The (Staggering) Siege of Jerusalem 1099 (First Crusade)

Check out Knights of Honor 2: Sovereign here: thqn.net/3uo9IRp.
KoH1 was one of my favourite games as a teenager. I'm really happy that we get to be sponsored by KoH2: Sovereign in this video. We had lots of fun in the ~20 hours we spent in the game. We didn't encounter any major bugs, so, we're definitely recommending the game to any history enthusiast!
The siege of Jerusalem 1099 during the first crusade was one of the most influential events in history. It contributed much to the already complex and intertwined history of the Levante. In this video we look at the siege in detail. However, we're not covering events like the siege of Antioch or the battle of Dorylaeum in much depth. We hope you enjoy anyways!
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Twitter: / sandrhoman
#history #siege #documentary
Bibliographie
Asbridge, Thomas S., The First Crusade: Eine neue Geschichte, Oxford 2004.
Costick, S., The Siege of Jerusalem. Crusade and Conquest in 1099, New York 2009.
DeVries, K./ Smith, R. D., Medieval Military Technology, Toronto 2012.
France, J., Victory in the East. A Military History of the First Crusade, Cambridge 1997.
Runciman, S., A History of the Crusade, vols. 1-4, Cambridge 1987.
Setton, K. M./Baldwin, M. W., A history of the Crusades vol. 1, Madison/Milwaukee/London 1969.
Tyerman, Ch., The Crusades, Oxford 2004.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Check out Knights of Honor 2: Sovereign here: thqn.net/3uo9IRp. KoH1 was one of my favourite games as a teenager. I'm really happy that we get to be sponsored by KoH2: Sovereign in this video. We had lots of fun in the ~20 hours we spent in the game. We didn't encounter any major bugs, so, we're definitely recommending the game to any history enthusiast!

[@GarkKahn]

It's such an awesome game

[@hidupsehat5205]

Mixing things up , I’m like it !

[@generals.patton546]

Can't trust a single word from someone who is "sponsored" by the developers to give it a good review. You're the same person who tried to sell us "Japanese" knives made in China, or a garbage piece of land in Scotland so you can call yourself a "lord", no thanks. I'll just stick with my much better plot of land in the U.S and not fall for scams, it's funny that you think your viewers are as brainless as you are to fall for these garbage products, ever notice that the most replayed parts of your videos are the parts RIGHT AFTER the terrible sponsorship?

[@ivanrivera777]

KoH 1 was one of my fav games too, conquered everything with the teutonic order

[@dembro27]

Medieval II: Total War and Stronghold Crusader scratched my itch for this period of history, but I'd never heard of Knights of Honor. Looks interesting.

[@Spiderfisch]

The crusaders had so much luck you can almost think deus actually vult

[@adarheim1013]

issue

[@bojcio]

"deus actually vult" that made me laugh. Good one.

[@breakerdawn8429]

Honestly I'm surprised just how much luck, grit and determination it took to fight a kingdom that faraway from your home. Sure it failed in the end but holy hell it took a lot of stuff to kill it.

[@wolfgangkranek376]

Look up the channel Real Crusades History!

[@Cba409]

Yes! Deus Vult!!!!

[@WhatIsSanity]

Your teams animations are far superior to the game footage, and make it much easier to visualise the scene due to the more accurate depiction of the defences. Good stuff as always, thank you.

[@swidnikindustries8475]

true

[@gabrielvanhauten4169]

the game looks fine though

[@bvyup2112]

yah seems like theyre getting better too.

[@gaminginn6072]

True

[@SandRhomanHistory]

haha, the team is just Sandro :P We're still doing everything by ourselves. Roman is writing the scripts :)

[@bruhbruh-us6gl]

Rare case of the defenders in a siege having every single possible advantage and still losing.

[@SamO-ik2cm]

Deus vult

[@Vdanman]

@@SamO-ik2cm saladin says hello

[@GyroGarrison]

@@Vdanman Deus vult

[@bandit6272]

@@Vdanman Tell him to run or Richard I will kick his ass again

[@KristinkaAranova]

@@GyroGarrison DEUS VULTTTT

[@MrVlad12340]

Thats basically the situation where defended had more supplies, more troops, home advantage, almost unassailable position and aid coming… But attacker said “But what if i invested all points into Morale?”

[@scottanos9981]

It's super effective!

[@curiousponderings]

If the orks can believe hard enough it shows anything is possible

[@herzog1857]

​@@curiousponderings Wut, orcs. What do the fictional orcs from Lord of the Rings have to do with the siege of Jerusalem that actually happened.

