, a Crusader fleet arrived with much-needed reinforcements and supplies. Finally one night, Bohemond of Taranto and 60 of his men scaled a tower on the southern wall, whose commander had been bribed. As dawn broke, Bohemond's men opened the city gates, and the Crusader army poured in. They massacred soldiers and civilians alike, while desperate Muslim survivors fled to the citadel, which continued to resist all attacks. Antioch had fallen, but now a giant Turkish army was assembled under the command of Khur Bugha, governor of Mosul.
Next he attacked Baldwin in Edessa. But abandoned his siege after three weeks, and marched on Antioch. The Crusader army was exhausted, starving, and now trapped. They could expect no help from the Byzantines. Emperor Alexius, busy securing his own territory in Anatolia, had received false reports that the Crusade had already been destroyed.
Fearing a Turkish counter-attack, he withdrew to Constantinople. Then, inside Antioch, a relic was miraculously discovered supposedly the Holy Lance, thrust into Christ's side at his crucifixion. And the Crusaders'faith in their holy mission was renewed. Although heavily outnumbered, the Crusaders decided to meet the Muslim army outside the city walls. With the zeal of religious fanatics, seeing visions of saints and angels, they charged the Muslim army...
which turned... and fled. Khur Boga, accusing his commanders of treachery possibly correctly set fire to his camp and withdrew.
The Muslim defenders in the citadel, witnessing this stunning victory, quickly surrendered. In summer 1098. Fatimid forces from Egypt capture Jerusalem from the Artukid Turks. Al-Afdal, Grand Vizier or Chief Minister of Egypt, saw the Seljuk Turks as his greatest enemy and even tried to make an alliance with the Crusaders against them. But the Crusaders were not interested.
Instead, they spent five months around Antioch, foraging supplies and arguing among themselves. Stephen of Blois and Hugh of Vermandois had already given up and returned home. Now Bohemond of Taranto claimed the former Byzantine city of Antioch for himself, breaking his oath to Emperor Alexius. To return such territories to him, Bohemond argued that the Emperor had broken the oath first by failing to help the Crusaders during the siege.
Divisions deepened after Bishop Adhemar of Lepuy died from illness. He'd been the Crusades'spiritual leader, and a unifying presence on their council. Meanwhile, Crusaders carried out a brutal massacre of civilians at Ma'arat al-Numan.
Pressure from the mass of ordinary Crusaders forced their leaders to put aside their differences, and march south towards Jerusalem. Except for Bohemond, who remained in Antioch, where he declared himself Prince. As the Crusaders entered Fatimid territory, many local rulers offered up money and supplies to avoid violence. Other villages had been abandoned.
As the Crusaders neared Jerusalem, they found wells poisoned, trees cut down, and animals driven away. Anything that could help the Crusaders had been destroyed. you On 7th June 1099, the Crusaders got their first sight of Jerusalem.
Many fell to their knees and wept with joy. but they faced a serious challenge. They were now reduced to about 12,000 fighting men, not enough to encircle the city, and they were running out of food and water. Jerusalem would have to be taken by storm.
Landscape meant the Crusaders had no timber to build siege engines. On 13th June, their first assault, with a single scaling ladder, was easily repulsed. Four days later, six Genoese galleys arrived at Jaffa, where they were soon blockaded by the powerful Fatimid fleet. So the sailors took apart their ships, and carried the timber to the siege at Jerusalem. The Crusaders foraged more wood from the surrounding land, enough to build two siege towers.
These mobile wooden structures would be wheeled up to the outer wall, and allow the Crusaders to directly assault the enemy battlements. One tower was stationed with Raymond of Toulouse's forces in the south-west. The other was with Godfrey of Bouillon's troops to the north.
On 8th July, seeking God's aid in the impending assault, the entire crusade walked in procession around the city, finishing with a religious service on the Mount of Olives. On the night before the attack, Godfrey suddenly moved his siege tower to a less well-defended section of the city walls. The final assault began on 15th July 1099. In the north, Godfrey of Bouillon's troops managed to fight their way across from their tower onto the city walls, establishing a bridgehead.
Soon they were inside the city. And overcome with religious euphoria and pure bloodlust, they went on the rampage. Butchering soldiers and civilians. Jews and Muslims.
Women and children. It was an orgy of shocking, prolonged slaughter. Barbaric, but not unique for the age. The First Crusade had secured its goal, in the face of overwhelming odds. And just four weeks later, at the Battle of Ascalon, the Crusaders smashed a Fatimid relief army sent to recapture Jerusalem.
Most Crusaders, their vows fulfilled, soon returned home to Europe. Only around 300 knights remained to defend Jerusalem, under Godfrey of Bouillon, now named Defender of the Holy Sepulchre. The man who'd set these great events in motion, Pope Urban II, did not live long enough to ...to hear the news that Jerusalem had been taken.
He died just two weeks after the city's fall. The new Crusader states that emerged the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the County of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Edessa lived on precariously, surrounded by enemies. And the Muslim world would not remain so catastrophically divided for long.
Soon it would unleash its own holy war against the Crusader states, turning the Holy Land into a battleground for almost two centuries. In response, more Crusades would be launched from Europe, but none would ever match the bloody, spectacular success of the First Crusade. Research and artwork for this video comes from Osprey Publishing's extensive range of books on medieval history.
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