The First Crusade

What you need to know - The First Crusade: the eight princes and their changing priorities; Baldwin's conquest of Edessa 1097; Bohemund's seizure of Antioch 1098; emergence of Godfrey of Bouillon as leader and the capture of Jerusalem 1099.

Based on several accounts, Pope Urban II's speech called for a holy war to recapture the Holy Land from the infidels. He vividly described the numerous attacks upon the Christian pilgrims visiting these centres. He also spoke of the military threat to the fellow Christians of Constantinople. He urged his Christian listeners to take up the holy cause, promising immediate entry to Paradise to all those who repented of sins and anyone who died in the expedition.

Then Pope Urban changed the approach of his speech. He dwelt upon the feudal love of tournaments and warfare and urged the barons to give up their unrighteous wars in the West for the holy war in the East. He also hinted at the possibility of obtaining feudal fiefs, lands, wealth, power and prestige.

Illustration of Pope Urban II preaching the crusade at the Council of Clermont

The Princes' Crusade

In late 1096, members of the high nobility, including princes and their followers, responded to the call of Pope Urban II. In August 1096, four main crusader armies left Europe for Constantinople. Between November 1096 and April 1097, crusader armies led by Hugh of Vermandois, Godfrey of Bouillon, Raymond of Toulouse and Bohemond of Taranto arrived outside the city walls. According to estimates, the eight princes had a total of 6000 knights, 200 lords and more than 44,000 foot soldiers.

Count Hugh of Vermandois

First count of Vermandois from the House of Capet, younger brother to King Philip I of France

Count Robert II of Flanders

Eldest son of Robert I of Flanders and later known as Robert of Jerusalem

Duke Godfrey of Bouillon

Second son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne. Later known as the Defender of the Holy Sepulchre

Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy

Born from the Counts of Valentinois and chosen representative by Pope Urban II

Count Raymond IV of Toulouse,

Son of Pons of Toulouse. Amongst his other titles were Duke of Narbonne, Margrave of Provence and Raymond I of Tripoli

Prince Bohemond of Taranto

Son of Robert Guiscard, Count of Apulia and Calabria. He later became the Prince of Antioch

Count Stephen of Blois

Son of Theobald III, count of Blois and Gersent of Le Mans. He later fathered Stephen of England

Duke Robert of Normandy

Eldest son of William the Conqueror. Also known as Robert Curthose or Robert II

The crusading army

An ally of the Holy Roman Emperor, Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother Baldwin along with Count Hugh of Vermandois, Robert Curthose, Stephen II and Robert II of Flanders also led the crusading army. The army was comprised of crusaders from northern and southern France, Flanders, Germany and southern Italy. Of all the princes, Raymond had the largest army with about 8,500 infantry and 1,200 cavalry.

Hugh's army was the first contingent from Europe to arrive in Constantinople. Alexius I Komnenus, the ruler of the Byzantine Empire, was worried about the motives of crusader leaders. Because of Hugh's relatively small army, Alexius discreetly limited his movements. Alexius wanted all crusader leaders to swear an oath of loyalty to him. Hence, all conquests made to the east would be treated as fiefs. Godfrey of Bouillon initially refused to pledge allegiance and reiterated that they were rulers in their lands and would not stoop down to being a slave.

Map showing the main routes of the First Crusade, 1096-1099

Aalexious became more suspicious when the rest of the crusading army arrived at Constantinople. He feared that Bohemond, who attempted to conquer Byzantine territories, would organise an attack on the city. Meanwhile, many knights were Normans, who were an old enemy of the Byzantines. As a result, Alexios had no intentions of joining the crusade. His main concern was to transport them into Asia Minor. When the princes and their armies arrived at Constantinople, they had scarce food and supplies. Alexios took advantage of this need and requested the leaders to swear loyalty to him in return for food and supplies. After the conflict between the crusaders and the citizens of the city, Godfrey took an oath, which other leaders later followed, except Bohemond.

