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Why did the second crusade fail to take Damascus (Byzantine sabotage (Not…
Why did the second crusade fail to take Damascus
Poor Leadership
Poor Christian leadership on the battle field
Crossing Anatolia
Conrad
Wiped out near Dorylaeum October 1147
He didn't wait for Louis --> smaller army
Split army in two
Half chose route of 1st crusade
Half took coastal route
lost touch with eachother --> there were no reinforcements when they were attacked
Fell for feigned retreat
Louis
Louis abandoned his army in Anatolia in 1148
He ignored Byzantine advice to over-winter in greek towns
He chose to carry on marching
Weather bad and supplies ran out
Attacked by amassed turks that Byzantines had warned him of
Thousands were killed and enslaved = siege of Damascus denied manpower
Siege of Damascus
Due to Betrayal by E Franks
Poorly planned logistics Logistics and supplies
Poorly planned supplies
Not enough manpower to take whole city = have to move east
Poorly planned food and water for desert camp in the east
Had brought no siege machinery but walls may have been low
Christian military leadership was actually quite good
Louis
he got Byzantine cooperation
Manuel agreed to give him supplies
Initially he had successes against the turks
Ephesus 24 December 1147
Four of Meander river 31 December 1147
He handed control to the templars :red_flag: :smiley:
He treated his army well
He fed the destitute (those without money left)
He used the royal guard to shield non-combatants
He left instruction and money with nobles: Flanders and Bourbon
gave money for Greek guard and defense force
Nobles used money to get out
Baldwin III
Both him and Conrad were key in making attack rapidly progress
Conrad
Conrad Bravely led the charge on Damascus which lead them within a mile of the city gates
Incorrect strategy
Due to factionalism
Factionalism
Melisende VS Baldwin III
Also Almeric is on side with Melisende
Baldwin wouldn't attack Ascalon because Almeric would gain it
Raymond VS Louis
Louis thinks raymond is having affair with Eleanor (will not attack Aleppo because Raymond would gain it
Had Bernard lead the crusade this factionalism would not have happened
Bernard had links to Louis, Melisende and the Templars
Betrayal by Eastern Franks
Tyre: Moved to indefensible location because Unur bribed them
CONSEQUENCE: DON'T TRUST E FRANKS
COUNTER ARGUMENT: This could be seen as normal and western franks only had problem with it because the deal was with Muslims
Bernard
He did not specify the final objective
This could have cause factionalism
After 1146 Edessa was indefensible
He was not present during the crusade like Adhemar was
This would have meant that he could have suggested an objective when he was there
He added other objectives
Baltic Crusade
Lisbon crusade
Fleet stayed = lack of man power
Tyreman: "attempted too much"
COULD GET EXTRACT ON HIM
Damascus was a poor choice to attack
It was extremely important to Muslims and so they would fight to the death to defend it
It has a history of Jihadi rhetoric at the grand Ummayyad Mosque
It's history of alliance with the Kingdom of Jerusalem V Zengi
Tyreman
Ascalon would have been a better choice
Rich port
Isolated the fatimids
It was more easlity taken
Aleppo would have been better choice
seat of Nur ad Din's (one of the Zengid brothers) power
Effect of the siege is to drive Damascus into an Alliance with Nur Ad Din
Daughter of Damascus had already married Nur ad Din
Phillips
Damascus was most obvious choice because most powerful city in Syria
Daughter of Damascus had already married Nur ad Din
It's only 140 miles from Jerusalem
Phillips says strategy to move East
Zengid Brothers (Nur Ad Din of Aleppo and Sayf Al Din of Mosul) were 15 days away and they thought that west would be taken by then
The Zengid brothers were closer than they thought so they moved to the East - stupid position that they had to abandon
Defences in south east were not as weak as they thought and their supplies ran out
Byzantine sabotage
Not Byzantine Sabotage: they actually helped
Manuel was not obliged to help
He didn't ask for the crusade so he was not obliged to supply it or guide it
Since 1st crusade Bohemond had kept Antioch and launced crusade against Byzantium
Relations had deteriorated
Western propaganda blames this post crusade
Historians in 50s relied on latin sources
Manuel did see Conrad's army as a threat
He did make a treaty with the sultan of Rum
Once Conrad's army was wiped out he provided fewer supplies to crusaders because they were no longer a direct threat to attacking constantinople
He did not provide markets for Louis
They accuse Manuel of providing too few boats for Louis' army in March 1148 to escape
Muslim Military skill and unity
Action of Unur and the Damascenes
26th July
Had to defend themselves until Lebanese archers arrived
Unur wrote to franks threatening to give Damascus to Zengid brothers if Franks did not leave + offered Franks Banyas and tribute if they left him alone
Encouraged franks to leave
Actions of the Zengid brothers
Already had a standing army for a different campaign
Arrived before 15 days were up triggering the crusaders' decision to move east
They were about to arrive and the Crusaders knew that they would not get in in time because of the strength of the Damascene defense
Muslim religious zeal - the rise of Jihad
Damascus was worth of defending
It is associated with the Hadith
Supposed to be the stage of the coming of the Messiah
It is the site of the grate umayyad mosque (one of the holiest sites of Islam)
It is where God gave Asylum to Jesus and Mary
Mount Kazan: where Ibrahim was born and where Muhammad's companions were buried
Muslims would defend Damascus to the death
26th of July
Yusuf al-Findalawi died a martyr
Prays
Sermon
Paraded Relics
He was older and fought w/ much younger men = well respected
Led to renewed rigour
Emir leads battle on 26th after
There was a history of Jihadi rhetoric in Damascus anyway
Call for Holy war since 1107
Al Salami's book of holy war
Other Arguments
It was Bernard's fault that the 2nd Crusade failed
Lack of Man power was to blame