Siege of Acre (1104)

Siege of Acre

date	May 6, 1104 to May 25, 1104
place	Acre ; Palestine
output	Victory of the besiegers

Parties to the conflict
Kingdom of Jerusalem Republic of Genoa	Fatimids
Commander
Balduin I.	Zahr ad-Daulah el-Dschuyuschi
Troop strength
unknown	unknown
losses
unknown	according to Christian information about 4,000 alone in the sacking of the city

The siege of Acre took place in May 1104. Its successful outcome - after a failed attempt at conquest the year before - was of great importance for the consolidation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which had only been founded a few years earlier . With the help of a Genoese fleet, King Baldwin I (r. 1100–1118) forced the surrender of the important port city after a siege that lasted only 20 days. Although all defenders and residents who wanted to leave the city had been assured by the king that they would leave the city free of charge with their movable goods, many of them had been massacred by the crusaders as they marched out of the city. Subsequently, the crusaders also looted the city itself.

Starting position

After the successful siege of Jerusalem (1099) , strategic and economic necessities forced the crusaders to direct their main interests to the conquest and protection of the coastal cities of the Levant and their hinterland. Only a fraction of the later territory of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was under their actual control at the time. Jerusalem, the capital of the kingdom, had access to the sea only through a narrow corridor running through Ramla and Lydda to Jaffa . Like most other parts of the country, this one could only be passed safely with appropriate military cover.

Raiders from the cities still held by the Egyptian Fatimids , Muslim refugees holed up in the mountains, and Bedouins from the desert roamed everywhere, posing a permanent threat to trade and supply routes; the ships stationed in the Muslim coastal cities, in turn, threatened the sea connections and prevented or disrupted the supply of people and material from the west, which was essential for the kingdom's politico-military survival.

Due to the early death of Godfrey of Bouillon (ruled 1099–1100), the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the solution to these problems was left to his successor, King Baldwin I. Although he had no naval forces and his land forces were extremely small, the new ruler pursued a vigorous policy of conquest from the start to secure his empire and wrested Arsuf and Caesarea from the Muslims in 1101 . The next task was to fend off the counter-offensives of the Fatimids from Egypt, which led to the two battles of Ramla in September 1101 and May 1102. But only after the Fatimids had suffered a decisive defeat in the Battle of Jaffa at the end of May 1102 and their last campaign in the following year was unsuccessful, King Baldwin I was able to resume his offensive to conquer the coastal cities.

1103: First siege of Akon

Baldwin's next target was Acre. In the spring of 1103 he began the siege of the city, which lies on a promontory on the northern edge of the Bay of Haifa . He was supported by the remaining crews and passengers of the pilgrim fleet whose appearance in the previous year had made a decisive contribution to the victory in the Battle of Jaffa.

A siege tower in action; French illustration of the 19th century

The besiegers, whose strength is said to have been around 5,000 men, put catapults and a siege tower in position, which after some time of fighting finally caused the defenders to start negotiations on the terms of the surrender. But shortly before Acon was surrendered, 12 Muslim galleys from Tire and Sidon and a large transport ship with men and war material entered the port of the city. This reinforcement rekindled the will of the besieged to fight. In the event of a failure , they managed not only to damage several of the siege engines , but also to damage the siege tower of the crusaders. King Baldwin I then decided to break off the siege. The remaining siege equipment was destroyed by the retreating crusaders - and so was a large part of the orchards of Akon.

After the failure at Acre, King Baldwin made another foray into the Mount Carmel to clear it of the band of robbers who from there still made the traffic routes around Haifa unsafe. Here he was wounded in a skirmish, whereupon this company had to be terminated prematurely.

1104: Second siege of Akon

In May 1104 a Genoese fleet of supposedly 70 ships entered Haifa. These had previously supported Raimund von Toulouse († 1105) in the conquest of Byblos (Arabic: Jebail ; called Gibelet by the Crusaders ). Baldwin saw the opportunity presented to him and entered into negotiations with the Genoese, which ended with the latter agreeing to support him if, after taking Acon, they would have a third of the booty, trade privileges and an establishment in the business district of the City would get.

