'You must suffer many things in the name of Christ, wretchedness, poverty, nakedness, persecution, need, sickness, hunger, thirst, and other things of this kind.'

ONE - THE OUTLOOK FROM THE WEST - HOLY WAR!

As many of you must know the First Crusade (1095-1101) was not the first or last war between the Muslim and European cultures. The Spanish nobility have been fighting an ongoing war with the Moors since the 8th century when the Iberian Peninsula was first invaded by the Saracen. In addition, just four years prior to the call for the First Crusade a Norman Count, one Roger I of Hauteville conquered and settled the Muslim controlled island of Sicily.

The First Crusade actually begins when the wondrous Pope Urban II, claiming direct authorization of Christ, called for a war against the "barbarians" that were threatening the Eastern Church and Byzantium itself. He, in fact, was using the concept of a Holy War or Jihad to instigate the First Crusade.

This wondrous Pope appealed to all the knights of Europe in simple terms. Speaking of a vendetta, he asked them to restore the honor of Christ and of Christianity. At this time the feudal knights of Europe were struggling to define their own meaning of existence - were they mere killing machines, or was there a greater call than that. As more of them began to feel the call of chivalry and the concept of honor and prestige many of them started out on the First Crusade for these reasons. But as time has shown, many more had a different reason entirely.

TWO - THE WILL OF CHARLEMAGNE

The knight of these times often looked to his family and his past for a reason to justify his life of violence. He drew on legends of Charlemagne, King Arthur and Roland as folk heroes. By the time of The First Crusade knighthood had begun to move away from it's violent roots towards a new identity. The Crusades afforded them a place to practice the idea of knightly service and honor. It was said that the soon to be ruler of Jerusalem, Duke Godfrey of Bouillon could trace his family line back to Charles the Great, who, according to legend, had made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the Dark Ages. Godfrey chose to follow the same path Charles had used, following in his ancestors footsteps. The Crusades were to eventually impact most levels of western society as the knight, the common soldier and even the peasant became a soldier in the army of God.

During the summer of 1095, Pope Urban II initiated the First Crusade. Starting with a sermon to a group of bishops in southern France, Urban II started an exodus that would span almost seven centuries. Earlier that same year, the Byzantine Emperor Alexius had asked for help against the Turks, who were threatening the Byzantine Empire. Pope Urban II, wishing a more open relationship with the east, called for a Crusade to retake the Holy City of Jerusalem from the "infidel". This was to end up being far more than Alexius had expected. He had really only been looking for a few thousand mercenaries for his army. What he got was much more than he ever imagined or bargained for.

THREE - THE FIRST CRUSADE

Looking back on this time as we do with hindsight Pope Urban II appears to have had two goals in mind for the men who went on his Crusade. First - to liberate the Eastern Christians from the Turks by driving them out of the territory of Byzantine Empire. Second - to open a land route to the Holy City of Jerusalem and recapture it in the Pope's own name.

Throughout 1095 Urban II preached the Crusade in his homeland of France. He had been born a French nobleman and understood well the mind of the French people, high and low born alike. The reaction to his sermons were greater than he probably ever imagined.

Urban had in mind a well organized Frankish expedition controlled by the church (himself). He appointed Adhemar, Bishop of Le Puy to oversee this expedition in 1096. By this time people from all levels of society were gathering in southern France, sewing red crosses on their clothes as a symbol of the Crusade to liberate the Holy Land.

At about the same time, a well known preacher, Peter The Hermit of Germany, was also preaching the Crusade across his homeland of Germany, eventually forming what would be called the "Peasants Crusade" in Cologne. Without any planning this mob, for lack of a better name, moved across Eastern Europe, arriving at Constantinople in August of 1096. Without adequate resources they had been forced (without to much difficulty I imagine) to pillage for supplies along the route. This naturally made them a general nuisance along the way and unwanted guests upon reaching Constantinople. Shortly after the Peasants Crusade left two other groups set out following Peter a few months apart. These were not only unruly but set about to massacre a large part of the Jewish population along the way. When they entered Hungary they ran afoul of the Hungarian King and in the end were stopped dead in their tracks. Most were killed but those that were captured ended their days as slaves.

Peter's group eventually reached Constantinople where it continued to disrupt the local peace. The Emperor eventually won over Peter's trust and loyalty (some what) and urged him not to push on without a real army. However the Emperor was unsuccessful and Peter was literally forced by his fellow leaders to push on with a small Byzantine escort for the East. Slowly the impatient mob moved to the Turkish border. Upon crossing the Bosporus in October, they were ambushed and pretty much annihilated by the Turkish sultan, Kilij Arslan. Peter himself happened to be seeking aid from the Emperor when this happened. A small band of his followers were saved by a Byzantine naval force and returned to Constantinople. Peter was no longer a player in the game.

OUR STORY CONTINUES

The leaders of the second force of the First Crusade were much better prepared than those of Peter's. They noted with great interest the mistakes that the earlier mobs had made. They chose to follow the Popes' wishes. Gathering their forces and supplies in advance for the long trip, Adhemar, Count Raymond of Toulouse, Duke Godfrey of Lorraine, his brothers, Eustace and Baldwin, Bohemund the Norman of Taranto and many others marched to Constantinople. These forces tended to arrive piecemeal and as they did the Byzantine navy ferried them across the Bosporus in early 1097. As each arrived the Emperor would greet the leaders, entertain and attempt to bribe them into his way of thinking. Eventually he managed to attain from each of them an oath of fealty for all previously held Byzantine lands that they retook. In return he was to provide quads, provisions and money to help them. For the most part he was live up his end of the oath. The Crusaders did not!

