The siege of Damascus took place between 24 and 28 July 1148 O.S. during the Second Crusade. Two Crusader armies from Europe and the army of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem attempted to lay siege to the Seljuk Empire city of Damascus. The effort ended in a Crusader defeat. The battle occurred as the alliance between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Mu'in ad-Din Unur, emir of the city of Damascus, was unraveling and the Crusader County of Edessa was falling to Imad al-Din Zengi, emir of the Seljuk city of Aleppo.
Among the Christian armies from Western Europe which responded to the call for a crusade to retake Edessa were armies led Louis VII, King of France, and Conrad III, King of the Romans in the Holy Roman Empire. Both lost the majority of their forces crossing Anatolia.
In May 1148, Conrad met privately in Jerusalem with Baldwin III, King of Jerusalem, and Fulcher of Angoulême, Patriarch of Jerusalem. The decision was made to forego the attempt to retake Edessa, and attack Damascus instead. Fulcher convinced Louis to join in the endeavor, and the decision was ratified at the Council of Acre.
Damascus had extensive defenses, and was surrounded by densely planted orchards which made it difficult for an army to attack effectively.
The Crusaders approached Damascus from the south, but made the decision to shift westward. They attacked on 24 July through the Shahura Valley and entered the orchards at the village of Dārayyā. They encountered stiff Muslim resistance at the villages of Mezzeh and al-Rabweh, then crossed the Barada River. A portion of the Crusader force marched along the north bank of the river, while the majority of it stayed on the south side. The Crusaders pillaged the northern suburbs of Damascus on 25 July, but a Muslim counter-attack swept nearly all the Crusader forces from the north side of the river. This allowed large numbers of Muslim reinforcements to enter Damascus.
The main Crusader army began an attack on the city's western walls on 26 July, but a surprise Muslim counter-attack stopped it before it began. The Crusaders then became aware that two Muslim relief armies had gathered at Homs. Historians, medieval and modern, debate the reasons, but the Crusaders decided to move their camp from the west to the south side of the city on 27 July. This area was unconducive to supporting a siege, and the Crusaders abandoned the effort on 28 July.
The Crusader retreat was disorganized and Muslim archers harassed it, killing many of those on foot. The failure of the siege of Damascus severely damaged the relationship between the Crusader states and Western European leaders, swung the balance of power in the region to the Muslims, and contributed to Mu'in ad-Din Unur losing control of Damascus to a new emir, Nur al-Din Zengi.
Background
The first hostile act between the Crusaders and the Burid rulers of Damascus was in form of raids in 1125, followed by the Battle of Marj al-Saffar in 1126, when the Crusaders defeated the Muslim army in the field but failed in their objective to capture Damascus. In 1129, they attacked Damascus again, when they camped near the Wooden Bridge (Jisr al-Khashab) at Dārayyā southwest of the city, but their siege of the city was unsuccessful after their foraging expedition south into the Hauran was defeated and they were unable to advance due to a sudden thunderstorm and ensuing fog. According to Michael the Syrian, who may have relied on the lost contemporary chronicle of Basil bar Shumna, Damascus paid 20,000 dinars and offered annual tribute in return for the crusaders' withdrawal.
In early 1138, the new ruler of Damascus, Mu'in ad-Din Unur, offered to ally with the Kingdom of Jerusalem against ambitious Turkic leader Imad al-Din Zengi, their common foe, but the proposal was turned down. After Zengi laid siege to Damascus in March 1140, Unur asked Fulk to assist again, offering to give him the city of Banias as well as monthly tribute. Fulk accepted, and in April 1140 forced Zengi to abandon the siege. A grateful Unur then visited Fulk's court in Jerusalem, where he was warmly welcomed.
In the spring of 1147, Altuntash, the emir of Bosra and Salkhad, fell out with Mu'in ad-Din Unur, to whom he owed allegiance. He offered these cities to Baldwin III, King of Jerusalem, and in return either asked for a huge payment or requested that he be set up as ruler over them (owing due allegiance to Jerusalem). Altuntash controlled the Hauran, an agricultural area which provided most of the food to the city of Damascus. Seizing the Hauran would pose a major threat to Muslim rule there, and the largely Melkite Christian population of the region would support a crusader invasion. A council of leading nobility in the Kingdom of Jerusalem agreed to accept the offer, even though it was "politically foolish" and would destroy the alliance between Damascus and Jerusalem.
