Crusading Warfare

Exploring the Military History of the Crusades

William James Hamblin
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Blue boxes contain references
to, or quotations from
primary sources

Gold boxes contain

references to secondary
sources.

White boxes are summaries

of primary sources.
Color coded
Green text boxes contain my
analysis, notes, commentary,
and explanations.
text boxes
Brown text boxes provide
place and location names, and
other geographical
information
 Boundaries
Major States
Secondary States
Minor Principalities
Tribal Confederations
Note: Boundaries lines are often hypothetical.
They also usually represent zones of influence
rather than boundaries as understood today.
 Sources on the Siege of Antioch
Primary Sources 1
Western
AA= Albert 3.36-4.26
CA= Chanson —
CC= Caffaro 109-112
EA= Ekkehard —
FC= Fulcher 1.15-17
→BN= Bartolf —
→WM= Malmesbury 4.358-363
GF= Gesta 5-8/12-20 (p 28-48)
→BB= Baldric 2
→OV= Orderic 9
→GN= Guibert 4.3-5.7
→PT= Peter 4a-6m (p 43-65)
→RM= Robert 3.29-4.14
GP= Gilo 5.1-7.292
LE= Letters §5-9
RC= Ralph 48-69
RA= Raymond 4-6 (p 30-50)
WT= William 4.9-5.23 ←Albert
Primary Sources 2 Secondary Studies
Eastern Christian General Surveys
AC=Anna (G) 9.6 Asbridge §5-6
HP=History of the Patriarchs Asbridge, Antioch 24-41
GC= Georgian Chronicles France §7-8
ME=Mathew (A) 2.113- Frankopan §9b-10a
MS=Michael (S) 15.7a-d Nicolle 49-58
→BH=Bar Hebraeus p 234-5 Rogers, Latin Siege 25-39
SC= Syriac 1234 (S) p70-71 Rubenstein §9-12
Muslim Runciman 1:213-264
IA= Ibn al-Athir 1:14-5 (10:274-5 =
AHC p 2-4) Technical Studies
IQ= Ibn al-Qalanisi {a490}
KD= Kamal al-Din 1:345-7 =R580-2
MQ= Maqrizi {a490}
AP= (Latiff, Poetry) §4
SJ= Sibt b al-Jawzi {a490} —
Anthologies
AHC 2-6 (Gabrielli)→IA
FCA §4 (Krey)
FCC §7 (Peters)
FCD §5 (Rubenstein)
CFC §5 (Tyerman)
1/11/ Siege of Antioch
4d- The Noose Tightens
1097 November, early
Background
0 50 100 150 k Varna
Route of the First Crusade 1097/05-11/
Ardas a
Preslav Sinope Kur
B Georgia
Adrianople (David IV)
{1089-1125}
Constantinople
Rodosto Trebizond
B
is
Nicomedia ps

ios
am

gar
Civetot Iris Saltuqids
Ac

San
h
(Saltuq) Aras
Yesil Coru
us Danishmendids irma {1090?-1102}
ani
c Cyzicus Nicaea Rum Seljuqs k Mengujekids
Theodosopolis
Abydos Gr (Danishmend Ghazi) (Mengujek) Teleboas
Elkhan Sank (Qilich Arslan) {1090?-1118}

dacus
arya

u)
{1085?-1104}

S
{1092-1107} Sebastia

at
)
a Su

ur
Rhyn
Ankyra (Kar

(M
Byzantine Dorylaeum
Empire ak
Pergamum Amorium rm nias Akhlat
Alexios Ha li s a
iz lys izi Ar
{1081-1118} Chaka
He
r
II Ge
d K
mu
s Philomelium Melitene
Smyrna
Antioch Caesarea
Armenian
k
yu

Meander Iconium
Bu

Principalites Diyarbakr

han
Coxon
an

Sey
Tangipernes Laodicea y h

Ti
Cilician Gates Ce

g
ris
Heraclea Marash

s
Saru
Adana mus
ra Edessa
Py

Attalia
Goksu Cal Tarsis Belen Pass
Mosul
Rhodes yca
dnu
s ✝ Antioch
rb o u gh a
Ridwan Ke
Seleucia Euphr
St Simeon Aleppo ates

Zab
ater
Raqqa

Gre
Latakia Rahba
Seljuq empire
Nicosia
t i ne Barkiyaruq
y zan Hama
B {1092-1105}
Paphos Homs
Janah al-
Tripoli
Dawla
Mamistra
Strategic Situation: Siege of Antioch 1097/11/early
Jerablus

s
Mt
s
aeu
Am
Ayas
Cyrrhus

E up
hra
te s

Azaz
Alexandretta ♜

Darbsak Manbij ♜

asu
♜ Qalat al-Najm

Kar
Syrian
Gates

♜
Baghras rin
Af

Lake
Antioch
Artah
♜
Aleppo
✝ Onr
ante
s
♜
Harim Ri Aleppo (Ridwan)
Antioch YS Iron
♜Bridge
{1095-1113}
Atharib
s
te
an
nr

St Simeon
O

♜
Antioch
(Yaghi-Siyan) Qinnasrin Eu
{1086-1098} ph
ra
te
s

Balis

Jisr
al-Shughur
tes
Onran
 Early Crusader Blockade 1097/11/early

Karasu
Iron
Bridge
♜

✝
3b- Numbers in the Crusader Army at Antioch.
The number of soldiers given by both Western
and Eastern sources are often very exaggerated.

