In our previous episode on the First Crusade, the crusaders were baptized by fire as they sallied
out against a vast host with empty bellies. Ultimately, they were victorious and the
nine-month-long siege ended with the conquest of Antioch. Now they were less than a month away from
Jerusalem and yet this is the crucial juncture where the bonds of fellowship would break.
Join us as we outline what was happening with the Crusaders after their unlikely
victory at Antioch, as this greatest triumph almost led them to a collapse.
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The triumph at Antioch was nothing short of miraculous. Heat, cold, disease, and desertion
failed to disperse the expedition, yet now the council of princes decided to stop and wait out
the summer in order to recuperate. The plan was to leave for Jerusalem on November 1st, but in
reality, no crusader would see the walls of the Holy City for over a year. Rather than consolidate
the crusaders were split into two large camps, arguing over the claim over Antioch and the
oaths to Alexios. On one hand, everyone swore to return every city they took to the Romans, but on
another, the princes agreed to cede the city to Bohemond provided that he took it, which he did.
To settle the differences, the crusaders sent out Hugh of Vermandois as an envoy to the Emperor.
This brings us to one of the most important and misunderstood moments in this story:
Did Alexios abandon the crusaders? Back in June 1098, Alexios was leading an army in Anatolia
and camped at Philomelion, when he met Stephen of Blois and a couple of other deserters from
the siege of Antioch. There the crusader told Alexios that the situation was hopeless and
that he should abandon the cause. Latin sources denounce both men as cowards and pick this moment
as the reason why their relationship soured, but the reality is as usual a lot more nuanced.
Alexios did turn back, but he never intended to march as far as Antioch,
due to the logistical strain it would entail on a large army, not to mention that he was well
aware that his absence could lead to rebellion or even a civil war, both of which he already had to
deal with on multiple occasions. Furthermore, he also received news that the Seljuks were preparing
another invasion, a threat he took seriously, since he evacuated the citizens of that region,
to protect them from the nomads. Indeed, an attack was attempted on Paipert, which ultimately failed,
due to the military prowess of the semi-autonomous leader of Trebizond Theodore Gabras. So even when
Hugh met Alexios in Constantinople some months later, the Emperor could offer little more than
the continuous naval supply that kept the Latins fed until this point. And yet the reports that
Bohemond was serious about keeping the city for himself infuriated the Byzantine court,
ending their goodwill and starting a new phase in the history of the crusade. Rather than return to
his fellow crusaders, the count left for France only to be chastised by his countrymen who saw him
as a coward and embarrassment. He would later join the crusade of 1101 and die fighting, but that is
another story that we will tell in the future. Back
in Antioch, the lines were drawn and most of the princes aligned themselves with Bohemond,
secretly ceding their portions of the walls to him. Raymond of Toulouse positioned
himself as his archnemesis and occupied the Bridge gate, the lifeline to the coast,
as well as the governor's palace. He even attempted to take the citadel for himself,
but its commander Ahmad ibn-Marwan proclaimed that he would only surrender to Bohemond.
Despite being the most stubborn of the princes, when it came to swearing his oath to Alexios,
Raymond insisted that the words he uttered, while holding the sacred relics shouldn’t be discarded
and he was willing to sabotage the entire crusade, just so Bohemond wouldn't get what he wanted.
In the meantime, Bohemond was busy. He restored the cathedral of St. Peter, allowed the Greek
patriarch John IV to return to his duties and signed a deal with Genoa on July 14th,
1098. This surviving document tells us so much about the political situation at the time.
Genoa received thirty houses near the church and the rights to run a market on the square.
Bohemond was not mentioned as the owner of the city, but Raymond was singled out
from the rest of the crusaders and the Empire was not even mentioned.
The Latins were at an impasse and both parties were doing everything in their power to prevent
the other from winning, while the lesser knights and peasants starved to death.
