21 September 1096 A.D. PEOPLE’S CRUSADE: Xerigordon’s Crusaders Were Surrounded
21 September 1096 A.D. PEOPLE’S
CRUSADE: Xerigordon’s Crusaders Were Surrounded
Graves,
Dan. “Xeriogordon’s Crusaders Were Surrounded.” Christianity.com. Apr 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/901-1200/xerigordons-crusaders-were-surrounded-11629796.html. Accessed 23 May 2014.
When Pope Urban II summoned
Europe to the First Crusade, filthy, barefoot Peter the Hermit urged people to
gather their possessions and head east. Whole families joined the
"People's Crusade." These were not trained armies, although there
were trained soldiers among them.
Months later, after many
hardships, adventures and deaths, they arrived at the Bosphorus Strait where
the Byzantine Emperor agreed to ferry them over. He wanted them out of the way,
because they had created many incidents in their journey and were stealing his
people blind. By this time, the French and Germans were quarreling and they
split up. The Italians sided with the Germans.
In their raids, this
"people's crusade" robbed and killed both Christians and Turks, but especially
Christians, who had less protection. The French successfully looted the suburbs
of Turkish-controlled Nicea (today's Iznek) and defeated a large Turkish force.
Eager for plunder, the 6,000 men
in the German party headed in the same direction. They did not kill Orthodox
Christians as the French had, but looted them all the same. Marching past
Nicea, they surprised and captured a lightly-defended fort named Xerigordon and
thought that they were well-situated on its high hill. From Xerigordon they
hoped to raid the surrounding country.
But on this day, September 21, 1096,* the irate Seljuk
Turks overcame an ambush the Germans had prepared against them and surrounded
the fort. What the Germans had not considered until too late was that the water
supply of the fort was outside the walls. According to a contemporary account,
in the eight days of siege that followed, the defenders of Xerigordon became so
thirsty that they drank their horses blood and one another's urine. Others dug
into the damp soil and covered themselves with cool earth. Bishops and priests
encouraged them not to despair, but with parched tongues, what could they do?
The defenders asked for terms of
surrender. One of their leaders even offered to fight against other crusaders
if the Turks would spare him. However, the Turkish terms were stiff: they could
either convert to Islam and be sold as slaves--or they could die. Those who
converted were sold as slaves to Syria. The rest were massacred.
The French, hearing of the
massacre, marched east, spoiling for a fight. However, they walked into a
Turkish ambush and the Turks wiped out 10,000 of them in a few hours. 3,000
fled, hotly pursued. In the end, only a few managed to escape to a fortress
where they survived-- thanks to the Byzantine Emperor, who listened to Peter's
pleas and sent boats to bring them away.
That was the end of Peter's army.
All in all, the People's Crusade has to rank as one of the most bizarre events
in church history. From a military standpoint,
however, the People's Crusade did some good: it caused the Turks to seriously
underestimate the more professional fighting force that soon arrived on their
shores, the members of the First Crusade.
*Runciman says the Turks arrived
not on this day, but on Michaelmas, September 29.
Bibliography:
"Ill-fated Crusade of the
Poor People." http://historymedren.about.com/library/prm/bl1poorpeople.htm
Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium,
the Decline and Fall. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1996.
Rees, Dr. Tom. "The Story of
the First Crusade."
http://www.brighton73.freeserve.co.uk/firstcrusade/Events/
Other_events/peoples_crusade.htm
Other_events/peoples_crusade.htm
Runciman, Steven. A History of
the Crusades. Cambridge University Press, 1954.
Various internet articles.
Last updated July, 2007
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