The Glory of the Crusades

by Steve Weidenkopf

  Emich and his murderous horde continued their march and arrived at Worms. The Jewish community divided into two groups; some stayed in their homes, hoping and praying for deliverance, others sought protection from the local bishop. Emich marched into the town and began perhaps the most deadly of all his pogroms. Hundreds of Jews were slaughtered. Some committed suicide rather than face death at the hands of the Christians, and some converted in order to survive.

  Not sated with the blood of the Jews in Worms, Emich proceeded to Mainz, which was a major center of Jewish learning, culture, and business. The Jewish community tried to forestall the pogrom with the payment of seven pounds of gold.130 The bribe did not work. Many Jews accepted the invitation of Bishop Rothard, who opened his palace to them. The ecclesial sanctuary of the bishop’s personal residence meant nothing to Emich, who stormed the palace and massacred the sheltering Jews; perhaps as many as 700 were killed.131

  Due to the ecclesial interference he experienced in several cities, Emich changed tactics during the course of his persecution and took his army to towns without a resident bishop. Eventually Emich’s band made their way to the city of Cologne, where they burned the synagogue and Torah scrolls. After leaving a trail of death and destruction in the Rhineland, Emich tried to march through Hungary on his way to Jerusalem. He was denied entry and soon thereafter his army dissolved. Emich went back to Flonheim and never traveled to the Holy Land.

  These marauding murderers in the Rhineland in the late eleventh century can hardly be called authentic Crusaders. Although these warriors may have taken the cross and endeavored to follow Urban’s call by journeying to Jerusalem, they never completed their pilgrimage. Contrary to a modern myth, the persecution of the Jews, which occurred at the beginning of the Crusading movement, was not “the first holocaust” or the beginning of a long period of Christian anti-Semitism. Rather, these horrible pogroms were motivated not by love of Christ and concern for personal salvation, but by mammon.

  The First Crusade

  The 60,000 warriors who embarked on the First Crusade knew they were involved in something exceptional and unique; they were members of “God’s army” and “possessed a special sense of identity”; they were warriors of the cross fighting for God.132 Despite the fact that the First Crusade “lacked unified leadership, a coherent political strategy or an agreed military plan,” the warriors were confident in their martial abilities, buoyed by the promise of spiritual benefits, and fixated on liberating Jerusalem from the hold of Islam.133

  The First Crusade is occasionally known as the “Prince’s Crusade” because the major leaders were dukes and counts, rather than monarchs. Most of the major kings at the time of Urban’s call were engaged in political or personal feuds with the Church and so either would not or could not participate.134 A result of this is that the armies of the First Crusade became a multinational force, representing all of Christendom.135 It was France, however, from which came the majority of warriors.136

  The French First Crusaders were divided into two main groups, the northern and the southern. Hugh of Vermandois (1053–1101)—the younger brother of Philip I the Fat, King of France—commanded the northern group. The forty year old Hugh was an ineffectual military commander, but nonetheless so carefully planned his route that his was the first army group to arrive in Constantinople in November 1096. Commanding the southern group was Count Raymond of Toulouse, a fifty-five year old veteran of conflicts against Muslims in Spain, where he lost an eye in combat. He was one of the first warriors to take the cross at Clermont and was extremely wealthy. Unlike most Crusaders, Raymond traveled with his wife and planned to stay in the Holy Land. Joining his army was the papal legate Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy. Raymond’s force left in October 1096, after the official departure date, and was the last of the major army groups to arrive in Constantinople on April 21, 1097.

  Another group of French crusaders left in late September and early October and traveled to Italy. There, in late October, they met with Urban II at Lucca. This was an eclectic group that included Robert Duke of Normandy, Stephen, Count of Blois, and Robert II, Count of Flanders.

