First Crusade
1097 – 1099
From the first clashes in 1097 to the final fighting in 1099, find the full chronology of this conflict below, with the forces engaged, commanders and consequences for France in each battle.
Era : High Middle Ages
- 1097 Battle of Dorylaeum Victory
On July 1, 1097, the column of Bohemond and Robert of Normandy, loaded with baggage, was attacked near Dorylaeum by the horsemen of Kilij Arslan and the Danichmendide emir. The Turks surrounded the crusaders and harassed their lines until the arrival of Godfrey of Bouillon, Raymond of Saint-Gilles and Hugh of Vermandois who, after a forced march, reached the enemy rear. Stuck between two masses of heavy cavalry, the Turkish army disbanded and abandoned its camp.
- 1097 Battle of Nicaea Victory
From May 14 to June 19, 1097, the armies of the First Crusade surrounded Nicaea, capital of Kilij Arslan. The French contingents, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Raymond of Saint-Gilles and Bohémond, established countervallation lines while the Byzantine fleet of Manuel Boutoumites locked Lake Askania. The repeated assaults on the walls, combined with the failed return of Kilij Arslan, led to the negotiated capitulation of the garrison for the benefit of the Byzantine Empire.
- 1098 Battle of Antioch Victory
After the capture of Antioch thanks to the betrayal of Firouz on June 3, 1098, the crusaders found themselves surrounded by Kerbogha of Mosul. Hungry and demoralized, they nevertheless organized an outing on June 28 in seven aligned battles, led by Bohemond, Robert of Flanders, Hugues of Vermandois and Raymond of Saint-Gilles. The Frankish lines pierce the Muslim left wing, while the rearguard of Tancred fixes the Turks; Kerbogha, fearing betrayal by his allies, ordered a retreat, leaving Antioch to the crusaders.
- 1099 Battle of Ascalon Victory
On August 12, 1099, barely a month after the conquest of Jerusalem, the Crusader host marched at night from Ramla and rushed at dawn on the Al-Afdal camp in Ascalon. Despite their numerical inferiority, the Frankish contingents broke the Fatimid right wing, seized the banners and transformed the confrontation into a general rout, definitively ensuring the military success of the crusade.
- 1099 Capture of Jerusalem Victory
After a month of siege punctuated by unsuccessful assaults, the crusaders relaunched the attack on July 15, 1099: the siege tower moved during the night by Godfrey and Tancred opened a breach near the gate of Saint-Étienne, while Raymond of Saint-Gilles fixed the defenders on Mount Sion. The Frankish troops then swept through the northern districts and, after two days of street fighting and massacres, Jerusalem fell, marking the triumphant completion of the First Crusade.