The First Crusade
Siege of Jerusalem
Arqah never fell. Raymond kept the army at the siege another month, but at last on 13 May he reluctantly moved on. The emir of Tripoli sent gifts and kept his city safe. Palestine was under the control of the Fatimids of Egypt and they did not keep troops to guard the province, so the Crusaders passed onward in safety. Beirut, Tyre, Acre, none of these cities offered any resistance and the Crusaders did not try to attack. They turned inland at Jaffa and passed through Ramleh on 3 June. Emissaries from Bethlehem met the army there and persuaded Tancred to come liberate that Christian town from the Turks. He complied and was back the next day.
The main army moved out on 6 June and encamped before Jerusalem on the 7th. The Egyptian commander had made sure the city was well-stocked and had expelled all the Christians from the city. He poisoned the wells around the city and settled in to await rescue from Egypt. The Crusaders numbered about fifteen hundred knights and twelve thousand foot, an army that the Egyptians could certainly overwhelm if they chose.
The Crusaders invested the city, but without siege engines they were unable to do anything effective. The walls were too strong to take by storm, and there was no one on the inside who might betray the city. A general assault on 12 June failed with heavy losses. They had to have siege engines.
Jerusalem is in the middle of a desert. It was over twenty miles to the nearest forests, but the Crusaders had no choice. Robert of Flanders and Tancred went to Samaria and began the work of cutting timber. The process took weeks. News came in early July that the Egyptians were at last on the move; the army had maybe a month before they arrived.
Acting in accordance with yet another vision, this one of Bishop Adhemar himself, the priests ordered a fast for the whole army. Following the fast, on 8 July, the entire army marched in solemn procession around the walls of Jerusalem. The Muslims watching from the walls mocked the Christians, for they were all dressed as penitents and were singing psalms. After the circuit, the army assembled on the Mount of Olives, where Peter the Hermit preached to them, followed by Raymond of Aguilers, then by Arnulf Malecorne. It was a moving experience for everyone.