The treaty with Damascus was vitally important, for Damascus protected the northern flank of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The kingdom sent an embassy to Unur, who promised to pay all of Baldwin's expenses in raising the army which was about to leave for the Hauran. Baldwin agreed that violating the treaty was a bad idea, but he faced a popular uprising from the populace, who needed to pillage the Hauran in order to recoup the expenses of meeting the king's levy. Baldwin III marched with his army to capture Bosra. Unur called for and received assistance from Aleppo. The wife of Altuntash, still loyal to Unur, opened the gates of Bosra to a Damascene garrison, thwarting a takeover. Baldwin was forced to retreat without giving battle, and the withdrawal was made with extensive casualties under unrelenting attacks by Turkish light cavalry.
Baldwin's attack on Bosra ended the entente between Jerusalem and Damascus. Mu'in ad-Din Unur now sought to secure an alliance with Nur al-Din Zengi (Imad's son and the new emir of Aleppo). He took the first step by having his daughter, Ismat ad-Din Khatun, marry Zengi in 1147.
Second Crusade
The crusader kingdom of the County of Edessa fell to Imad al-Din Zengi, a Turkoman atabeg of the Seljuk Empire, on 24 December 1144. In response, Pope Eugene III in December 1145 called for a Second Crusade to retake the kingdom.
The two main Christian forces that marched to the Holy Land were led by Kings Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany. King Stephen of England did not participate in the second crusade due to internal conflicts, and King David I of Scotland was dissuaded by his subjects from joining the crusade himself. Conrad's army may have been 30,000 to 35,000 combatants at most. Contributors to Conrad's forces included Dukes Bolesław IV of Poland and Vladislaus II of Bohemia (who halted his march at Constantinople and subsequently returned), and Conrad's nephew, Frederick Barbarossa of Swabia. The size of the French army is more difficult to estimate, but was likely the size of the German force.
The crusaders marched across Europe and arrived at Constantinople in September and October 1147. Both Louis and Conrad faced disastrous marches across Anatolia in the months that followed. The Germans left Nicaea about 25 October O.S., headed for Antioch. Constantly harassed by mounted Turkish archers, infantry and support personnel suffered the most casualties and Conrad got about three days out of Dorylaeum before he turned back. Only about a tenth of his army remained.
The French chose a less direct route to Antioch. They stopped at the Crusader strongholds of Lopadium and Esseron before passing through Pergamon, Smyrna, and Ephesus. Conrad and his force joined them at Lopadium, but by the time the joint army reached Ephesus Conrad and most of his soldiers were too ill to continue. Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos sent ships to pick them up and bring them to Constantinople to recuperate. Using the valley of the Maeander River, Louis continued overland to the southeast, headed for the port of Adalia. Reaching Mount Cadmus, Geoffrey of Rancon led the vanguard up to summit. He moved so swiftly, he left the baggage train behind. Louis, in the rearguard, remained in camp, not intending to ascend until the next day. The Turks attacked the baggage train, which was only saved when Louis rushed to its rescue. Three-fourths of the French army was lost.
At Adalia, Louis preferred to have his knights travel overland to Antioch while the sick, injured, and those without funds to purchase provisions or steeds took passage to the duchy via ship. His nobles persuaded him to take ship, and have the rest proceed by land. Louis personally gave a large sum of money and most of his remaining horses to the overland group, putting Thierry, Count of Flanders and Archambaud VII, Duke of Bourbon in charge of the march.
After three days at sea, Louis reached the Principality of Antioch on 19 March 1148 O.S. Raymond of Poitiers was prince of the realm and uncle of Eleanor of Aquitaine, the French king's wife. Raymond wanted Louis to help him conquer Aleppo, Shaizar, and other nearby Muslim-held cities. He discussed these ideas with Louis in private, and then presented his proposal to Louis before a joint meeting of Antiochene and French nobles in mid-May. Louis refused, wanting to go to Jerusalem as quickly as possible. He even refused to help Raymond upon his return north. Eleanor said she would seek an annulment of her marriage on grounds of consanguinity if Louis did not attack Aleppo. Rumors soon circulated that Eleanor was having an affair with her uncle. An outraged Louis had Eleanor placed under house arrest.
