The First Crusade

• Princes arrived to Constantinople

  1. Late 1096 - early 1097

  2. Took oath of vassalage to Emperor Alexius I Comnenus
• Bohemond of Taranto

  • Took oath after hard negotiations, where his supplies had been temporarily cut off
  • Had no interest in keeping it (siege of Antioch)
• Northern French contingent

  Took the oath without objection
• Raymond of Toulouse

  Only took an oath to protect the emperor's life and honour
• Baldwin of Bolougne and his brother Tancred of Hauteville


  • Avoided the oath and by-passed Constantinople
  • Seen by establishing their own county in Edessa
• Importance of the Siege of Nicaea 1097

  • By the 18th June, they had taken the city through; blockaded the Askanian Lake which cut of supplies; maintained a siege
  • They established the council of princes: a forum where decisions would be jointly made
  • Army split into 2 waves; one under Bohemond of Taranto and the other under Raymond of Toulouse - they would keep close communication, and it would make it easier to steal and buy supplies
• Importance of Baldwin's capture of Edessa 1097

  • Distracted Kerbogha's forces for 3 unsuccessful weeks, who were headed to tackle the main crusader army which was laying siege to Antioch
  • Edessa was a prosperous county, therefore Baldwin was able to supply his brother Godfrey of Bouillon 50000 gold bezants to fund his campaign to Jerusalem
  • Lost a key military leader - only reached Jerusalem on the 21st of December 1099 when it had already been captured
• Key events of the Siege of Antioch 1098

  • Reached Antioch in October 1097, and held a siege which lasted 7 1/2 months
  • Victory at Lake Antioch in Feb 1098, where 1.5k out of 5000 garrison were killed
  • Crusader's gained access of Antioch in 1098, through negotiations with Armenian garrison captain
• The Fall of Raymond of Toulouse

  • He began his march south with Tancred and Robert of Normandy
  • Upon arrival at Arqah, he began to besiege in Feb 1099, purely to establish ground nearby to Tripoli to establish his own county
  • Raymond began to lose control, as when he heard news of the arrival of the caliph of Baghdad soon, he gave us his siege
  • Tancred's allegiance swung to Godfrey
  • As they began the march south to Jerusalem on March 16th, Robert's support swung to Godfrey
• The Siege of Jerusalem

  • The siege lasted 5 weeks, with Godfrey's forces in the West and Raymonds in the South
  • On July 15th 1099, Godfrey shifted the attack on the east side of the walls, breaking through
• Reasons for the success in Jerusalem

  • Variety = Godfrey initially targeted the western wall, then targeted the northern side, finally focusing on the eastern wall and infiltrating
  • Leadership = Godfrey was prepared to take part in the heart of the attack, raising troops morale and commitment
  • Strength = The crusader's who made it to Jerusalem were a hardened, experienced and loyal soldiers who were fully prepared for the task of besieging
• Securing control of Jerusalem

  • On August 12th 1099, the crusader's joined forces to attack a Muslim camp encamped outside Ascalon, and launched a surprise attack, extinguishing the threat
  • Godfrey's and Raymond's dispute reached a crescendo in July 22nd 1099 when Godfrey was elected leader of Jerusalem
  • The Crusader's were also divided, and allowed the vital city of Ascalon to remain in Muslim hands