57. Fall of Ascalon
JUpon the death of King Fulk of Rus’, his widowed wife Melisande made her thirteen-year-old eldest son Baldwin III the ceremonial king of Jerusalem and began to rule. We saw. Then we will see what happened there.
In the beginning, the child Baldwin had the knowledge and experience of his mother, Queen Melisande, as a source and protection. But as he passed his teenage years and reached puberty, his mother’s authority and control began to emerge; collapsed. Confused in crisis.
‘Before I was a little boy, you led me right; Now that I have reached puberty, should I leave and move on? I am the king; I will take care of my rule’ and when he raised his head with such attitude, a cold war arose between Thai and Danayan. The snow is gone and the war has gone.
Melisande, who had relished her reign, had widespread support. He did not want to leave his share of power in the cart to his son. Enmity grew secondary to affection received. Eventually, Baldwin III, the independent king, besieged his mother in Jerusalem and forced her to abdicate, taking full control of the kingdom.
If that was the political situation in Jerusalem, the crisis of choosing a ruler for Antioch, which had lost Raymond. Raymond’s son Bohemond III was five years old at the time. King Baldwin III of Jerusalem therefore planned to remarry Raymond’s widow, Constance, to a man of his choosing. Constance flatly rejected it. He decides to take charge of his own destiny, just as his mother Alix did. Thus, Antioch, without proper administrative or military leadership, came under the temporary supervision of the King of Jerusalem. In Tripoli, the Assyrians for their part had killed Raymond II, its ruler. His son Raymond III was twelve years old. Thus the responsibility of the guardian of Tripoli also fell to the King of Jerusalem.
Defeated by the Muslims in the Second Crusade and the resulting humiliation; Then Raymond was killed in the battle of Enab and he lost his head, and Antioch was left without a suitable leader; Their rule ended there after the capture of Joselin II in Edessa; Raymond II of Tripoli was slain and ominous there; Let’s touch on the next crusade; If they sent information to Europe that the team should come together, that request was like a stone placed in a well… The Barangays were dejected with grief and worry, without enthusiasm and continuous defeat. It is a situation where only a great success can soothe that sadness.
And so, while Nur al-Din was busy focusing his attention on Damascus, King Baldwin III, who had established his sole authority in Jerusalem, was plotting such a victory. The destination was Ashkelon, southwest of Jerusalem.
After the capture of Jerusalem in the First Crusade, a battle was fought at Ashkelon with the Fatimids under Godfrey; The Crusaders won; However, as we have seen earlier, due to differences of opinion among the Crusader leaders, Ascalan did not fall to the barangays but remained in the hands of the Muslims. may remember. The ancient port city of Ashkelon came under the control of the Fatimids who later ruled Egypt. For them it was the gateway city to Jerusalem. A semi-circle surrounded the city with two layers of defensive inner and outer walls; Towers among them. Entering the city beyond the four gateways is a web of winding streets. Wells and reservoirs were abundant in the city as a source of water for them. Egypt sent food supplies to the people four times a year. Ascalon had amassed troops and weapons for defense.
To the south of Ashkelon is Qassa (Gaza). In 1150, King Baldwin III built a fortress at Qassa as his first work. It severed the land connection between Cairo and Ashkelon. After that, in 1153, he marched his army towards Ashkelon. The high priest of Jerusalem, the archbishops of Caesarea, Nazareth, Tyre, the abbots, the Hospitallers, and the Templars gathered together with great heads. As military equipment, catapults and tall siege towers of movable construction were towed. Most importantly, the true cross was carried as proof inspiration.
Ascalon was besieged; The siege was laid; A fierce attack began.
Strongly defended, Ascalon resisted stoutly. Barangays do not have the ability to easily defeat it. But their siege tower kept moving and attacking, causing great damage. Ashkelon decided that only by destroying it would be alright. Between the walls and the tower they filled in logs. They poured tar and oil. They attached it. The fire burned fast. But a fierce sea breeze blew the fire toward the city, causing a portion of Ascalan’s defensive wall to collapse. The barangay army rushed to enter its entrance with great exultation and thirst for plunder. But even the Templars in the army were selfish to occupy the city first. Forty Templars rushed in and intercepted the Barangays; They stopped. As a result of that intra-party conflict, very few barangays were able to enter the ruins of the wall.
It was an unexpected turn for the people of Ashkelon, who were devastated by the fall of the wall. Fearing that the army was going to enter in waves, they cut them off easily when only a few entered. In the time available, they closed the collapsed part of the wall very quickly. The bodies of the barangays they had killed were tied to ropes and hung from the top of the masonry in plain sight by the besieging soldiers. The Ascalon Wall was not the only one affected by the diverted fire. The debris that fell when it collapsed also damaged and rendered useless the siege tower of the barangays. Ascalon breathed a sigh of relief at the temporary victory.
The barangays wondered what to do next. Enough is a party. God is with us; Another crowd said let’s continue the war. They discussed for three days. It was decided to continue the siege. Barangayar’s hand prevailed in the multi-stage attack that followed; Conditioned. Accepted by Ashkelon. During that war, we saw in the previous chapter that Askalan called Nuruddin for help, Abak, after cutting off Nuruddin’s leg, formed an alliance with the Barangians. Finally, after an eight-month siege, Askalan fell to the Barangays on 22 August 1153.
A general from Antioch had come to Baldwin III to take part in this battle. He was one of the army commanders who had no importance even by name. If his rise to greatness over the next few months was a miracle, then sixteen years later Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi entered history as the ultimate villain, and his games were cruel.
who is he So what’s the big villain? His introduction is very important so let’s introduce him next.
oOo
He will come, inshallah…