Crusade of 1101

The Crusade of 1101 was a minor crusade, actually three separate movements, organized in 1100 and 1101 in the successful aftermath of the First Crusade. It is also called the Crusade of the Faint-Hearted due to the number of participants who joined this crusade after having turned back from the First Crusade.

The Lombards

In September of 1100, a large group of Lombards left from Milan. These were mostly untrained peasants, led by the Archbishop of Milan. When they reached the territory of the Byzantine Empire, they pillaged recklessly, and Byzantine emperor Alexius I escorted them to a camp outside Constantinople. This did not satisfy them, and they made their way inside the city where they pillaged the Blachernae palace, even killing Alexius' pet lion. The Lombards were quickly ferried across the Bosporus and made their camp at Nicomedia, to wait for reinforcements.

Related Topics:
Lombards - Milan - Archbishop of Milan - Byzantine Empire - Byzantine emperor - Alexius I - Constantinople - Blachernae - Lion - Bosporus - Nicomedia

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At Nicomedia they were joined in May by a smaller but stronger contingent of French, Burgundians, and Germans, under Stephen of Blois, Stephen I, Count of Burgundy, Eudes I, Duke of Burgundy, and Conrad, constable of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. Joining them at Nicomedia was Raymond IV of Toulouse, one of the leaders of the First Crusade who was now in the service of the emperor. He was appointed overall leader, and a Byzantine force of Pecheneg mercenaries was sent out with them under the command of General Tzitas.

Related Topics:
French - Burgundians - Germans - Stephen I, Count of Burgundy - Eudes I, Duke of Burgundy - Constable - Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor - Raymond IV of Toulouse - Pecheneg - Mercenaries

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This group marched out at the end of May, towards Dorylaeum, following the route taken by Raymond and Stephen in 1097 during the First Crusade. They planned to continue towards Konya, but the Lombards, whose rabble outnumbered all the other contingents, were determined to march north to Niksar where Bohemund I of Antioch was being held captive by the Danishmendids. After capturing Ancyra on June 23, and returning it to Alexius, the crusaders turned north, where they almost immediately came under attack from the Seljuk Turks. The Turks harassed the crusaders for weeks, and a foraging party was destroyed in July near Kastamonu.

Related Topics:
Dorylaeum - 1097 - Konya - Bohemund I of Antioch - Danishmendids - Ancyra - June 23 - Seljuk Turks - Kastamonu

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Battle of Mersivan

The Lombards realized their mistake and the entire army turned back to the east, entering Danishmendid territory. However, the Seljuks, under Kilij Arslan I, realizing that disunity was the cause of his inability to stop the First Crusade, had now allied with both the Danishmendids and Ridwan of Aleppo. In early August the crusaders met the combined Muslim army at Mersivan. They were organized into five divisions: the Burgundians, Raymond and the Byzantines, the Germans, the French, and the Lombards. The Lombards, in the vanguard, were defeated, the Pechenegs deserted, and the French and Germans were also forced to fall back. Raymond was trapped on a rock and was rescued by Stephen and Conrad. The battle continued into the next day, when the crusader camp was captured and the knights fled, leaving women, children, and priests behind to be killed or enslaved. Most of the Lombards, who had no horses, were soon found and killed by the Turks. Raymond, Stephen of Blois, and Stephen of Burgundy fled north to Sinope, and returned to Constantinople by ship.

Related Topics:
Kilij Arslan I - Ridwan - Aleppo - Sinope

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