← Explore on the interactive map
Crusader Siege of Damascus
In summer 1126, Baldwin II of Jerusalem led a large expedition with Antioch, Tripoli, and Syrian Christian allies against Damascus;…
Timeline
- 1126Frontier of the Kingdom of Jerusalem · LevantAfter his victory at Tyre, Baldwin II sought to further strike the Emirate of Damascus, summoning Antioch, the County of Tripoli, and local Syrian Christian allies to form an expeditionary army marching east.
- 1126Damascus · SyriaThe coalition reached the outskirts of Damascus, besieging the walls and plundering the surrounding countryside. Damascus's garrison held firm within the city while appealing to Muslim powers such as Aleppo for aid.
- 1126Outskirts of Damascus · SyriaMuslim reinforcements approached from the north; the crusader coalition, short on supplies and unable to sustain a long siege of a strong city, was ordered by Baldwin II to lift the siege and return west. The expedition ended in failure, and Damascus remained the main threat to the crusader states of the Levant.
Sources
- A History of the Crusades, Vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem — Steven Runciman (1952)
- The Crusader States — Malcolm Barber (2012)