  Robert of Normandy, who was nicknamed “Curthose” (“short stockings”), was the eldest son of William the Conqueror, the Norman prince who had successfully invaded and conquered Anglo-Saxon England. Robert conducted himself well on the First Crusade and played a pivotal role at the battle of Dorylaeum and the sieges of Antioch, Jerusalem, and Ascalon. He survived the Crusade and upon his return home he “found himself the hero of instant legend, his alleged deeds enshrined in stained glass at the royal abbey of St. Denis within a decade of his death.”137

  Count Stephen of Blois was the son-in-law of William the Conqueror and is believed to have been a somewhat reluctant Crusader. He was strongly urged to go on the journey to Jerusalem by his overbearing wife, Adela, daughter of the Conqueror. Stephen was extremely wealthy and had much to lose by going on Crusade. He later abandoned his fellow Crusaders at the siege of Antioch and returned to France in disgrace. His sullied reputation and the constant nagging of Adela forced him to return to the Holy Land to fulfill his Crusader vow, and in the 1101 Crusade he died of wounds sustained in battle.

  The family of Robert II was well aware of the risks involved in a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. A decade before the First Crusade, his father had made the journey and had even sent 500 knights in service to Emperor Alexius in 1090.138

  The armies of Robert Curthose, Count Stephen, and Robert of Flanders arrived in Constantinople in the spring of 1097.

  For Godfrey de Bouillon (1058–1100), the First Crusade was the culmination of years of training. Raised to be a great military commander, Godfrey began his martial training at an early age and was a combat-ready warrior by the age of sixteen.139 He was the prototypical medieval military commander: personally leading his troops into harm’s way and exhorting and encouraging them from within the ranks rather than from the safety of the rear. His brothers, Eustace III and Baldwin, also took the Crusader vow and made the journey to Jerusalem. Crusade preaching was very effective in Godfrey’s lands, enabling him to assemble a vast army containing several thousand knights and soldiers along with two future kings of Jerusalem.140 He departed on the official departure date, August 15, and eventually reached Constantinople on December 23, 1096.

  The infamous Norman warrior, Bohemond, commanded the last major army group. Bohemond was the son of Robert Guiscard, who was the leader of the Normans in southern Italy. “Bohemond” was a nickname given by his father and referred to a legendary giant. His baptismal name was Mark.141 Bohemond was perhaps the most fascinating Crusader, since he personally knew Urban II, was fluent in Greek (a rarity among the Western Crusaders), and was a brilliant military strategist and field commander. He was “swashbuckling, overbearing, uproarious, at his best making a last stand, at his worst when involved in political intrigue, simple and sincere in his Christian faith, yet a great sinner.”142 Bohemond assembled his army and formed the core from close relatives whose loyalty he trusted, including his nephew, Tancred of Lecce. His army began the march to Constantinople two months after the official departure date and took six months to arrive in Constantinople.143

  At Byzantium

  The Crusaders were excited to reach the great city of Constantinople, which was larger and more majestic than any city in Christendom. The Byzantines, on the other hand, were shocked at the number of Crusaders and were not prepared for the arrival of such large groups of warriors from Western Europe.

  The Crusaders were unaware that they had marched into a politically dangerous situation, and the actions of Emperor Alexius (r. 1081–1118) perplexed them. Alexius was a cunning ruler whose primary aim was safeguarding his own position and power. He was not a great soldier and had no intention of placing his military reserves at the disposal of the Crusaders since the “spirit of the Crusade was deeply alien” to him.144 The consummate politician, Alexius was wary of openly supporting the Crusaders in case they faile
d, which would make relations with the Seljuk Turks on his borders difficult. His strategy focused on playing the odds: He “would support the Franks as long as they succeeded.”145

  Large foreign armies near his capital city made Alexius nervous. In order to safeguard his throne, the Byzantine emperor decided to isolate the Crusade leaders and demand their personal loyalty. The Crusaders unwittingly assisted this plan by arriving separately in Constantinople over the course of the fall and winter. Alexius’s desire to receive personal pledges of loyalty from the major Crusade leaders took the form of personal oaths, which were an essential element of feudal society. Although some demurred initially, all the leaders eventually took the required oaths in order for the transportation of their armies across the Bosporus. The Crusaders, as vassals of the emperor, now expected Alexius to protect them and preserve their interests while on the march to Jerusalem. It quickly became apparent to the Crusaders that their understanding of Alexius’s role and his vision were quite at odds. The manipulative politician would seek his own interests over the Crusaders throughout the campaign.