On
♜

ran
YS Three hundred thousand Crusader combatants

tes
are far too many. Modern scholars generally put
the total number of Crusader combatants at
50,000-60,000 [France §5]. By the time they
reached Antioch they perhaps numbered around
s
te
an

35,000-40,000 combatants, of whom perhaps

nr
O

4000 were knights.

 Tt
Decision not to Assault Antioch 1097/11/early
BH Bo
0 250 500m RF Ta Gates
1 SB 1- Iron Gate
HV 2- St Paul’s Gate
2 3- Dog Gate
1a- Decision not to Assault the Walls RN 4- Gate of the Duke
[GP 5.4-9] 5- Bridge Gate
AP
[The Crusaders] drew up their battle-line 1 6- St George Gate
and pitched their tents between the ever- RT 7- Citadel
flowing [Orontes] river and the raised wall 3
[of Antioch]; and, because they would have Go Leaders
inflicted no harm on this well-defended 7 BH = Baldwin
race [of Turks] who were experienced in of Hainaut
4
battle if they had attacked them by force, Bo= Bohemond
they sought to effect by ingenuity what Go= Godfrey of
they could not achieve by force. Boulogne
HV = Hugh of
Vermandois
YS
RF= Robert of
1b- Turkish Defenders 5 Flanders
[RM 4.1b]
RN= Robert of
[Antioch] was full of defenders who could
Normandy
have fought alongside our men [as military
SB = Stephen of
equals] on the battlefield if they had not been
Blois
enemies of the name of Christ?
Ta= Tancred
Tt= Tatikios
YS= Yaghi
1c- View of Turkish Martial skills Siyan
A- Turks have “well defended” walls Marsh
B- Turks are “experienced in battle”
C- Turks are equal to the Crusaders in 6
military skill
D- Crusaders can’t conquer Antioch “by
force”
E- This assessment proved correct
 Tt
Building the Pontoon Bridge 1097/11/early
BH Bo
0 250 500m RF Ta Gates
1 SB 1- Iron Gate
HV 2- St Paul’s Gate
1a- Building a Pontoon Bridge 2 3- Dog Gate
[FC 1.15.6] RN 4- Gate of the Duke
They found a number of boats in AP
5- Bridge Gate
the aforesaid river. These they took 1 6- St George Gate
RT 7- Citadel
and fashioned into a pontoon bridge
[pontem] over which they crossed to 3
carry out their plans. Previously they Go Leaders
had been unable to ford the 7 BH = Baldwin
[Orantes] river [from east to west]. of Hainaut
4
[RM 4.1b; GP 5.12] Bo= Bohemond
Go= Godfrey of
Boulogne
HV = Hugh of
1b- Source of Boats? Vermandois
Boats were plundered from river YS
RF= Robert of
north of Bridge Gate of Antioch to 5 Flanders
Lake Antioch RN= Robert of
Normandy
SB = Stephen of
Blois
Ta= Tancred
Tt= Tatikios
1c- Strategic Significance
YS= Yaghi
A- Allows the city to be eventually more
Siyan
closely blockaded
B- Allows access to the west bank of the
Marsh
Orontes River for scouting and foraging.
6
C- Allows access to St Symeon and
supplies to be brought up river.
D- Boats south of the Bridge Gate were
later used for shipping supplies from St
Simeon to the Crusaders
 Tt
Preparations for the Siege 1097/11/early
BH Bo
0 250 500m RF Ta Gates
1a- Problems with Siege terminology 1 SB 1- Iron Gate
A- no universal technical terminology HV 2- St Paul’s Gate
B- inconsistency between different authors 2 3- Dog Gate
RN 4- Gate of the Duke
C- change of technical meaning through time? (Classical Latin
vs early Medieval vs Late Medieval) 5- Bridge Gate
AP 6- St George Gate
1
D- clerical authors don’t understand technical terminology and 7- Citadel
military realities; descriptions of what “should have happened.” RT
3
E- Differences between languages: Western vernacular, Greek
Go Leaders
and Arabic 7 BH = Baldwin
of Hainaut
1b- Preparation for siege 1c- Preparation4 for siege Bo= Bohemond
[RM 4.1b] [GP 5.14-17] Go= Godfrey of
The Christians were busy building They made many things, Boulogne
siege machines designed to attack [cities], axes from bronze, HV = Hugh of
[bellica machinamenta ad oppugnandum congrua] [ex ere secures] Vermandois
wooden towers, ballistas YS
with lead shot, RF= Robert of
[turres lingeae] [1-balliste
5 plumbata] Flanders
catapults, and catapults, RN= Robert of
[1- ballistae] [phalarica = “heavy missile” flammable?] Normandy
sickles, sapping engines, SB = Stephen of
[2- falces = “sickle”] [4- alpe = “mole"] Blois
rams, grappling-irons, Ta= Tancred
[3- arietes] [2- falces = “sickle”] Tt= Tatikios
sapping machines, missiles, YS= Yaghi
[sues = “swine, hog”] [5- tela = “warp beam, web/net”?] Siyan
moles, Marshfirebrands,
[4- talpae = “mole”] [faces = “torch, firebrand”]
missiles, battering-rams, and
6
[5- tela = “warp beam, web/net”?] [2- aries funde = “thick/heavy [battering] rams”]
stakes and threatening slings;
[sudes “stake, log”] [minaces = “threatening”]
things to throw, a multitude of
[fundae = “slings"] engines
and whatever else ingenious minds could devise. But [artifices = “things made by craftsmen”]
what use were they against an impregnable city, were raised level with the lofty citadel [arces] by
the craftsmen.
 Crusading Warfare
Next = 1/11/5a: Battles for the Bridges

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