The Siege of Jerusalem: Crusade and Conquest in 1099

226 Pages·2009·1.3 MB·english

by  Conor Kostick

THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM
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Th e Siege of Jerusalem
Crusade and Conquest in 1099
Conor Kostick
Continuum International Publishing Group
Th e Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane
11 York Road Suite 704
London SE1 7NX New York, NY 10038
www.continuumbooks.com
Copyright © Conor Kostick 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission
from the publishers.
First published 2009
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781847252319
Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India
Printed and bound by
To my old friend,
Nathan Reynard
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Contents
List of Figures viii
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xiii
Chapter 1 In the Beginning 1
Chapter 2 Endurance 25
Chapter 3 Factions and Schisms 51
Chapter 4 Th irst 66
Chapter 5 Siege Warfare 79
Chapter 6 Preparing for the Assault 92
Chapter 7 Th e Storming of Jerusalem 104
Chapter 8 Friday, 15 July 1099 115
Chapter 9 Th e Aft ermath 132
Chapter 10 Legacy 155
Appendix 174
Abbreviations 185
Notes 187
Bibliography 195
Index 205
List of Figures
Figure 1 Th e route taken by the First Crusade
Figure 2 Th e environs of Jerusalem
Figure 3 Th e topography of Jerusalem
Figure 4 Th e layout of Jerusalem at the time of the Crusade
Figure 5 Water sources in the vicinity of Jerusalem
Figure 6 Th e view from the Pool of Siloam to the walls of Jerusalem, from W. H. Bartlett,
Walks About the City and Environs of Jerusalem (London, 1845), p. 69
Figure 7 Siege equipment 1: a basic mangonel, used on both sides
Figure 8 Siege equipment 2: a hybrid trebuchet, used by the crusaders
Figure 9 Siege equipment 3: a ram from the front
Figure 10 Siege equipment 4: a ram from the back
Figure 11 Siege equipment 4: a siege tower from the front
Figure 12 Siege equipment 5: a siege tower from the back
Figure 13 Siege equipment 6: a crow, used by the Provençal army
Figure 14 Th e assault on Jerusalem stage 1
Figure 15 Th e assault on Jerusalem stage 2
Figure 16 Th e assault on Jerusalem stage 3
Preface
Tuesday, 7 June 1099. A crowd of gaunt people was gathered on a hill watching
the brightening eastern sky. About a mile away the walls and buildings of
a city became more distinct in the dawn light. Everyone had stumbled through
the darkness of the previous night to reach this point. Just as the skylarks,
fi nches, swallows and swift s greeted the new day with their distinctive songs, so
too the crowd now began to mutter in a range of voices: prayers whispered in
all the languages and dialects of Christendom.
As the light grew stronger, the crowd became more distinct. Here, an archer,
with an unstrung bow over his shoulder. Th ere, a leather-clad spearman, lean-
ing on his weapon as a stave. And among those ready for war could be seen
a surprising number of unarmed people, including priests, nuns, women and
children of all ages. All of them, man or woman, soldier or cleric, looked hun-
gry, but although their bodies lacked all measure of surplus fat, they were not
emaciated. Rather, they had the cords of tough muscle only obtained through
years of hard labour. And these people had laboured.
Nearby, mounted, and accompanying those on foot with a certain compla-
cency, were a group of 70 knights, formed up in a disciplined row. Th eir chain-
mail armour and burnished helms shone, tinged with the pink of the dawn.
It was the raid of these knights ahead of the army the previous day, and their
return with the news that the city was close, which had caused the ragged
crowds to stumble all night across a rocky terrain in the hope of seeing the
physical manifestation of their dreams. Proud of their responsibility for those
beneath them, the knights were alert, scanning the brightening sky in all direc-
tions for dust clouds in the morning air, for a sign, in other words, of their
enemies. Ahead of the row of knights was a small cluster of warriors, whose
banners and spears focused on the two leaders of the troop: Tancred and
Gaston of Béarn.
Only 26 years old, Tancred was nevertheless the hero and talisman of the
present company. Others, especially the Provençal army miles further back to
the rear, hated the Italian Norman for his arrogance and his treacherous policy
towards them. But even his worst enemies would admit that there was no braver