  Nicaea

  The Crusaders decided to liberate the ancient Christian city of Nicaea—site of two ecumenical councils, in 325 and 787—as the first step on their long journey to Jerusalem. Godfrey’s army was in the vanguard and arrived at Nicaea on May 6, 1097. His 3,000-man army cleared and cut back the overgrowth on the old Roman road leading to the city and placed crosses along the path as guideposts for the rest of the army.146 Providentially, the Crusaders arrived and were allowed time to set up their siege positions due to the absence of the main Seljuk army under Kilij Arslan, who was off fighting the Danishmend Turks elsewhere in Anatolia. However, news soon reached Kilij Arslan that the city was surrounded and he rushed to its rescue, arriving on May 16. He attacked the Crusader force, and although there were heavy losses on both sides, the Crusaders emerged victorious, which was a “a remarkable achievement for such a novice and fragmented army.”147 The destruction of Kilij Arslan’s relief army opened the way for the Crusaders to besiege the city of Nicaea.

  The siege of Nicaea lasted six weeks and was witness to actions both heroic and atrocious. The Crusaders built siege engines, which they used to destroy the city’s walls. Inevitably, Crusaders were killed near the walls, which provided opportunities for the Turks to demoralize the living Crusaders as recorded by Fulcher of Chartres: “Truly, you would have grieved and sighed with compassion, to see them [the Turks] let down iron hooks, which they lowered and raised by ropes, and seize the body of any of our men that they had slaughtered in some way near the wall. Having robbed the corpse, they threw the carcass outside.”148 The Crusaders responded to the mutilation of their dead comrades by cutting off the heads of Turkish soldiers and flinging them into the city.149

  The presence of Byzantine naval vessels on the Ascanian Lake led the Seljuk garrison to open negotiations with imperial representatives for surrender terms. These negotiations were kept secret from the Crusaders, who continued to prepare for a general assault. The emperor promised the Seljuks safety of persons and property and ensured the Crusaders would not be allowed in the city.

  On June 19, 1097, the Crusaders awoke stupefied to see imperial banners flying from the city walls, and although Alexius gave them expensive gifts, they felt cheated of the opportunity to plunder the city, which was standard practice in medieval warfare.

  The Crusaders knew they would not have been able to keep possession of Nicaea even if they had entered it, since it was a former imperial city and in accordance with their oath to Alexius it would revert to imperial hands. Regardless, Alexius’s actions at Nicaea set the stage for future conflict when another former imperial city capitulated to the Crusaders.

  The Anatolian Death March

  Buoyed by their victory at Nicaea, the Crusaders began their march to Antioch at the end of June 1097. The journey would take them through Anatolia, and the summer heat of 1097 was a brutish and nightmarish event for all involved. Sustenance was scarce as the Turks destroyed sources of food along the route and the lack of water caused many Crusader deaths. When water sources were found, some even died of excessive drinking!150 Many starving warriors sold their military equipment in order to buy overpriced food, and others abandoned their gear because it was too heavy to carry without a beast of burden.151 The toll on horses and other animals was also great, and most knights arrived at Antioch without any horses at all.152

  On this Anatolian Death March, Crusaders suffered not only starvation but also sickness; Count Raymond of Toulouse became so ill that he received the Sacrament of Extreme Unction (Anointing of the Sick).153 Godfrey also suffered, though the circumstances that caused it were unique: He rescued an unarmed pilgrim from an attacking bear and, although he killed the bear, was seriously wounded in the encounter.154

  Yet, in the midst of the terrible march, the Crusaders’ mettle was tested in a major battle that proved their fighting capability and united their resolve.

  The Battle of Dorylaeum

  Kilij Arslan, who you will recall had recently warred against the Danishmends, now allied himself with them in order to destroy the Crusaders in revenge for the loss of his capital city at Nicaea. Forty-five miles southeast of Nicaea, near the town of Dorylaeum, the forces of Kilij Arslan set upon the Crusader vanguard commanded by Bohemond.

