Siege of Antioch (1268)
The successful siege of Antioch by the Mamluks in May 1268 sealed the end of the Crusader principality of Antioch .
Apron
After the Mamluks had initially repulsed the invasion of the Mongols in the battle of ʿAin Jālūt in 1260, they threatened the principality of Antioch, whose prince Bohemond VI. (as a vassal of the Armenian King of Cilicia ) supported the Mongols. Under their Sultan Baibars I , the Mamluks conquered some cities and castles of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1265 . In 1266, Baibars and an army plundered the principality of Antioch before devastating neighboring Cilicia.
At the beginning of 1268, Baibars had again set out on a campaign against the Crusader states with a strong army from Egypt . On March 7th 1268 he stormed and destroyed Jaffa , on April 15th the Templar Castle of Beaufort surrendered to him . On May 1, 1268, he appeared before Tripoli . The local Count Bohemond VI, also Prince of Antioch, had recognized the threat and gathered a large part of his troops in Tripoli. Baibars therefore failed to attack Tripoli, but moved further north. The Templar castles Tartus and Chastel Blanc , which were on his way, induced Baibars to move on by paying tribute , whereupon he pulled down the Orontestal and reached Antioch on May 14th .
Within sight of the city, Baibars divided his troops. He sent one division to the conquest of St. Simeon , with which he cut off the city's access to the sea, a second division he had the passes over the Amanus Mountains ( Syrian Gate ) occupied in order to block any relief from Cilicia . The rest of the army began the siege that same day.
The fortification of Antioch with its 400 towers, which had already survived the conquest of the city by the Crusaders in 1098 , was in good condition in 1268. Since the Prince of Antioch was still in Tripoli with most of his army, the defenders had an inadequate garrison. The constable of Antioch, Simon Mansel, was in command of the defenders .
The siege
During the course of the first day of the siege, Simon Mansel led a sortie against the besiegers, but was unfortunately taken prisoner in Mamluk. He was forced to order the remaining defenders to surrender, but they ignored it.
A storm attack by the Mamluks on May 15 was rejected by the defenders after a bitter battle. However, it turned out that because of their small number, it was difficult for the defenders to adequately man the city walls along their entire length. Resumed negotiations on the terms of a surrender remained unsuccessful.
On May 18, the attackers launched another major attack. In the area where the city wall rises up the slopes of Mt. Silpius, the Mamluks finally managed to break a breach through which they penetrated the city after bitter fighting.
Pillage and destruction
Even the Muslim chroniclers were shocked by the slaughter that followed. All city gates were guarded so as not to let any residents escape. Anyone found on the streets was instantly massacred. Those residents found in their homes were only spared to be sold as slaves. Several thousand inhabitants and parts of the garrison managed to entrench themselves in the city's citadel, on the summit of Mt. Silpius. When they had to surrender two days later, on May 20, 1268, they were all distributed as slaves among the emirs.
As early as May 19, Sultan Baibars had the booty collected and distributed. Antioch's prosperity had been declining for some time, but the city had long been one of the richest Frankish cities in Outremer , and the treasures it stole were astonishing. Gold and silver jewelry as well as coins were piled up in large mounds and distributed in bowls by the conquerors. The prisoners were just as numerous; in the Mamluk army there was no soldier who did not acquire at least one slave. Only a few wealthy citizens escaped slavery for ransom. Simon Mansel was released and went into exile in Cilicia. However, many leading government and church dignitaries were killed or never heard from again.
Antioch itself was then completely depopulated and largely destroyed. Most of the houses were never rebuilt. The Mamluks still use the city fortifications as a border fortress against Cilicia, but Antioch had finally lost its former importance. The Orthodox and Jacobite Christians of Syria also moved the headquarters of their churches from Antioch to Damascus .
The Mamluks also pillaged and destroyed the Christian places in the area, as a result of which the principality of Antioch was almost completely destroyed. Due to their hopeless strategic situation, the Templars gave up their castles in the Amanos Mountains, especially Baghras , Trapesac and Roche Roussel , a little later without a fight. Bohemond VI. All that remained of his principality was the city of Latakia , which he had received back from the Mongols, and the castle Cursat , whose castellan had come to an understanding with the Mamluks and was able to hold the castle for another seven years in return for tribute payments.
The fall of Antioch finally prompted King Louis IX. of France and the English Crown Prince Eduard in 1270 to undertake a crusade to relieve the remaining crusader states. While Ludwig's crusade in Tunisia ended with the death of the king, Prince Edward's crusade reached the Holy Land in 1271, appalled Tripoli, which was besieged by Baibars, and in 1272 wrested a ten-year truce from Baibars.
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Runciman, pp. 1103-1104
- ↑ a b c d e Cf. Setton, p. 577
- ↑ a b c d e f g See Runciman, p. 1104
- ↑ a b See Runciman, p. 1105
- ↑ See Runciman, p. 1106.
literature
- Steven Runciman: History of the Crusades. CH Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 3406399606 .
- Kenneth M. Setton, Robert Lee Wolff, Harry W. Hazard: A History of the Crusades. Volume II: The Later Crusades, 1189-1311. Univ. of Wisconsin Press, Madison 2006, ISBN 0299048446 .