[@justinfowler1271]

@@herzog1857 it’s an inside joke about the Orks for WH40K

[@MrVlad12340]

@@herzog1857 fictional orks from Warhammer univers(es) have a weird special "racial ability" about them - if they REALLY believe in something and "know for sure" its possible than it somehow becomes possible in some obtuse way.

[@tatarcavalry2342]

Siege of Antioch was a pretty staggering one too

[@samsonsoturian6013]

The most important thing to remember about the Crusades is no one was in charge. The only time an entire Crusader army had a single commander, he was excommunicated. In the first and largest Crusade there were three major commanders controlling only a marginal preponderance of forces. Many of them were gangs of amateurs under the command of their local barrons and princes.

[@napolien1310]

They did have a legate from the papacy but he was considered the commander but ofc most knights and soldiers will listen to their own barons, counts and Prince.

[@samsonsoturian6013]

@@napolien1310 Some people said he should be that but no one cared to follow his orders personally. You must recall the Pope was also an Italian prince at the time.

[@xxx-lx6bu]

Let's say those gang of amateurs were quite successful

[@samsonsoturian6013]

@@xxx-lx6bu depends on group and time analyzed. Some of these groups were mobs of pirates fighting for amnesty from crimes committed back home, but most of those guys didn't get past Turkey.

[@stephengayton5246]

There were leaders of several crusades, notably the 3rd

[@brianoneil9662]

I think that it's revealing of just how hostile the climate and environment around Jerusalem is that the crusader army waiting to storm the city was just 12,000 men. Jerusalem wasn't exactly small, but it's hard to bring in a relief army if you can't hope to live off the land. It's even harder to maintain a siege

[@moonshadowsong]

I think the Egyptian sultan just conquer the city 2 years from. suljik that's why the Syrian region can't form an army

[@boriskapchits7727]

I think the Romans, who stormed the city about a thousand years earlier and after a longer siege, had larger army. Jerusalem is not as hostile environment as you can expect, there is water in the streams all year round, and there were aqueducts that brought water from springs in Bethlehem and Hebron.

[@moonshadowsong]

@@boriskapchits7727 it's about crusader time not roman the talking about

[@boriskapchits7727]

@@moonshadowsong the ckimate was the same, more or less.

[@janpost8598]

@@boriskapchits7727 How do you know that. 1000 years is a long time.

[@IsaacRaiCastillo]

What was achieved by the first crusade is completely admirable, for me; Being a small army compared to those who tried it later, not having a centralized command and made up of not so powerful nobles, with a limited but veteran cavalry, always using faith as an impulse to move forward despite all adversities (leaving out the consequences within Jerusalem after it was taken, which was the product of many negative factors that came with it after a hard journey)... The First Crusade was an unprecedented and unexpected achievement, which despite being aided by the Islamic disunity of the moment, seeing their numerical superiority in each confrontation against the Crusaders and still losing, shows that it was not just luck, excellent video. By the way, could you make a video about the Reconquest of Seville (1248), which was perhaps the largest siege that took place in the Iberian peninsula in the Middle Ages, it would surely be a good continuation to this Crusades video.

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Caesar would’ve put up not one, but TWO walls.

[@robert48044]

a wall for the wall, brilliant lol

[@riograndedosulball248]

With no building material and professional armies that is simply impossible Titus struggled immensely to encircle Jerusalem due to the lack of building material, and this was at a time when the city had a lot more houses to be stripped for wood, while he had world class logistics supporting the Legions. The crusaders did a "Leeeeeroy Jenkins" into the city

[@interestinglife934]

Sounds like Boromirs dad talking...

[@niktonic5379]

@@interestinglife934 Only the movie version though. Book Denethor is a lot better.

[@herzog1857]

​@@riograndedosulball248 Now that you say that, I wonder what "Leroy Jenkins" would have sounded like if the Romans had performed it. I guess it would be something like "Tituuuuuuuus Maximus".

[@revanofkorriban1505]

Good video, but I would counter about the last point. The reason medieval writers used apocalyptic language to describe the Sack of Jerusalem, is that they wanted to reference the Book of Revelations. This was common practice, and done on a regular basis at the time. As such, it does not shed as much light on the sack as it seems at first glance. Things that happened would often be exaggerated in order to facilitate such literary and theological references.

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

Jesus made the Christian nations fight heretics crusader infidels

[@leagueoflags]

Siege of Jerusalem? You're spoiling us, SR!

[@rosameltrozo5889]

19:05 Lately I've been hearing that it's greatly exaggerated by later authors and that at the time it was a sack like any other

[@enoughrope1638]

Fun fact, the Fatamids conducted a similar sack on Jerusalem when they captured it a few decades prior to the crusade. Nobody ever talks about it though because it doesn't fit the narrative.

