Siege of Ma'arrat al-Numan

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Siege of Maarat
Part of the First Crusade

Crusaders throwing the heads of Muslims over ramparts during the Crusades
Date Nov. - Dec. 1098
Location Ma'arrat al-Numan
Result Crusader victory
Belligerents
Crusaders Fatimids
Commanders
Raymond of Toulouse
Bohemond of Taranto		 Local Militia
Strength
Unknown Local Militia and Garrison
Casualties and losses
Unknown About 20,000 civilians massacred
v • d • e
First Crusade
Nicaea – Dorylaeum – Antioch – Ma'arrat al-Numan – Jerusalem – Ascalon – Battle of Harran

The Siege of Maarat, or Ma'arra, occurred in 1098 in the city of Ma'arrat al-Numan, in what is modern-day Syria, during the First Crusade. It is infamous for the claims of widespread cannibalism displayed by the Crusaders, and remained in Muslim memories for centuries.

Contents

[edit] Prologue

After the Crusaders, led by Raymond de Saint Gilles and Bohemond of Taranto, successfully besieged Antioch, they started to raid the surrounding countryside during the winter months. The Crusaders had been ineffective in assessing and protecting their supply lines, which led to widespread hunger and lack of proper equipment within the Crusader armies. In July of 1098, Raymond Pilet, a knight in the army of Raymond de Saint Gilles, led an expedition against Maarat, an important city on the road south towards Damascus. His troops met a much larger Muslim garrison in the town and they were completely routed with many casualties. For the rest of the summer the crusaders continued their march south and captured many other small towns, and arrived again at Maarat in November.

[edit] Siege

Around the end of November, thousands of crusaders started to besiege the city. The citizens were at first unconcerned, since Raymond Pilet's expedition had been such a failure, and they taunted the crusaders. The crusaders could also not afford to conduct a lengthy siege, as winter was approaching and they had few supplies, but they were also unable to break through the city's defenses, consisting of a deep ditch and strong walls. The defenders of the city, mostly an urban militia and inexperienced citizens, managed to hold off the attacks for about two weeks. The crusaders spent this time building a siege tower, which allowed them to pour over the walls of the city, while at the same time a group of knights scaled the undefended walls on the other side of the city.

The crusaders occupied the walls on December 11. The Muslims retreated into the city, and both sides prepared to rest for the night, but the poorer crusaders rushed through and plundered Maarat. On the morning of December 12, the garrison negotiated with Bohemund, who promised them safe conduct if they surrendered. The Muslims surrendered, but the crusaders immediately began to massacre the population. Meanwhile, Bohemond seized control of the walls and towers while Raymond of Toulouse took control of the interior of the city, continuing their dispute over who would rule conquered territories.

[edit] Cannibalism

Maarat was not as rich as the crusaders had hoped and they were still short of supplies and food as December progressed. Most of the soldiers and knights preferred to continue the march to Jerusalem, caring little for the political dispute between Bohemond and Raymond, and Raymond tried to buy the support of the other leaders. While the leaders negotiated away from the city, some of the starving crusaders at Maarat resorted to cannibalism, feeding on the dead bodies of Muslims.

A year after the event, one of the crusader commanders would write to Pope Urban II, explaining their actions as compelled by the lack of food:

"A terrible famine racked the army in Ma'arra, and placed it in the cruel necessity of feeding itself upon the bodies of the Saracens."

Other chroniclers, such as Radulph of Caen, who participated to the siege of Maarat, describe such scenes without a hint of moral justification:

"In Ma'arra our troops boiled pagan adults in cooking-pots; they impaled children on spits and devoured them grilled."

The crusaders also began destroying Maarat's fortifications, forcing Raymond to finally agree to continue the march south.

[edit] Legacy

Those events had a strong impact on the local inhabitants of Middle East. The Crusaders already had a reputation for cruelty and barbarism towards Muslims, Jews and even Orthodox Christians (the Crusades began shortly after the Great Schism of 1054). Crusaders are still referred as "cannibals" in many Middle Eastern languages and even centuries later their image as fanatical cannibals was alive in Arabic literature. Many authors suggest that the crusaders' behaviour was not really born of their hunger but fanatical beliefs that the Muslims were even lower than the animals. Albert of Aix remarked that "the Christians did not shrink from eating not only killed Turks or Saracens, but even dogs..."[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Albert of Aaachen, Historia Hierosolimitana: History of the Journey to Jerusalem, trans. Susan B. Edgington, Clarendon Press, 2007, ch. V.29, pg. 375.
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