Antioch was now friendly territory and Byzantine shipments dried up, leaving the less fortunate
stuck, only a three-week march away from their goal. The leaders made an extraordinary
announcement, declaring that all participants could freely change their liege lord. This was
a game changer and it is important to take a moment to explain, because we often forget that
the medieval world was one bound by religion and vassalage, not culture and nationalities.
There was a strict social structure and hierarchy, which was maintained throughout
the long expedition, with liege lords big and small on top, and knights who swore fealty to
them below. Additionally, there was a substantial number of commoners hired by the same lords. What
we have seen so far was half a dozen branches from different parts of Europe, but in reality,
there were hundreds of them, to begin with. There was a complicated system of oaths of
fealty holding it all together, which was not always based on dynastic ties. For example,
Bohemond's nephew Tancred was a leader in his own right, with a retinue of his own. So why
did the crusade leaders decide to unravel this structure? On one hand, some were wealthier than
others either due to the funds they had raised at the start of this journey, or because they were
more efficient in looting. But more importantly, the mounting death toll as a result of battles,
weather, famine and disease had killed an enormous number of the Latins, both high and lowborn.
There were many followers, who lost their liege lord and were now free of their oaths,
so all traditional ties were now broken and many flocked to the rich entourage of Raymond,
but even more, decided to join the firmly established county of Edessa as mercenaries.
Its ruler Baldwin used this manpower to capture local towns and forts, such as Tell-Bashir.
What the crusaders didn’t anticipate however, was for several lesser lords to use this opportunity
to carve out domains of their own, such as Raymond Pilet who gathered a small force and
attacked the fertile Jabal as-Summaq plateau. He briefly besieged a castle called Tel-Mannas before
its occupants, Syrian Christians, welcomed him inside and accepted his lordship. A week later,
he attacked an unnamed castle and re-enacted the terrifying chapters of the People Crusade,
by slaughtering thousands of Muslims who refused his forced conversion. From there he
left overconfident and low on supplies to take on the large city of Marrat an-Numan. As the garrison
saw his contingent, they sallied out and killed nearly every single member of the expedition.
There were probably many small-scale adventures such as this one, but no others are recorded.
Tensions were rising, manpower and supplies were depleting, and the connection with the Empire was
severed, but the crusade could still be salvaged, because, as always, Bishop Adhemar was there to
moderate and lead the princes to a compromise… until he died on the 1st of August. At the time,
most of the princes left the city to pursue their own interests, leaving behind only the poorest
crusaders and the local population. As usual, the charitable defender of the less fortunate
Adhemar stayed behind, as a typhoid epidemic swept through the city. Some modern estimates
indicate that over 100 000 people died across the region in the span of a few months, with
the spiritual leader and papal legate, being one of the first to succumb. At the exact same time,
1500 fresh German crusaders arrived, eager to join the crusade, only to be annihilated by the deadly
disease. The consequences this had on morale were devastating. As historian Jay Rubenstein puts it:
“If the Franks were the Chosen People wandering through the desert, Adhémar had been their Moses”.
But before his body was even cold, politics came into play as Peter Bartholomew, the man who
received visions, that led to the “discovery” of the Holy Lance used this as an opportunity
to become a prophet. Within forty-eight hours of the bishop's death on 1 August, Peter Bartholomew
claimed to receive his first vision of Adhemar's spirit. According to him, they had a conversation,
where the bishop admitted that his doubt of the authenticity of the Holy Lance led him to hell.
“'Following the uncovering of the Lance, I sinned deeply and so was drawn down to hell,
whipped most severely, and as you can see my head and face were burned. Bohemond said that
he would carry my body to Jerusalem. For his sake, he shall not move my corpse from its resting place
because some of the blood of Christ, with whom I am now associated, remains there. But if he
doubts my statements, let him open my tomb and he shall see my burned head and face”.
No one was more respected than Adhemar, who was buried at the same place where the Lance
was found and now Peter used his spirit to reshape politics and boost his own legitimacy,
basically appointing himself as the new spiritual leader. In another claimed vision of Saint Andrew,
Peter relayed the message that the city should not be given to Alexios or Raymond and that the
two parties should make peace. Despite being a part of Raymond’s retinue, the self-made prophet
now had an agenda of his own and answered to no one, which gained him the adoration of the masses.