[@Asterix958]

Plundering and massacre was always applied to the castle defenders who didn't surrender. People who believe same religion also did to each other like Ottomans capturing Cario in 1517 which was followed by Ottomans plundering Cario and killing 20,000 civilians (probably exaggareted number). Massacre of Crusaders was more cruel than contemporary examples according to sources.

[@bruhbruh-us6gl]

Contemporary historians love to demonize the Crusaders, there was likely some brutality that was later picked up and magnified. In any case, even the worst accounts of the sack of Jerusalem after this seige pale in comparison to many of the sackings perpetrated by muslim armies

[@Asterix958]

​@@bruhbruh-us6gl Crusaders were more brutal than contemporary Muslim armies, Muslims didn't commit atrocities equivelant to 1099 massacre in 1099. Who are contemporary historians you claims that "they demonize the Crusaders". If you meant Muslim sources, you are wrong. Muslim sources didn't hestate to praise a lot Crusader commanders and kings just like Crusader sources. In general, medieval sources do not hesitate to talk about the merits of their enemies. One example of Muslim source Ibn al-Athir talking about Henry II, Count of Champagne "...Henry, the owner of the lands controlled by Crusaders and king of the Crusaders, resided on the Syrian coast. He was a good natured person. His mistakes were few, he was merciful to Muslims and he cared them. As I explained earlier, Henry married the queen who ruled that region before Saladin captured the Crusader lands..."

[@bruhbruh-us6gl]

@@Asterix958 Incorrect. Crusader brutality is highly overexaggerated. As for muslim brutality, just look at the Ottoman campaigns in Europe or the actions of the Barbary Corsairs. And no, I didn't say Muslim sources from the era, I said contemporary sources and historians demonize them.

[@gabrielvanhauten4169]

the animations, the depth of research, the sponsor. everything is top-notch!

[@conorlane1]

Great video! The absolute insanity of the (Double) Siege of Antioch in 1097/98 would definitely be worth a video as a prequel to this one. KZbin Vult!

[@lupus_in_fabula]

such low key adds fr make the videos more chill, even enjoyable. props to both you and the sponsor for such an ideal situation. Almost enough for me to check it out hint hint advertisers lol

[@ShroomSnip3r]

The videos you and your team put out deserve way more attention. This is among the best content on sieges and historical content on KZbin.

[@ospets_]

i am amazed how this channel is not any bigger… your team deliver content that deserve atleast 10 million subs or even more!

[@kristiawanindriyanto5765]

Medieval sieges and on the topic of Crusades? Really nice and well informative topic

[@samy7013]

Well done to you, on this sober and even-keeled retelling of the events of a _staggering_ siege, which usually elicits much emotion from all sides! You did an excellent job!

[@thcdreams654]

Great information and quality production. Fantastic work as usual. Thanks.

[@forgotten_virtue]

love your videos, definitely one of the best history channels on youtube!

[@SarudeDanstorm]

I've been playing KoH2 a ton since it came out, so cool to see them sponsor your videos!

[@indridcold1689]

Staggering sieges is hands down of the best series on KZbin always happy when it uploads.

[@seanpoore2428]

Amazing timing I'm juuuust about to start chores and was looking for something to keep my brain busy!

[@miquelr2353]

The best way to sponsor is to show of your game without bothering me with ads. Well done

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

Informative & clearly explained episode. Thanks 😊 for sharing

[@brokenbridge6316]

This was a nicely done video. Great job.

[@ilijas3041]

I am sure you considered siege of Antioch for a separate video... It takes your STAGGERING trademark to a whole new level. If I may suggest, joining forces with Robin Pierson for that one would be like all star youtube siege game. Never change bro!

[@timkarrell7109]

Not a cell phone in sight. Just a bunch of people living in the moment.

[@DanMcLeodNeptuneUK]

Great vid, the artwork is incredible too

[@Jesse_Dawg]

I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS. SO HYPED TO WATCH THIS

[@fingerfeller]

nice lecture on the first crusade, thank you, i learned a lot

[@RonBrun-wh7mw]

Great work as usual! Would you mind considering battle of Jankau/Jankow/Jankov 1645 for the future? Very interesting encounter, deserving some serious hour to hour video!

[@acg1970]

Fenomenal el vídeo que habéis hecho ...enhorabuena ...muy bien explicados los movimientos de las tropas con los dibujos y gráficos. enhorabuena desde España 👏

[@sarahsidney1988]

Great video as always

[@nicholaskoa1371]

Knights of Honor is bad ass. this is the type of sponsoring i can get behind. amazing video as well.

[@roballister5269]

i'll say, Knights of Honors 2 is an absolute 10/10 game dude. addicting AF.