THE PLIGHT OF THE JEW

Duke Godfrey, it seems, along with others, was not above blackmailing the Jewish population of the times. He let it slip out that he to planned to massacre Jews on the way or that were found to be friendly with the infidel. The leaders of these Jewish populations appealed to their own lords, most of whom were benevolent of their race, to intervene. In addition the Jewish leaders sent Godfrey a large payment of hard money. This appears to have been his desire all along. He immediately informed all that he had had no intention of harming any of the Jews along the way.

Once amassed, the Crusaders proceeded to the Turkish capital of Nicea. At this time, the Sultan, Kilij Arslan after his victory over Peter's group, was not bothered by the second expedition and was off raiding the lands of his arch rival. This over-confidence proved to be costly. Nicea surrendered in June after a feeble attempt to break through the siege by Sultan Kilij and his army. In it were his wife and family.

Betrayed? Actually the city surrendered to Emperor Alexius, whose envoy and troops were ferried in to the city at night under the very noses of the Franks. Though Nicea represented their first victory, the Franks were furious at not being able to loot and occupy it. Many of the Frankish nobles saw this as the writing on the wall as far as trusting the Emperor. Already they began to regret the oath they had each given him for Nicea was one such land!

THE BATTLE OF DORYLAEUM - 31 June, 1097.

Infuriated over the loss of his capital, wife and treasure at Nicea, Sultan Kilij Arslan planned, as he had for Peter, an ambush of the Crusaders further along their march. This time the headstrong sultan mistook the Crusader vanguard (led by Bohemond) for the main army and attacked it headlong. The attackers drove the Crusaders all the way back onto their camp. Then, as many soldiers are prone to do they stopped to sack and pillage it. The Franks had fought long and hard, holding the Turks long enough for the main Crusader army (led by Raymond of Toulouse) to come up on the Turk flank, this followed by the sudden appearance of Adhemar with a small force in the Turkish rear saw them soundly beaten.

With most of his army destroyed, the Sultan Kilij Arslan was forced to harass the Crusader advance through Anatolia. It was a march of endless skirmishes and forays into the rough land through which the Crusaders marched. During skirmishes with the Turks, some Franks claim to have seen visions of angelic warriors assuring them that they had been chosen to liberate Jerusalem. The march was a terrible ordeal with more men and beasts dying at this stage then in battle. Throughout these sufferings the Crusaders felt that their God was testing them and while some chose to desert most pushed on to meet the challenge.

FOUR - ANTIOCH

After passing through Anatolia in the fall of 1097 the Crusaders came to Antioch and over the winter laid siege to the city. Meanwhile Baldwin, brother of Duke Godfrey, separated from main army and befriended the Armenian Christians as he passed through their country in 1097 taking all of the Turkish garrisons. In February of 1098 he occupied the city of Edessa as his domain and was adopted by its king, Thoros (who conveniently died shortly there after).

In Antioch, its Turkish sultan Yaghi, was forced to try and bribe his nearest neighbor, the Emir of Aleppo (whom he had betrayed earlier) to aid him against the Franks. Meanwhile, the siege continued on until Bohemund found a traitor in Antioch to allow the Crusaders to enter and capture the city. By June, 1098 they had slaughtered or driven away the entire population of Antioch. By this time the Crusader knights were virtually without horses. Soon after a Turkish army led by Kerbogha of Mosul arrived. He had been delayed attempting to retake Edessa on the way. He in turn laid siege to those that had been themselves besieged. At this time Count Raymond (the military leader of the Crusade up until now) fell ill. The command passed to Bohemond and he promptly attacked the Turks on 28 June. With the discovery of the Holy Lance of Christ in Antioch the Crusaders sallied out of the city and defeated the Turks. This victory was made that much easier by the bickering and mistrust of the various Turkish leaders who made up the force. The army then fled back to Mosul.

OUR STORY CONTINUES

The Franks now pushed on towards Jerusalem, their final goal. But when they moved out it was with three less leaders. Baldwin of Edessa now had a domain on the frontier, Bohemund, declaring himself Prince of Antioch, stayed behind to rule his new realm and Adhemar, the spiritual leader of the army, had died of typhoid.

FIVE - JERUSALEM

The Crusaders, now led by Count Raymond and Duke Godfrey, were intent on gaining Jerusalem. To expedite this they accepted gifts and neutrality of all the Muslim coastal cities along the way. By June, 1099, the Crusaders were outside the Holy city. Its Egyptian governor, Iftikhar, was not impressed by the Franks. He expelled the Christians from the city, fortified it and sent word to Cairo for help.

Upon arriving at the city of Jerusalem the Crusaders hastily attacked the great walls and failed. Sure of relief, Iftikhar waited for over a month behind the city walls. However on the night of 13 July the Crusaders stormed into the city and massacred the population, Turk, Christian and Jew alike - man, woman and child - none were spared.

THE NEW STATE OF OUTREMER

The County of Edessa. The County Of Tripoli. The Principality of Antioch. The Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The Crusaders then chose Godfrey of Lorraine as the ruler of Jerusalem. History has shown us that the First Crusade was a success. Forming a new state called Outremer made up of four new Christian states, which in turn helped relieve the pressure (if only temporarily) on Constantinople and recaptured the Holy City of Jerusalem. This state was to be severely tested for the next several centuries, and then failing, it fell back into the desert sands from which it had come.

Thus ended the First Crusade. The main goal being the city of Jerusalem finally falling to the Crusaders. The next forty to fifty years would see a strengthening of the principalities of Outremer as it was to come to be called. However the lords of Outremer consider themselves more or less independent of the Kingdom Of Jerusalem and its "elected" king. This would all change when Saladin arrived in the world.

Sections

1st Crusade Introduction
1st Crusade Section 1
1st Crusade Section 2
1st Crusade Section 3
1st Crusade Unit Charts
Crusade Terrain Chart