The third major leader of the crusade, Godfrey of Boulogne, grew in popularity and strength.
His wealth attracted many Latins and his brother gave him the towns of Tell Bashir and Ravendan.
Around this time Omar, a local Muslim ruler of the city of Azaz
approached him for aid against Ridwan of Aleppo, giving his own son as a hostage.
When Godfrey finally agreed, the news was carried back to Azaz via carrier pigeon.
Godfrey duly led a relief force towards Azaz and quickly frightened off the Aleppan army. Raymond
rushed to try to get a slice of the pie but was too late. Godfrey received a richly decorated
armor, inlaid with gold and silver, as well as a lot of prestige. Bohemond on the other
hand was busy in Armenian Cilicia, where his nephew Tancred had secured a Norman foothold.
Bohemond was the most charismatic and won the most victories, but he was content with what he had
achieved and would go no further, leaving Godfrey and Raymond to compete for the crusade leadership.
Despite his old age and rivalry with most of the other crusaders, Raymond still possessed the Holy
Lance and the largest contingent, but not enough to break the deadlock. And so the crusaders turned
to the man who initially called the crusade: Urban II. On 11 September, a joint letter was sent to
Rome, relating the news of Adhemar’s death and imploring the Pope to lead the crusade in person:
“Since you initiated this pilgrimage and by your sermons have caused us all to leave
our lands... we [now] beg you to come to us and urge whomsoever you can to come with you. For it
was here [in Antioch] that the name of Christian first originated ... Therefore what in the world
would seem more proper than that you, who are the father and head of the Christian religion,
should come to the principal city and capital of the Christian name and finish the war,
which is your project, in person ... For if you come to us and finish with us the
pilgrimage that you inaugurated the whole world will be obedient to you”.
Similarly to Alexios, Urban II was busy with other affairs in Europe and couldn't
risk the journey to the Holy Lands. With the ongoing leadership struggle,
the date when the Crusaders were planning to depart to Jerusalem - November 1st arrived,
yet no leader was mobilizing their force as they continued to argue. Disgruntled gossip
turned into rebellion as the lower ranks protested: 'It is obvious that our leaders,
because of cowardice or because of the oath to Alexius, do not wish to lead
us to Jerusalem ... If the Antiochene quarrel continues, let us tear down [the city's] walls;
then the era of princely goodwill existing prior to its capture will return with its
destruction. Otherwise, we should turn back to our lands before hunger and fatigue exhaust us'.
The winter months continued the drag on and Raymond was unwilling to let go of his bitter
rivalry with Bohemond. His main goal was building a platform, centered around his holy relic hoping
to gain more support, but he soon realized that the only way he could take Antioch from him was to
confront him with more than just words. The prince then decided that he would indirectly attack the
Norman by establishing his own base around Antioch and starve out Bohemond and everyone
who supported him. Raymond already controlled the way to the sea, so now he only had to secure the
south by taking the city and succeeding where his namesake Raymond Pilet failed.
And so, after their greatest triumph, where they managed to take the strongest citadel
in the Levant, defeating a capable garrison and three relief armies in the process,
the crusaders were now on the brink of self-destruction.
It is easy to consider them as foolish and greedy as you can see, but the reality was a lot more
complicated. This was an expedition featuring dozens of leaders with different characters,
who experienced some of the harshest conditions and fought the same opponents, who crippled the
Eastern Roman Empire. The plot twists and challenges, no doubt changed many of them,
and finally, the desertion and rebellion of many of their followers, shows that the leaders didn’t
fully represent the entire expedition. These were not one note characters and now without
bishop Adhemar, their differences would collide and pull them in three separate directions.
In the next video, we will return to the battlefields of the First Crusade and watch them
experience an actual trial by fire, cannibalism and their first massive failure on the battlefield
with the siege of Marrat, so make sure you are subscribed and have pressed the bell button to
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