  Muslim troops were mostly fast-moving cavalry who relied on the bow to pepper the Crusaders with arrows. These mounted archers loosed deadly volleys, then feigned withdrawal in order to entice their enemy to break ranks and advance in pursuit; once the enemy took the bait, the archers moved to attack the enemy flanks and rear with the goal of a complete encirclement and subsequent annihilation.

  Kilij Arslan believed the vanguard was the main Crusader body and ordered the attack. Bohemond quickly assessed the situation and ordered his infantry, clerics, and noncombatants to make a defensive camp at a marsh, which also protected their back and right flank. The knights were ordered to line up and advance.

  The volleys of the Turks left the knights with so many arrows stuck in their armor that they resembled porcupines. Eventually, the knights were driven back to the defensive camp with the infantry and civilians. Bohemond’s warriors fought alone in this defensive posture for five to six hours before the main body came to the rescue and beat back the Muslim assault.

  The Battle of Dorylaeum taught the Crusaders an invaluable lesson: They learned how to fight and defeat the mounted Turkish warrior in open combat by maintaining discipline rather than breaking ranks and pursuing the enemy. News of the Crusader victory spread rapidly throughout Anatolia and caused panic in the Turkish world. Christian populations in towns with a Turkish garrison revolted against their Muslim overlords and welcomed the advancing Crusaders. The Turks now viewed the Crusaders as invincible and did not harass them further on their march to Antioch.

  Antioch

  The main army groups continued their march through Seljuk territory and arrived at the outskirts of the great city of Antioch on October 20, 1097, ending their grueling four-month march through the Anatolian plain.

  Antioch was an ancient city originally founded in 300 B.C. by Seleucus Nicator, a general in Alexander the Great’s army. It grew into a large and important city in the Roman Empire with an estimated population of 300,000.155 After the Catholic Faith arrived in Antioch it was home to St. Peter for a time. In the early second century, the great St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, was arrested by order of the Emperor Trajan and hauled to Rome so that his execution could serve as an example of imperial policy toward Christians. The city of Peter and Ignatius was conquered by the forces of Mohammed in 637 and held for over 300 years until the Byzantines reclaimed it in 969. The Seljuk Turks returned the city to the sphere of Islam in 1085.

  The Crusaders recognized the great challenge ahead of them when they observed the impressively fortified city. Antioch

  rested partly on a mountainside with a defensive citadel perched a thousand feet
above the main city. The steep slopes of the city were surrounded by seven miles of walls, doubled at the northern end and studded with 360 towers. The size of Antioch was its greatest strength for the defenders and the bane of any attacker, as even a large army was forced to disperse troops around its walls, thereby diminishing its attacking power.156 The siege of Antioch would test the Crusaders in every way, and although they would eventually succeed in liberating the city, it would come at a heavy cost.

  First Contact

  In the first engagement with the Muslim forces at Antioch, the Crusaders fought the Battle of the Iron Bridge to secure the northern approach to the city. The Iron Bridge was an old fortified bridge, northwest of Antioch, built in the sixth century with two towers, one at either end, across the Orontes River. Holding the Iron Bridge was crucial to any successful siege of Antioch because “possession of this crossing made it impossible for any large enemy force to surprise the crusaders encamped around Antioch and it provided a bridgehead for raids out into Syria.”157

  Knowing the northern approach to the city was secure, the Crusaders marched to the walls, formed defensive positions around it, and settled in for the siege. Unfortunately, the Crusaders were ill-prepared for a siege and soon found themselves engaged in a long, drawn-out stalemate of raiding, sallies, and counter-sallies by Turkish forces.

  Albert of Aachen recorded the state of affairs and constant attacks by the Turks: “Morning, noon and night every day there were sudden attacks, sallies, scenes of carnage, and endlessly you could hear in the Christian camp always new lamentations over further losses.”158 As the stalemate progressed through the winter, the Crusaders’ sufferings intensified. By Christmas most of the available food near the city was consumed, and knights were forced to kill their horses so that “those who used to carry them … they now carried in their stomachs.”159 The rank and file suffered horribly and time was spent not in combat but in searching for food. The lack of food resulted in many deaths in the Crusader camps, and those alive were forced to find and eat small amounts of food even in the most disgusting of places: