Following Orders

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Today in Medieval History, or...... there I was Aug 12th, 1099....

The Battle of Ascalon was fought August 12, 1099, and was the final engagement of the First Crusade (1096-1099).

Armies & Commanders:

Cusaders
•   Godfrey of Bouillon
•   Robert II, Count of Flanders
•   Raymond of Toulouse
•   approximately 10,000 men

Fatimids
•   al-Afdal Shahanshah
•   approximately 10,000-12,000 men, possibly as high as 50,000

Battle of Ascalon:



Following the capture of Jerusalem from the Fatimids on July 15, 1099, the leaders of the First Crusade began to divide the titles and spoils. Godfrey of Bouillon was named Defender of the Holy Sepulchre on July 22 while Arnulf of Chocques became the Patriarch of Jerusalem on August 1. Four days later, Arnulf discovered a relic of the True Cross. These appointments created some strife within the crusader camp as Raymond IV of Toulouse and Robert of Normandy were angered by Godfrey's election.

As the crusaders consolidated their hold on Jerusalem, word was received that a Fatimid army was en route from Egypt to retake the city. Led by Vizier al-Afdal Shahanshah, the army encamped just north of the port of Ascalon. On August 10, Godfrey mobilized the crusader forces and moved towards the coast to meet the approaching enemy. He was accompanied by Arnulf who carried the True Cross and Raymond of Aguilers who bore a relic of the Holy Lance which had been captured at Antioch the previous year. Raymond and Robert remained in the city for a day until finally being convinced of the threat and joining Godfrey.

While advancing, Godfrey was further reinforced by troops under his brother Eustace, Count of Boulogne, and Tancred. Despite these additions, the crusader army remained outnumbered by as much as five-to-one. Pressing forward on August 11, Godfrey halted for night near the Sorec River. While there, his scouts spotted what was initially thought to be a large body of enemy troops. Investigating, it was soon found to be a great number of livestock which had been gathered to feed al-Afdal's army.
Some sources indicate that these animals were exposed by the Fatimids in the hope that the crusaders would disperse to pillage the countryside, while others suggest that al-Afdal was unaware of Godfrey's approach. Regardless, Godfrey held his men together and resumed the march the next morning with the animals in tow. Approaching Ascalon, Arnulf moved through the ranks with the True Cross blessing the men. Marching over the Plains of Ashdod near Ascalon, Godfrey formed his men for battle and took command of the army's left wing.

The right wing was led by Raymond, while the center was guided by Robert of Normandy, Robert of Flanders, Tancred, Eustace, and Gaston IV of Béarn. Near Ascalon, al-Afdal raced to prepare his men to meet the approaching crusaders. Though more numerous, the Fatimid army was poorly trained relative to those the crusaders had faced previously and was composed of a mix of ethnicities from throughout the caliphate. As Godfrey's men approached, the Fatimids became discouraged as the cloud of dust generated by the captured livestock suggested that the crusaders had been heavily reinforced.
Advancing with infantry in the lead, Godfrey's army exchanged arrows with the Fatimids until the two lines clashed. Striking hard and fast, the crusaders quickly overwhelmed the Fatimids on most parts of the battlefield. In the center, Robert of Normandy, leading the cavalry, shattered the Fatimid line. Nearby, a group of Ethiopians mounted a successful counterattack, but were defeated when Godfrey assaulted their flank. Driving the Fatimids from the field, the crusaders soon moved into the enemy's camp. Fleeing, many of the Fatimids sought safety within the walls of Ascalon.

Aftermath:
Precise casualties for the Battle of Ascalon are not known though some sources indicate that Fatimid losses were around 10,000 to 12,000. While the Fatimid army retreated to Egypt, the crusaders looted al-Afdal's camp before returning to Jerusalem on August 13. A subsequent dispute between Godfrey and Raymond regarding the future of Ascalon led to its garrison refusing to surrender. As a result, the city remained in Fatimid hands and served as a springboard for future attacks into the Kingdom of Jerusalem. With the Holy City secure, many of the crusader knights, believing their duty done, returned home to Europe.

The success at Ascalon was due to the veteran skills displayed by the Franks. Their order of march shows how much they had learnt since Dorylaeurn. They formed nine 'battles', each composed of mutually supporting horse and foot, three in each of the van, centre, and rear. This created a 'box' which could turn to face wherever danger threatened. They then deployed into line for the attack. In fact, the crusaders' caution proved unnecessary for two reasons. First, because the Egyptians fought like the crusaders themselves, with cavalry and foot soldiers (some of the latter were the redoubtable negro regiments of spearmen and archers). This meant that they did not pose the same sort of threat as the mobile Turkish horse-archers. Secondly, the total surprise gave the Franks the initiative and left the Egyptians helpless. The victory at Ascalon secured the crusaders' grip on Jerusalem and made possible the conquest of the rest of the Syrian coastline.

