The Venetian Crusade of 1122–1124 was an expedition to the Holy Land launched by the Republic of Venice that succeeded in capturing Tyre. It was an important victory at the start of a period when the Kingdom of Jerusalem would expand to its greatest extent under Baldwin II of Jerusalem. The Venetians gained valuable trading concessions in Tyre. Through raids on Byzantine territory both on the way to the Holy Land and on the return journey, the Venetians forced the Byzantines to confirm, as well as extend, their trading privileges with the empire. Throughout this article we shall refer to many Levantine places, from large cities to small towns and villages. You can consult this map for the location of such settlements.
Cause of the Crusade
Coronation of Baldwin II
The King of Jerusalem for 18 years, Baldwin I of Jerusalem died on 2 April 1118 during a successful invasion of Fatimid Egypt. Dying in the Egyptian city of El Arish, he left the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Outremer in a succession crisis. According to the contemporaneous Albert of Aachen he had willed the kingdom to his eldest brother, Eustace III of Boulogne, "if by chance he would come", but also stipulated that Baldwin of Bourcq, Count of Edessa, should be elected king if Eustace were unable to come "because of his age". Baldwin of Bourcq arrived in Jerusalem around the day when the late king's body was carried into the town. Albert of Aachen states that Baldwin had come to celebrate Easter in Jerusalem without having any knowledge of the king's death. Decades later, William of Tyre recorded that Baldwin had been informed of his kinsman's death during his journey to Jerusalem.
The question of Baldwin I's succession divided the barons and the prelates, according to William of Tyre. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was in immediate and desperate need of a king. The vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate, Al-Afdal Shahanshah desired revenge for the Crusader invasion of Egypt, and he saw the interregnum in Jerusalem as his opportunity. Al-Afdal gathered the Fatimid army at Ashdod from where he made an alliance with another enemy of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Burid atabeg of Damascus, Zahir al-Din Toghtekin. The Crusaders knew that they had no chance to face this invasion without a leader so the highest-ranking prelate Arnulf of Chocques, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Joscelin of Courtenay, lord of the Principality of Galilee, argued that Baldwin should be elected without delay to avoid an interregnum. Baldwin seemed like the right choice as he was a relative of Baldwin I and was an experienced leader and soldier. He had been in the First Crusade and then ruled the County of Edessa for 18 years, fighting the many Turks and Armenians of the region multiple times. Still, others maintained that the crown should first be offered to Eustace in accordance with Baldwin I's last will. According to the Medieval European succession laws of the period, Eustace was the proper successor; Baldwin I had no children meaning that his eldest surviving brother should succeed him, who was in this case Eustace.
Some "great nobles", whom William of Tyre did not name, were appointed to inform Eustace of his brother's death and offer him the throne. Eustace was at first uninterested as he preferred to rule his safer European holdings in his County of Boulogne rather than risk it all in the Levant. He was only convinced to accept it after his courtiers shamed him for not fulfilling his family legacy and duties. After he was convinced, Eustace began the journey all the way to the Levant.
Baldwin II was anointed on Easter Day 14 April 1118, before Eustace could arrive and stake his claim. His coronation was delayed for unknown reasons. Historian Malcolm Barber believes that Baldwin wished to be crowned along with his wife, who was not in the kingdom at the time. Baldwin promised the County of Edessa to Joscelin of Courtenay, but Joscelin remained in the kingdom to secure the defence of Galilee and to help fight off the incoming Fatimid-Burid invasion. Baldwin convened the noblemen to an assembly "on an appointed day" to receive "fealty and an oath of allegiance from them", according to Albert of Aachen. Joscelin, Pons of Tripoli, and Roger of Salerno gave an oath of fealty to Baldwin. Baldwin also secured the direct royal control of eight important towns, including Nablus, Jaffa, Acre, Sidon and Tiberias. Modern historian Alan Murray argues that Albert of Aachen's words are evidence that Baldwin "carried out a major distribution of fiefs, granting out some lordships but retaining other towns and territories as domain lands" in 1118. Baldwin also reorganized the royal household, making Hugh Caulis constable, Pagan butler, and John the chamberlain.
Meanwhile, Eustace was still on his way to claim his crown. He had already travelled as far as the Apulia region in Southern Italy when he was informed of Baldwin's accession to the throne. The delegates tried to convince him to continue his journey, claiming that Baldwin's election was illegal, but Eustace preferred to return home.
Baldwin sent envoys to Toghtekin to argue against his making an alliance with Al-Afdal, but Toghtekin demanded all of Oultrejourdain in return for his neutrality, an offer Baldwin refused. So Baldwin got ready defend his newly acquired kingdom from the Muslims. Baldwin first hurried to the southern frontier to fight the Fatimids en route to Jaffa and urged Roger and Pons to send reinforcements from Antioch and County of Tripoli. After encountering each other, neither the Egyptians nor the Crusaders risked a pitched battle, and both armies stood in a standoff for three months before both retreated. Meanwhile, Toghtekin had his son Taj al-Muluk Buri launch an invasion against Joscelin's Principality of Galilee. After Joscelin fended off raids by Buri for three months, he joined his army with Baldwin's. Baldwin and Joscelin made a raid against Damascene territory in the autumn and then decided to fight the Burid army near Daraa. Buri halted the Crusaders on a hill, where the Crusaders entrenched and stood against Buri's assault until he was crushed.
