Joscelin, with the troops of his lands, and by the Antiochene
army under Bohemond, Tancred, the Patriarch Bernard, and Daimbert, ex-Patriarch
of Jerusalem. The whole Frankish army numbered nearly three thousand knights
and perhaps three times that number of infantry. It represented the full
fighting force of the Franks of northern Syria, apart from the garrisons of the
fortresses.
The army assembled before Harran while the
Moslem princes were still at some distance to the north-east, marching on
Edessa. Had the Franks attempted to take the fortress by assault, Harran would
have been theirs; but they were unwilling to damage the fortifications, which
they hoped to use later themselves. They thought that the garrison could be
frightened into surrender. It was a reasonable hope. The Moslems within the town
were weak; almost at once they entered into negotiations. But thereupon Baldwin
and Bohemond quarrelled over the question, whose standard should first be
raised over the walls. The delay caused their downfall. Before they had settled
the quarrel the Turkish army had swung southward and was upon them.
1104: The
Disaster at Harran
The battle took place on the banks of the river
Balikh, close to the ancient field of Carrhae, where, centuries before, Crassus
and the Roman legions had been annihilated by the Parthians. The Frankish
strategy was for the army of Edessa, on the left, to engage the main enemy
force, while the Antiochene army lay hidden behind a low hill about a mile to
the right, ready to intervene at the decisive moment. But the Moslems made similar
plans. A portion of their army attacked the Frankish left, then turned and
fled. The Edessenes thought that they had won an easy victory and hurried in
pursuit, losing contact with their comrades on the right. They crossed the
river and fell straight into an ambush laid by the main Moslem army. Many of
them were slaughtered on the spot; the remainder turned and fled. When
Bohemond, who had driven off the small detachment opposed to him, prepared to
join in the battle, he only found a stream of fugitives pouring from the
distance and scrambling back across the river, where fresh bands of Turks fell
upon them. He saw that all was lost and moved quickly away, rescuing only a few
of the Edessenes. As the combatants passed beneath the walls of Harran, the garrison
fell on them and in the confusion enthusiastically killed as many of the Moslem
pursuers as of the Franks. The army of Antioch escaped without heavy losses;
but the troops of Edessa were almost entirely captured or slain. The Patriarch
Bernard was so frightened that as he fled he cut off his horse’s tail lest some
Turk should catch him by it, though by then none of the enemy was in sight.
Amongst the first to be taken prisoner was the
Archbishop Benedict. But, owing either to the compliance of his jailer, a
renegade Christian, or to an Antiochene counter-attack, he was soon rescued.
Baldwin and Joscelin fled together on horseback but were overtaken in the
river-bed. They were brought as prisoners to Soqman’s tent.
Rightly fearing that the Turks would next
attack Edessa, Bohemond and Tancred hastened there to organize its defence.
Once again the misfortune of a colleague turned to Tancred’s advantage. The
knights remaining in Edessa, with the Archbishop at their head, begged him to
take over the regency till Baldwin should be released from captivity. Tancred
gladly accepted the offer; and Bohemond, like Baldwin I four years previously,
was relieved to see him go. Tancred stayed on in Edessa with the remnants of
the Edessene army and with such troops as Bohemond could spare, while Bohemond
himself moved back to Antioch, whose neighbours were preparing to take
advantage of the Frankish disaster.
The battle of Harran was the complement to the
Crusades of 1101. Together, they destroyed the legend of Frankish invincibility.
The defeats of 1101 had meant that northern Syria was deprived of the
reinforcements
army under Bohemond, Tancred, the Patriarch Bernard, and Daimbert, ex-Patriarch
of Jerusalem. The whole Frankish army numbered nearly three thousand knights
and perhaps three times that number of infantry. It represented the full
fighting force of the Franks of northern Syria, apart from the garrisons of the
fortresses.
The army assembled before Harran while the
Moslem princes were still at some distance to the north-east, marching on
Edessa. Had the Franks attempted to take the fortress by assault, Harran would
have been theirs; but they were unwilling to damage the fortifications, which
they hoped to use later themselves. They thought that the garrison could be
frightened into surrender. It was a reasonable hope. The Moslems within the town
were weak; almost at once they entered into negotiations. But thereupon Baldwin
and Bohemond quarrelled over the question, whose standard should first be
raised over the walls. The delay caused their downfall. Before they had settled
the quarrel the Turkish army had swung southward and was upon them.
1104: The
Disaster at Harran
The battle took place on the banks of the river
Balikh, close to the ancient field of Carrhae, where, centuries before, Crassus
and the Roman legions had been annihilated by the Parthians. The Frankish
strategy was for the army of Edessa, on the left, to engage the main enemy
force, while the Antiochene army lay hidden behind a low hill about a mile to
the right, ready to intervene at the decisive moment. But the Moslems made similar
plans. A portion of their army attacked the Frankish left, then turned and
fled. The Edessenes thought that they had won an easy victory and hurried in
pursuit, losing contact with their comrades on the right. They crossed the
river and fell straight into an ambush laid by the main Moslem army. Many of
them were slaughtered on the spot; the remainder turned and fled. When
Bohemond, who had driven off the small detachment opposed to him, prepared to
join in the battle, he only found a stream of fugitives pouring from the
distance and scrambling back across the river, where fresh bands of Turks fell
upon them. He saw that all was lost and moved quickly away, rescuing only a few
of the Edessenes. As the combatants passed beneath the walls of Harran, the garrison
fell on them and in the confusion enthusiastically killed as many of the Moslem
pursuers as of the Franks. The army of Antioch escaped without heavy losses;
but the troops of Edessa were almost entirely captured or slain. The Patriarch
Bernard was so frightened that as he fled he cut off his horse’s tail lest some
Turk should catch him by it, though by then none of the enemy was in sight.
Amongst the first to be taken prisoner was the
Archbishop Benedict. But, owing either to the compliance of his jailer, a
renegade Christian, or to an Antiochene counter-attack, he was soon rescued.
Baldwin and Joscelin fled together on horseback but were overtaken in the
river-bed. They were brought as prisoners to Soqman’s tent.
Rightly fearing that the Turks would next
attack Edessa, Bohemond and Tancred hastened there to organize its defence.
Once again the misfortune of a colleague turned to Tancred’s advantage. The
knights remaining in Edessa, with the Archbishop at their head, begged him to
take over the regency till Baldwin should be released from captivity. Tancred
gladly accepted the offer; and Bohemond, like Baldwin I four years previously,
was relieved to see him go. Tancred stayed on in Edessa with the remnants of
the Edessene army and with such troops as Bohemond could spare, while Bohemond
himself moved back to Antioch, whose neighbours were preparing to take
advantage of the Frankish disaster.
The battle of Harran was the complement to the
Crusades of 1101. Together, they destroyed the legend of Frankish invincibility.
The defeats of 1101 had meant that northern Syria was deprived of the
reinforcements
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