[Lord Clisto of York]

Good post, Warrior Monk. By the way, is anyone going to be attending the Illinois, Renaissance Faire in Danville the last weekend of August? I will be there for at least one of the days.

Lord Clisto, Duke of York
Knight of the Holy Blade of York

[Sir William Marcus]

We might possibly be there on the Sunday

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

BTW.......This month in Medieval History:

It's the 914th anniversary of the launching of the First Crusade- "the Princes Crusade" in 1096.

[SleepyArcher]

will be at fest in a few weeks, hope to have some new pics of some new garb.

hope all is well with everyone...

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Today in Medieval History:

Louis IX of France passes away.



Louis's piety and kindness towards the poor was much celebrated. He went on two crusades, in his mid-30s in 1248 (Seventh Crusade) and then again in his mid-50s in 1270 (Eighth Crusade).

He had begun with the rapid capture of the port of Damietta in June 1249, an attack which did cause some disruption in the Muslim Ayyubid empire, especially as the current sultan was on his deathbed. But the march from Damietta towards Cairo through the Nile River Delta went slowly. During this time, the Ayyubid sultan died, and a sudden power shift took place, as the sultan's slave wife Shajar al-Durr set events in motion which were to make her Queen, and eventually place the Egyptians' slave army of the Mamluks in power. On 6 April 1250 Louis lost his army at the Battle of Fariskur and was captured by the Egyptians. His release was eventually negotiated, in return for a ransom of 400,000 livres tournois (at the time France's annual revenue was only about 250,000 livres tournois, so it was necessary to obtain a loan from the Templars), and the surrender of the city of Damietta.

Following his release from Egyptian captivity, Louis spent four years in the Crusader kingdoms of Acre, Caesarea, and Jaffa. Louis used his wealth to assist the Crusaders in rebuilding their defences and conducting diplomacy with the Islamic powers of Syria and Egypt. Upon his departure from the Middle East, Louis left a significant garrison in the city of Acre for its defence against Islamic attacks. The historic presence of this French garrison in the Middle East was later used as a justification for the French Mandate.

Louis exchanged multiple letters and emissaries with Mongol rulers of the period. During his first crusade in 1248, Louis was approached by envoys from Eljigidei, the Mongol ruler of Armenia and Persia. Eljigidei suggested that King Louis should land in Egypt, while Eljigidei attacked Baghdad, in order to prevent the Saracens of Egypt and those of Syria from joining forces. Louis sent André de Longjumeau, a Dominican priest, as an emissary to the Great Khan Güyük Khan in Mongolia. However, Güyük died before the emissary arrived at his court, and nothing concrete occurred. Louis dispatched another envoy to the Mongol court, the Franciscan William of Rubruck, who went to visit the Great Khan Möngke Khan in Mongolia.

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Today in Medieval History:

In 1071 the Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantine Army at Manzikert.

This would lead to the organization and launching of the First Crusade in 1095-6.

See more at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Manzikert

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Get to know the longest fought, yet relatively unknown, but successful Crusade- The Reconquista.

Fought in Spain and Purtugal in began in 722 and ended in 1492 (Yup, the year Columbus sailed the ocean blue...)

Charleton Heston's persona El Cid (aka: Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar )took part in this, but died shortly (literally days) before Jerusalem in the East was liberated by the forces of the First Crusade.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconquista

Battles of the Reconquista:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Battles_of_the_Reconquista

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Today in Medieval History: (Posted for tomorrow)

August 28, 1189 – the Crusaders begin the Siege of Acre under Guy of Lusignan





See more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Acre_(1189%E2%80%931191)

[Sir William Marcus]

Aaaaaaaah.. those were the days!

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

[Lord Magnus]

LOL Awesome!

[Sir William Marcus]

Memories. It brings tears to my eyes.   Like the battle of Montgisard back in 1177. It's like it was just yesterday. 

Man..did we get drunk after that!

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

How I remember the day Brother William, as we stood out as a shining beacon for our fellow host, out numbered as we were, to follow as we waded into the Saracen host with OQ style* and a blatant disregard for their abilites......





*Outremer Quarterly

[Sir William Marcus]

ROFL!