Siege of Damascus (1148)
The Siege of Damascus by the Crusaders of the Second Crusade under the kings, Baldwin III. , Conrad III. and Louis VII took place from 23 to 28 July 1148 and ended with the withdrawal of the Crusaders.
Prehistory
After several defeats in Asia Minor, the army of the Second Crusade in the Holy Land came to where you united with the troops of the Crusader states. In Acre, now held on June 24, 1148 the leaders of the Crusade, King Conrad III. and King Louis VII with King Baldwin III. of Jerusalem from a council to advise on how to proceed. The actual goal of the crusade, the recapture in 1144 fallen to Zengi Edessa, was already eliminated. After Count Joscelin II had recaptured the city after Zengis death in 1146 for a short time, had Zengis son, Nur ad -Din, Edessa almost completely destroy and let depopulate. After a controversial advice you finally agreed to besiege Damascus. Actually, Damascus was the Crusaders against neutral and an enemy Nur ad -Din, and even paid tribute to the crusaders. However, the city appeared as a worthwhile goal, as it was wealthy and close and had not a very strong military. Since the conquest of Damascus of which would cut off the Muslim empires of Asia in Africa, it was also a strategic destination.
Siege
Mid- July 1148 gathered the largest army which had set up depending on the Orient the Crusaders in Tiberias. With the Holy Cross at the top of the army marched first to Banyas and reached Damascus on 23 July. The resident there Unur Emir sent a messenger to Aleppo to ask Nur ad - Din's help. During the first auxiliary troops arrived from Unurs provincial governors, the Crusaders had already stormed the fortified slightly orchards west at the gates. The crusaders decided to camp in these same orchards, which has the advantage offered to them that there water and food were as readily available as timber for siege equipment. However, the blind ditches and bushes made the crusaders vulnerable to ambushes and minor assaults. Since Unur feared, Nur ad -Din wanted to seize Damascus, he first tried to fend off the Crusaders with his own troops. The Crusaders were driven by a violent counter-attack Unurs from the walls of Damascus back into the orchards and there repeatedly attacked by the light units Unurs, so they finally decided to move their camp in the more manageable level before the town. At the same time Unur negotiated with the leadership of the Crusade, and offered money. Among the Crusader princes, there was also a dispute over who should rule in Damascus after the conquest. When it became known that Nur ad - Din's army was advancing from Homs, the siege was finally canceled after only four days.
Follow
The Second Crusade ended up being a complete disaster. The Crusader princes accused each other in front of the blame for the failure of the siege. Conrad III. led his army to Ashkelon to conquer this city by the Egyptian Fatimids. The conquest of Ashkelon would like Damascus of which can cut off the Muslim empires of Asia in Africa. Due to the prevailing distrust him but followed neither the French nor the Crusader states, and due to the sustained heavy losses while crossing Asia Minor his German contingent was not strong enough alone to take the siege. So the Crusaders returned to Europe without achieving anything.
Also Damascus no longer trusted the Crusaders and later submitted to Nur ad - Din. This was signified by the goal of uniting the Muslims and the expulsion of the Crusaders from the Holy Land a step closer.
The Muslim view of the event
The Muslim sources emphasize that at the siege of the city, two prominent members of the religious class of Damascus, the Maliki jurist Yūsuf al - Findalāwī and the ascetic ʿ Abd al- Rahmaan al - Halhūlī, both advanced in years, a martyr's death. Al- Findalāwī said to have established his commitment to the defense of the city with the words: " I've sold and he has bought from me By God, neither do I cancel the contract, nor did I ask for solution.. " He was referring to the important for the jihadi mobilization Quran in Sura 9:111 word "God the believers their persons and property bought that they shall have Paradise Now they have to fight for God's sake and kill it and. himself suffer death. "