Siege of Ascalon
| date | January 25, 1153 to August 19, 1153 |
|---|---|
| place | Ascalon |
| output | Victory of the besiegers |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
unknown |
|
| Troop strength | |
| unknown | unknown |
| losses | |
|
unknown |
unknown |
The siege of Ascalon took place by the troops of the Kingdom of Jerusalem , the Hospitallers and Templars under the command of King Baldwin III. from January 25th to August 19th, 1153.
prehistory
The fortress city of Askalon was of particular strategic value for the crusaders. From here one could control the land connection from Egypt to Syria. The conquest of Askalon would have cut off the Muslim empires of Asia from those in Africa. Askalon was also the starting point of the Fatimid counter-attacks on the Crusader states and the last remaining stronghold of the Fatimids in Palestine .
As early as 1099 and 1148 the crusaders tried unsuccessfully to conquer the city. Balduin III. made careful preparations and deployed all available siege engines. He united the contingents of all leading barons of the kingdom into one large armed force. The chronicler Wilhelm von Tire mentions the following participants by name: Hugo von Ibelin , Philipp von Nablus , Humfried von Toron , Simon von Tiberias , Gerhard von Sidon , Guido von Beirut , Moritz von Montreal , Rainald von Chatillon and Walter von Saint-Omer . The latter two were not vassals of Baldwin, but as mercenaries. Baldwin also received support from the Grand Master of the Templars, Bernhard von Dramelay , and the Master of the Johanniter, Raimund von Le Puy , who took part in the campaign with the best of their troops. There were also five bishops and the Patriarch Fulko of Jerusalem with the relic of the Holy Cross .
siege
As Baldwin III. Arrived at Ashkelon on January 25th, the fortress was in excellent condition. The army completely enclosed the city. Gerhard von Sidon blocked the harbor with 15 galleys . The city walls held up for months without being significantly damaged.
During the Easter period, the besiegers were reinforced by pilgrim ships from Europe with knights and foot soldiers. But in June a strong Egyptian fleet of more than 70 ships arrived with reinforcements and supplies for the besieged. The besiegers had only 20 ships and could not prevent the Fatimids from bringing men and material into the city.
During the fighting that followed, with heavy losses, the besiegers succeeded in pushing a huge, movable tower close to the city wall under heavy arrow fire. This tower towered over the walls of Askalon and from here the defenders were fired at with stones. In July some besieged people managed to light a kind of pyre at the foot of this tower during the night. However, the wind turned and blew the "burning mass" (Runciman) against the wall and the masonry began to crumble. The next morning the damaged wall collapsed and a breach was made. When the wall collapsed, the siege tower, which had survived the fire unscathed, was hit by parts of the wall flying around and also collapsed. The Knights Templar who guarded this section of the wall, including their grand master, occupy the breach with about 40 men. However, the intruders were quickly killed and the breach temporarily closed. The bodies of the Templars were hung on the city wall and their severed heads were sent to the caliph as trophies . The besiegers then discussed the continuation of the siege. The king and most of the barons were in favor of breaking off the siege, but the Johanniter master Raimund von Le Puy and the archbishop Peter von Tire were able to convince them to continue fighting.
The attacks on the walls were then resumed so violently and the defenders inflicted such heavy losses that they asked for a ceasefire three days later in order to exchange the dead and to bury them appropriately.
Eventually the occupation of the city offered to negotiate the terms of their surrender. Citizens were given three days to leave the city with their movable property, as well as an escort to take them safely to al-Arish . On August 22nd, 1153, the besiegers advanced into the city, where they captured considerable amounts of money, provisions and war material.
The rulership of Ascalon was entrusted to Baldwin's brother Amalrich , Count of Jaffa.
consequences
The conquest was the last great triumph of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but the political benefit was extremely small, because Egypt under the Fatimids was no longer a threat. The historian Mayer even speaks of a Pyrrhic victory : Because the conquest of Askalon made the expansion into Egypt possible, the north was thereby deprived of strength and challenged Nur ad-Din and Saladin to interfere in the affairs of Egypt. When setting up the army, Baldwin III. also so heavily indebted that his political options were so limited that he had nothing to oppose the conquest of Damascus by Nur ad-Din in 1154.
However, the possible conquest of Egypt by the Crusaders afterwards, had it been successful, could have significantly strengthened their position in Syria in the medium term.
swell
- William of Tire : Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum, around 1170, 17th book, chapters 21-30
literature
- Steven Runciman : History of the Crusades . Revised reprint of the 1968 special edition. Beck, Munich 1975, ISBN 3-406-02527-7 , ( Beck's special editions ).
- Hans Eberhard Mayer : History of the Crusades . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1965, ( Urban Pocket Books 86).
Coordinates: 31 ° 40 ′ 0 ″ N , 34 ° 34 ′ 0 ″ E