The First Crusade - A Chronological History

The First Crusade A detailed chronology of the First Crusade by Paul Leach 1071 The Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantines at Manzikert. The Turks bring Anatolia under their control while the empire suffers under usurpers and instability. 1081 Alexios Komnenos becomes Emperor of the Byzantine Empire with the help of the powerful Dukas family. He restores a good measure of order but spends the next decade defending the realm against the Normans of southern Italy.

1092 The Great Seljuk Sultan Malik Shah dies. Syrian and Anatolian factions break away from the Sultanate and vie for regional dominance in subsequent years. 1095 1-7 March: Ecclesiastical Council of Piacenza receives Byzantine appeal for military support against Islamic enemies. July through September 1096: Pope Urban II tours France to solicit aid and organize the First Crusade. 18-28 November: Council of Clermont. Pope Urban II delivers the Crusader sermon publicly the first time on 27 November. The ultimate objective of the martial pilgrimage: restoration of Christian rule over Jerusalem. December through March 1096: Peter the Hermit begins the People’s Crusade movement. 1096 March: Armies of the People’s Crusade depart for Constantinople. May through June: Elements of People’s Crusade harass, rob, and/or massacre Jewish Rhineland communities.

1 August: Peter the Hermit’s hordes arrive in Constantinople. Emperor Alexios moves the unruly hosts to Anatolia within a week. August through December: The Crusader princes’ armies depart for Constantinople. 21 October: Kilij Arslan destroys the People’s Crusade at Civetos. November through May 1097: The princes’ armies arrive in Constantinople. 1097 14 May through 19 June: Crusaders and Byzantines besiege Nicaea. Kilij Arslan fails to relieve the siege of his capital city (16 May). The city eventually accepts Byzantine surrender terms. Late June through September: Crusaders begin grueling trek though central/western Anatolia to restore Byzantine control over interior. Separate Byzantine coastal operations begin before year’s end and continue through the following spring; they penetrate deep into southwestern Anatolia.

1 July: Seljuk and Danishmendid Turks ambush Crusader vanguard en route to Dorylaeum. The Turks flee at midday when the rearguard arrives; Crusader numbers and a flank attack prove too much for Kilij Arslan’s army. September through October: Tancred and Baldwin engage in Cilician mission. 20 October: The Crusaders begin their siege of Antioch. 17 November: Genoese fleet arrives at St. Simeon. The Crusaders take its supplies and construct Malregard on the northern slopes of Mount Staurin to deter Turkish sallies. 31 December: A large Crusader foraging expedition defeats Duqaq of Damascus’ relief army in a chance battle.

1098 9 February: A mounted Crusader force defeats Ridwan of Aleppo’s larger relief army. Shortly afterwards the Crusaders receive a diplomatic deputation from the Egyptian Fatimids. 4 March: An English fleet (possibly exiles in Byzantine service) arrives at St. Simeon. The Crusaders use supplies to build La Mahomerie at Antioch’s Bridge Gate between 10 and 14 March. 2 June: Stephen of Blois abandons siege before Kerbogha of Mosul arrives to relieve Antioch. Emperor Alexios returns his army to Constantinople in July; Stephen’s dire news greatly influences his decision. 3 June: The Crusaders take Antioch through treachery and sack it. Only the city’s citadel holds out. 4-5 June: Kerbogha’s army arrives at Antioch. He initially attempts to capture it through the citadel, but settles upon a siege after his troops lose a long, bloody struggle on Antioch’s eastern slopes.

14 June: The Crusaders discover the ‘Holy Lance’. This relic contributes to the faith and fervor of the increasingly desperate army. 28 June: The Crusaders defeat Kerbogha’s great host outside Antioch’s walls. July: The Fatimids take Jerusalem from the Seljuk Turks. 1 August: Bishop Adhémar, the First Crusade’s papal legate, dies from disease. November through May 1099: The Crusader princes engage in land-grabbing campaigns in northern Syria as they maneuver for rank over their peers. The winter sieges result in massacres, sacks, and even cannibalism.

1099 16 May: The Crusaders depart from Arqa for Jerusalem, with the exception of Bohemond, who remains in Antioch. They meet little resistance on the way. 7 June: The Crusaders reach Jerusalem. 13 June: Jerusalem’s Fatimid garrison repulses the Crusader’s first assault. 17 June: Genoese ships arrive at Jaffa. The Crusaders use its supplies to construct siege artillery and towers in the following weeks. 15 July: The Crusaders capture Jerusalem. 22 July: Godfrey of Bouillon elected to rule Jerusalem. 12 August: The Crusaders defeat a Fatimid relief force outside Ascalon. Download a copy of the article in PDF format here...