A new threat for Baldwin arrived in the aftermath of the Damascene invasion. The local Bedouin tribes settled in the Transjordan region and started to raid trade caravans near the Yarmuk River. To stop these Bedouins, Joscelin attempted a daring night attack against one of their camps in the spring of 1119. William I of Bures and his brother Godfrey accompanied him. Joscelin divided his small army of 150 men to encircle the tribe's camp on the Yarmouk, making the Bures brothers the commanders of one of the corps. When they were approaching the Bedouins' camp, they were ambushed by the Bedouins. Joscelin's group got lost and stuck around the sandhills while the Bures brothers got surrounded. William escaped, but Godfrey died fighting and most of their retainers were captured. After the defeat, Joscelin went back to Baldwin's headquarters in Tiberias and told him what happened. Annoyed by the Bedouin tribes, Baldwin led an entire army against them. The Muslims panicked against the might of Jerusalem and started to negotiate with the Crusaders, returning the prisoners they had taken in the battle for permission to settle temporarily in Transjordan. Baldwin agreed to the deal.
Battle of the Field of Blood
The death of the Seljuk Sultan Muhammad I Tapar in 1118 further quickened the decentralization of the Seljuk Empire into many more autonomous principalities. The administration under Mahmud II and Ahmad Sanjar focused mainly on their eastern territories in Khorasan which allowed more power and autonomy for the western territories. This often led to internal divisions, such as in Aleppo.
In 1117, Lu'lu' al-Yaya was assassinated, who had been the regent of Aleppo and protector to the minor Sultan Shah ibn Radwan. Sultan Shah's sister Amina Khatun then seized effective control of Aleppo. She did not proclaim herself as regent, but she called upon the commander Yaruqtash in Damascus to come and assume the regency in Aleppo on behalf of Sultan Shah. When Yaruqtash tried to assume direct control and depose Sultan Shah, she had him arrested and exiled. As this was going on, another crisis for Aleppo emerged. Their situation with the Crusaders was dire, as Roger of Salerno, regent of the Principality of Antioch for the still young Bohemond II, demanded a tax from Aleppo on each Muslim pilgrim going to Mecca, which pushed the Aleppan population to the limit. The qadi of the city, Ibn al-Khashshab, aware that Aleppo was under constant threat from the Crusaders, explained to the notables that the security of Aleppo was permanently compromised, hence he proposed that they entrust the city to a capable Turkish leader. So with her sister Farkhunda Khatun, Amina Khatun asked for Najm al-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuq of the Artuqid dynasty of Mardin to take over Aleppo. Ilghazi who already had control over Mardin and most of Upper Mesopotamia and was now happy to extend his control over Aleppo and northern Syria. Ilghazi advanced to take possession of the city during the summer of 1118 and married Farkhunda Khatun. Meanwhile, Sultan Shah went into exile. In 1118, Ilghazi took control of Mayyafiriqin and pacified the surrounding lands around Aleppo and in northern Syria.
As all this squabbling in Aleppo ensued, Roger sensed an opportunity to take Aleppo and to expand his influence over Syria and Mesopotamia. In 1118 Roger and Joscelin took Azaz. This left Aleppo open to attack from the Crusaders and created a serious threat to Ilghazi's hold on Syria. In response, Ilghazi gathered an army of Turks, Kurds, and Bedouins under his control. After he assembled his army, he created an alliance with Toghtekin and the Munquidites of Shaizar against the Crusaders.
Ilghazi's coalition started raiding Antioch and Edessa in May 1119. The Munquidites raided as far as Apamea. Meanwhile, Ilghazi led his army to raid the borderlands of the County of Edessa to discourage the local nobles there from helping Antioch. This worked due to Joscelin's absence from the region. Then Ilghazi moved his army to Qinnasrin to wait for Toghtekin's army to join him. However, due to the long distance between Damascus and Aleppo, Toghtekin's army could not arrive quickly enough.
When Roger heard of the Muslim invasion, he assembled his at Antioch, just like in his 1115 campaign where he defeated the Turks at Tell Danith. Roger marched out from Artah with Bernard of Valence, the Latin Patriarch of Antioch. Bernard suggested they remain there, as Artah was a well-defended fortress only a short distance away from Antioch, and Ilghazi would not be able to pass if they were stationed there. Bernard advised Roger to call for help from Baldwin, Pons, and Joscelin, adn Roger sent a plea of aid. The envoys met with Baldwin in Tiberias, because he had just concluded a short campaign against a Bedouin tribe in Transjordan. He gathered troops and departed for Antioch, taking a portion of the True Cross with him. But due to the distance between Baldwin's position and Roger's position, it took time for Baldwin's army to arrive. The campaign quickly devolved into a stalemate, with Roger waiting for Baldwin's army, while Ilghazi waited for Toghtekin's. Roger got impatient and was pressured by Antiochene nobles to move as they did not want anymore of their fiefs to be raided.
Despite the urging of Bernard, Roger decided that he would not wait any longer for reinforcements. He launched a counterattack against Ilghazi. Roger first led his army to the pass of Sarmada where he routed a Turcoman contingent of soldiers guarding it before encamping there. Roger constructed his camp on a hill overseeing the road. Roger's army was between 7,000 and 11,000. This army included 700 knights, 500 Armenian cavalry, 3,000 infantry, and the rest were Turcopoles and other auxiliaries.