On May 6, 1104, the allies began the siege of Acon. Balduin's army enclosed the city from the land side, the Genoese fleet blocked the sea side. The Garrison of Akkon initially offered bitter resistance, in view of the lack of help from Egypt, the Fatimid governor of Akkon, the Mamelucke Bena (also: Banna), better known as Zahr ad-Daulah el-Dschuyuschi ( transliteration : Bannā or Zahr ad-Daula) decided al-Ǧujūši), but then in favor of negotiating the surrender with the besiegers.

Under the condition that all residents who wanted to leave Acre would be allowed to do so, including their movable belongings, while the rest could remain as Frankish subjects, the city was finally handed over to the crusaders 20 days after the siege began. “ When the… Genoese saw how [the Muslims] went out with all their household utensils and carried their… treasures with them, they were blinded by avarice and greed…,… broke… into the city, killed the citizens and stole gold from them , Silver, purple fabrics and other treasures. "As the chronicler Albert von Aachen further reports," [d] the Frankish people ", that is to say the men of the royal army," were seized by the flame of greed "and took part in the orgy of looting, the approximately 4,000 residents and Accon's defender is said to have died.

meaning

Extremely important for the Kingdom of Jerusalem - the port of Acre (here in a current aerial photo viewed from the west, you can see the port facing away from the open sea on the east side of the city)

Acre soon after its conquest became the main trading center and main port of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. With Acre fortified, the kingdom now had a safe haven in all weathers. Jaffa was much closer to Jerusalem, but it was just an open roadstead and too shallow for large ships. Passengers and cargo could only be brought ashore or unloaded here with the help of small ferry boats, which was a particularly dangerous undertaking in stormy seas. Haifa's roadstead was deeper and protected by the Carmel from south and west winds, but it was particularly exposed to north winds.

After the near fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem as a result of the devastating defeat of the Crusaders in the Battle of Hattin (July 3-4, 1187), Acon's importance increased further. The city, which had already been handed over to the Muslims on July 10th, now became “ the fulcrum of the Christian counter-strategy ”, which pursued the goal of recapturing Jerusalem, which fell to the Muslims on October 2nd, 1187, and its territory has shrunk considerably To restore the kingdom if possible. After an exceptionally long siege , Acre was retaken by the Christians during the Third Crusade in July 1191. The recovery of the port city, which is extremely important for supplies from Europe, also contributed significantly to the fact that the Kingdom of Jerusalem could continue to exist for another 100 years, despite its continually shrinking territory.

Sources (selection)

Francesco Gabrieli : The Crusades from an Arab perspective. Selected from the Arabic sources and translated ... From the Italian by Barbara von Kaltenborn-Stachau with the assistance of Lutz Richter-Bernburg . Dtv, Munich 1976, ISBN 3-423-04172-2 .

Literature (selection)

Reinhard Barth: Taschenlexikon Kreuzzüge. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1999, ISBN 3-492-22794-5 .
Peter Milger: The Crusades. War in the name of god. C. Bertelsmann, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-570-07356-4 .
Randall Rogers: Latin Siege Warfare in the Twelfth Century. (= Oxford Historical Monographs ). Clarendon Press, New York / Oxford 1997, ISBN 0-19-820689-5 .
Steven Runciman : History of the Crusades. Translated from English by Peter de Mendelssohn . Special edition in one volume without references to sources and literature (= Beck's special editions). CH Beck, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-406-02527-7 .