In addition to transporting the crusaders to Asia Minor, Alexios also sent two of his generals, Manuel Bottomites and Tatikios.

(above) A 19th-century depiction of the leaders of the First Crusade while crossing the Bosporus and (right) Emperor Alexios I, from a Greek manuscript

Baldwin's conquest of Edessa 1097

Following the siege of Nicaea and Battle of Dorylaeum, the crusaders' march through Anatolia might have been unopposed, but the journey was difficult as they encountered physical challenges and disunity among their leaders along the way.

Sultan Kilij Arslan had destroyed everything he left behind, not to mention the crusaders had a shortage of food and water. Hundreds of men and horses died throughout their journey. Though there were fellow Christians who gifted them food and money, it was still not enough for all of them. Extreme hunger and thirst resulted in some crusaders looting and pillaging whenever there was an opportunity.

A depiction of crusaders on their difficult journey across Asia Minor

Aside from the shortage of food and water and difficult routes, individual leaders also continued to dispute the overall leadership, despite them not being powerful enough (as Adhemar was always recognised as the spiritual leader) to take command on their own. They quarrelled over ultimate rights and the distribution of conquests.

Around September 1097, Baldwin and Tancred led two separate armies. Baldwin and his 300 knights reached Tarsus on 22 September, a day after Tancred. At the town of Mamistra, Tancred and Baldwin's armies fought against each other, but later made peace before leaving the town. Baldwin befriended an Armenian noble, Barat, who later persuaded him to launch an individual campaign towards the land populated by Armenians.

Baldwin receiving homage in Edessa

Joined by Armenian chiefs Fer and Nicusus, Baldwin was received openly by the Armenians. The local population ransacked and killed Seljuk headquarters and officials. Before the end of 1097, Baldwin seized control of Ravendel and Turbessel, two significant fortresses in Edessa. When Baldwin reached Edessa, it was led by Thoros, an unpopular Armenian lord. Thoros' adherence to the Orthodox Church pushed some local nobles to plot against him. A riot within the city led to the death of Thoros and his wife. The following day, the people acknowledged Baldwin as their new ruler and he became the first Count of Edessa. The County of Edessa became the first crusader state. Unexpectedly, Alexios did not demand Baldwin to return Edessa under Byzantine rule.

Coronation of Baldwin I as first Count of Edessa, 1098

Bohemund's seizure of Antioch 1098

On 20 October 1097, after a four-month journey across Asia Minor, the Crusaders reached the Iron Bridge, outside Antioch. This paved the way for the advancing army. Raymond IV proposed an immediate attack of Antioch while the Crusaders were opposed to the idea. Also, Yaghi-Siyan, the Turkish garrison commander of Antioch, managed to alienate him from the city.

Throughout the siege, Bohemond I proved himself a courageous leader. He rallied the Crusaders to beat the relief armies coming from Damascus and Aleppo.

In February 1098, Bohemond led 700 mounted men in the camp, marched east, and trapped the relief army from Aleppo into an ambush attack as they crossed over a bridge.

The crusaders built towers and began to conduct a blockade, which is the type of warfare usually seen in Western Europe. However, the garrison remained in no position to surrender. As winter approached, the Crusaders began to suffer as much as they did during their journey across Asia Minor.

Bohemond of Taranto Alone Mounts the Rampart of Antioch by Gustave Doré (1871)

During that delay, Bohemond negotiated an agreement with a lesser official of Antioch named Firouz. On the second day of June, the Crusaders would march west, giving a false impression that they had surrendered. As the Turks rested their defences, the crusaders marched back into the city. At the Tower of the Two Sisters, the knights ascended the tower through a ladder Firouz had set up for them. There, the crusaders overpowered the garrison. Other crusaders stumbled up, got one of the gates open, and eventually broke their way into the city and captured it. The Crusaders controlled most of the city by the end of 3 June 1098, with the exception of the citadel which remained with Shams ad-Daulah (Yaghi-Siyan's son).