While in Constantinople, Conrad and Manuel agreed in principle to an alliance against Roger II, King of Sicily. Conrad's brother, Henry II, Duke of Austria, also promised to marry Manuel's niece, Theodora Komnene. Finally, Manuel gave Conrad funds to hire mercenary knights to help replenish his forces. Conrad left Constantinople on 7 March O.S. for Acre aboard a fleet of triremes loaned to him by Manuel. Delayed by storms, he arrived at Acre in early April. After celebrating Easter there on 11 April O.S., Conrad went to Jerusalem.
Council of Acre
In May 1148, a private meeting was held in Jerusalem in which Conrad, Baldwin III, Patriarch of Jerusalem Fulcher, and representatives from the Knights Templar attended. The group discussed possible targets for the crusaders, and settled on Damascus. Afterward, Fulcher was sent to Louis VII at Acre. Historian Hans Eberhard Mayer argues that Fulcher must have informed Louis about the decision reached in Jerusalem, and likely persuaded him that it was the right choice.
The kings and nobles of the French and German armies; the Queen Mother Melisende, King Baldwin III, and top nobility of the Kingdom of Jerusalem; the Catholic Church hierarchy of the Kingdom of Jerusalem; and the heads of the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller met in council at Palmarea near Acre on 24 June. "It was a meeting of the most important individuals yet to gather in the history of the Latin East. The presence of two senior crowned heads of the West, accompanied by many close members of their families, along with senior churchmen and nobles, was unprecedented." Although the choice of target had already been decided, this was a chance for Louis to make his opinions known publicly. There was much discussion, but little debate, and according to William of Tyre the decision to attack Damascus was made unanimously. William wrote that local Christians felt the city would fall after the first attack. According to medieval historian John of Salisbury, everyone believed that the city would fall within 15 days.
In July, the three kings and their armies assembled at Tiberias and marched to Damascus by way of Banias.
Siege of Damascus
Mu'in al-Din Unur learned of the Crusader decision to attack his city almost immediately. He sent messengers to other Muslim-held cities nearby, calling for aid. He also had engineers divert water sources along the road to Damascus, to make it more difficult for the Crusaders as they marched, and posted scouts along the road to warn him of the invading army's approach.
The Crusader army moved to Tiberias, a city on the western short of the Sea of Galilee, where for the first two weeks of July it waited for the Kingdom of Jerusalem's levies to arrive. Islamic historians claimed the Crusaders had 50,000 men, but modern historians believe this to be a gross exaggeration. More realistically, the Crusader army probably had 20,000 combatants, plus an unknown number of support personnel and hangers-on. This made it the largest Crusader army fielded in two centuries.
The army marched north along the Jordan River, paused briefly at Banias, then crossed into Damascene territory while skirting the southern slopes of Mount Hermon. Islamic chroniclers say the army approached Damascus from the south, thinking to set up camp at Manazil al'Asakir. But Unur had diverted the water supply away from that place, so the army moved to about 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) south to the village of Al-Kiswah and set up camp there on 23 July.
The defenses of Damascus
Densely planted, irrigated orchards extended up to 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the northern and western sides of medieval Damascus. Each plot was surrounded by a mud brick wall, and some plots even had towers. The only way through the orchards were via pathways which were only wide enough to accommodate a small cart. The orchards were a good defensive structure; the Crusader commanders believed that if they successfully penetrated the orchards, the defenders would be demoralized. The orchards would also supply food and water to the attacking army.
The apparent consensus at the Council of Acre was that the Damascene defenses were not particularly strong, but they were much more formidable than the Crusaders knew.
The medieval city of Damascus was surrounded by "very thick" curtain walls built early in the city's Romano-Byzantine period and made of stone. The walls had fallen into disrepair or been damaged several times, and at the time of the Second Crusade the entire northern wall and the northern portion of the western wall were still made completely of stone. In some places, the outer wall had been repaired with mud brick. The Crusaders believed mud brick was easily breached, although well-made mud brick and well-built mud brick walls were nearly as strong as stone. Unur likely strengthened the walls and citadel after the Kingdom of Jerusalem's attack on the city of Bosra in 1147.