Individual evidence

↑ The port city of Haifa was not conquered by the crusaders until July 1100 with the help of a Venetian fleet.
↑ Saewulf , a pilgrim who toured the Kingdom of Jerusalem at the beginning of the 12th century and who wrote a report entitled Relatio de peregrinatione ad Hierosolymam , was appalled at how dangerous the journey from the Mediterranean coast up to Jerusalem was. Runciman: history. P. 319.
↑ Since the majority of the crusaders had started their journey home after the conquest of Jerusalem, Rogers estimates: Siege Warfare. P. 66 that Baldwin I probably had no more than 200 knights and 1,000 foot soldiers when he took office.
↑ About the use of the ships of the pilgrim fleet still remaining in Palestine before Akkon is the account of Rogers: Siege Warfare. P. 67, and Runciman: History. Pp. 397-399, nothing to be found. The Arab historian Ibn al-Athir (1160–1233) also reports on a sea blockade of Acon . However, the number of ships available on the Christian side was apparently insufficient for a complete blockade, as the subsequent events also showed. In the history of William of Tire († 1186), too , the lack of ships is seen as decisive for the failure of the siege.
↑ In contrast to Runciman: Geschichte , p. 398, Rogers does not mention a transport ship accompanying the galleys.
↑ The governor, Zahr ad-Daulah el-Dschuyuschi, "ran away [after the surrender], " as Ibn al-Athir reports. He first went to Damascus , where he stayed for a while. Then he returned to Egypt and apologized to the vizier of the Fatimids, al-Afdal Shahanshah († 1121), for the surrender of Acon. The vizier accepted the apology. Gabrieli: Crusades. P.56.
↑ Quoted in Milger: Crusades. P. 162.
↑ Ibid. - Runciman: history. According to p. 398, Baldwin I was " angry " at these events, which he had not been able to prevent, and allegedly wanted to use armed force against the Genoese. A high clergyman, however, brought about a reconciliation between the king and the Italians.
↑ For example, on the day after his arrival in Jaffa, Saewulf witnessed how over 20 ships of the flotilla he had come with crashed into the storm and numerous pilgrims drowned. Runciman: history. P. 321.
↑ Barth: Crusades. P. 14.

[1] The port city of Haifa was not conquered by the crusaders until July 1100 with the help of a Venetian fleet.

[2] Saewulf , a pilgrim who toured the Kingdom of Jerusalem at the beginning of the 12th century and who wrote a report entitled Relatio de peregrinatione ad Hierosolymam , was appalled at how dangerous the journey from the Mediterranean coast up to Jerusalem was. Runciman: history. P. 319.

[3] Since the majority of the crusaders had started their journey home after the conquest of Jerusalem, Rogers estimates: Siege Warfare. P. 66 that Baldwin I probably had no more than 200 knights and 1,000 foot soldiers when he took office.

[4] About the use of the ships of the pilgrim fleet still remaining in Palestine before Akkon is the account of Rogers: Siege Warfare. P. 67, and Runciman: History. Pp. 397-399, nothing to be found. The Arab historian Ibn al-Athir (1160–1233) also reports on a sea blockade of Acon . However, the number of ships available on the Christian side was apparently insufficient for a complete blockade, as the subsequent events also showed. In the history of William of Tire († 1186), too , the lack of ships is seen as decisive for the failure of the siege.

[5] In contrast to Runciman: Geschichte , p. 398, Rogers does not mention a transport ship accompanying the galleys.

[6] The governor, Zahr ad-Daulah el-Dschuyuschi, "ran away [after the surrender], " as Ibn al-Athir reports. He first went to Damascus , where he stayed for a while. Then he returned to Egypt and apologized to the vizier of the Fatimids, al-Afdal Shahanshah († 1121), for the surrender of Acon. The vizier accepted the apology. Gabrieli: Crusades. P.56.

[7] Quoted in Milger: Crusades. P. 162.

[8] Ibid. - Runciman: history. According to p. 398, Baldwin I was " angry " at these events, which he had not been able to prevent, and allegedly wanted to use armed force against the Genoese. A high clergyman, however, brought about a reconciliation between the king and the Italians.

[9] For example, on the day after his arrival in Jaffa, Saewulf witnessed how over 20 ships of the flotilla he had come with crashed into the storm and numerous pilgrims drowned. Runciman: history. P. 321.

[10] Barth: Crusades. P. 14.