The capture of Antioch

27 June

Though Bohemond was sceptical of the Holy Lance, he knew that its discovery increased the morale of the crusaders. He sent Peter the Hermit to negotiate with Kerbogha but failed to reach a compromise. Thus, Bohemond drew up six divisions.

28 June

Crusaders emerged from the city gate with Raymond of Aguilers carrying the Holy Lance before them. The Battle of Antioch took place with both sides strategising their way to victory. Though the Turks inflicted many casualties, this did not deter the crusaders. Defeated Turkish troops panicked and retreated, including Duqaq that reduced the numerical advantage the Muslim army had over its Christian opponents.

The six divisions were led by:

1. Bohemond
2. Godfrey
3. Robert of Normandy
4. Tancred and Gaston IV of Béarn
5. Hugh of Vermandois and Robert of Flanders
6. Adhemar

Godfrey of Bouillon and the capture of Jerusalem,1099

After capturing Antioch in June 1098, the Crusaders began debating their next step with some content to establish themselves in the captured lands, while others decided to call for a march on Jerusalem.

On 13 January, 1099, Raymond of Toulouse began moving south towards Jerusalem assisted by Tancred and Robert of Normandy who would then be followed by Godfrey of Bouillon's army. As they advanced down the Mediterranean coast, they were fortunate to have met little resistance from local leaders who were recently conquered by Fatimids. Raymond laid siege to the city of Arqa upon arrival.

The Crusaders moved through Beirut and Tyre before turning inland at Jaffa. On 3 June, they reached Ramallah where they found an abandoned village. Iftikhar ad-Daula, Fatimid governor of Jerusalem, began to prepare for a siege, aware of the intentions of the Crusaders.

Iftikhar ad-Daula

While Tancred was dispatched to capture Bethlehem, the crusaders arrived outside Jerusalem on 7 June. In December 1098, the crusaders marched to Jerusalem, arriving in mid-1099. After several weeks, they captured the city. Bohemond, on the other hand, went back to Italy and convinced Pope Paschal II and King Philip I of France that the real threat to the Christian world was the Byzantines.

Arrival at Jerusalem

Upon arrival at Jerusalem, the Crusaders lacked sufficient men to invest the entire city and thus deployed opposite Jerusalem's northern and western walls.

As preparations progressed, on 8 July, the Crusaders made a penitential procession around the city walls that culminated in sermons on the Mount of Olives. Over the next days, two siege towers were completed. In turn, ad-Daula worked to strengthen the defences opposite the towers.

Medieval map of Jerusalem

The Crusaders' victory

On the morning of 15 July, Raymond and his men then began their assault from the southwest. Their attack struggled with his siege tower damaged as they were met by prepared defenders. Godfrey ordered his men to spread out as they were able to open a nearby gate to the city. Crusaders swarmed into Jerusalem. Raymond and his men redoubled their efforts after word got out of the success of Godfrey. The crusaders were now entering Jerusalem at two points, causing Ad-Daula's men to flee back towards the citadel. Eventually, they surrendered after seeing that further resistance was hopeless.

In the wake of the crusaders' victory, they began a widespread massacre of the city's Muslim and Jewish populations to 'cleanse' the city. On 22 July in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a council was held to establish a king for the new Kingdom of Jerusalem with two particularly recognised as the leaders of the crusade - Raymond IV of Toulouse and Godfrey of Bouillon.

Map indicating progress of the crusading army during the siege

Despite agreeing to be the ruler of Jerusalem, Godfrey refused to be crowned king. Instead, it is believed that he took the title 'Defender of the holy Sepulchre'. During his reign, Godfrey defended the newly established Kingdom of Jerusalem from the Fatimids of Egypt and Dagobert of Pisa, a patriarch of Jerusalem. In 1100, the territories of Acre, Ascalon, Arsuf, Jaffa and Caesarea became tributaries. According to Ibn al-Qalanisi, an Arab chronicler, Godfrey was killed by an arrow while besieging Acre. However, Christian chroniclers made no mention of such event.

Godfrey of Bouillon being created the lord of the city