[@acgmcacgmc7208]

Extraordinario trabajo... Estupendos los dibulos y gráficos del cerco y asalto de la ciudad....Enhorabuena

[@socratrash]

Fantastic video again!

[@vlkafenryka]

Good to see you guys getting sponsors :)

[@julio5prado]

Great work! Thanks a lot!

[@AgentGB1]

Really cool animations and detailed account!

[@hoboronin]

Nicely done

[@Thraim.]

More SandRhoman, Deus Lo Vult!

[@tyreni]

10/10. You guys nailed this one.

[@akramkarim3780]

The enormous religious enthusiasm of the Crusaders in the First Crusade is the most important reason for its success, in addition to the fact that Muslims did not take the Crusade seriously and were preoccupied with their differences

[@Melia_67]

Religious fanatics are something else. ISIS should not have been able to control half of Syria and Iraq, but they did, the Taliban shouldn't have been able to defeat the US army and take control of Afghanistan, but they did.

[@bigsarge2085]

Incredible!

[@janvermeulen1557]

Great stuff. Any movies about that time period which I should watch. Except for Kingdom of Heaven?

[@oguzkaganonder1331]

I would advice you to take a look at Siege of Nagykanizsa 1601, as it is probably the most succesfull and perfect siege defense in history, it would be a great content for your amazing channel

[@sdhflkjshdfskdhfskljdhf582]

Deus Vult!

[@Gabriel-uy4eh]

Very nice content 👍

[@wismsgre]

Amazing video, everyone should see it. Like, if there is some kind of AI thing that can send this to other people that might like it, it should send it to all of them. Because is that good.

[@assyriancrusader3760]

Deus Vult ☝️ ✝️

[@samsonsoturian6013]

We don't crusade anymore.

[@assyriancrusader3760]

@@samsonsoturian6013 I know

[@z54964380]

@@samsonsoturian6013 Well jihad is still a thing lol

[@MrJakson112]

This is the best damn sponsorship solution I have ever seen

[@blablableh724]

1 Frank is equal to 10 Saracens,

[@James-kv6kb]

The Australian and New Zealand forces had no problem taking it lol

[@RoboticDragon]

So hold on, they moved the siege tower, and then waited 4 days before attacking? If thats the case, how could you not move enough people and defenses to that side? I dont think I quite understand your explanation of the time line when it comes to this. They moved the tower, filled the moat, launched projectiles for 3 days, then attacked?

[@jankoodziej877]

It's not about moving people on the walls, it's about all preparations you could possibly do over days and weeks, additional structures, deeper moat, things you can't do once the attack started.

[@RoboticDragon]

@@jankoodziej877 Obviously, but there isnt tons that can be done over that time to make things that much secure. Moving people will be more then enough to ensure there should be ample time to shore up further defenses.

[@revanofkorriban1505]

@@RoboticDragon There is tons of stuff you can do. Also importantly, the new section the crusaders focused on further east had been reconnoitered and determined to be a weak point.

[@michaelbuzanowski207]

This was a seeming miracle

[@Slovak_Warrior]

In which programs do you do your videos? They are epic

[@OttoMiller-vd7ib]

have you ever considered doing videos on the spanish conquest of the new world?

[@keasy6410]

living in jerusalem, the city truly is magnificent. just going near the massive walls, its amazing

[@moonshadowsong]

Watch out where you stand! They may be someone who dies there in the past

[@keasy6410]

@@moonshadowsongin most ancient cities, people died everywhere. enough wars and struggles for it

[@boriskapchits7727]

@@moonshadowsong this is most likely someone had died at every point in jerusalem.

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

@@boriskapchits7727 jesus who are you talking about antichrist

[@boriskapchits7727]

@@user-cg2tw8pw7j just think of all the times jerusalem was conquered. .

[@philjohnson1744]

Fun vid

[@aasemahsan]

3:29 Preparation & manpower of both sides Fatimid Governor: Iftikhar ad-Dawlah 7:10 Firs cusader assaults & new supplies 10:25 Preparation for the final assault 14:20 *Final Battle* 18:26 Massacre

[@kingofcards9516]

Deus vault. God bless you all.

[@heofonfyr6000]

12:56 that's freakin' hilarious 😆

[@pyropulseIXXI]

All the moon phase calculations show that the there was a *Full Moon* on 10 July 1099. This means that there is no way that the defenders didn't see that the attackers were moving the siege tower. A full moon gives off sufficient light such that one is able to see incredibly well during the night. Perhaps all the full moon calculators are wrong due to not factoring in calendar changes?

[@samueleandriolo4517]

dude, clouds

[@bojcio]

@@samueleandriolo4517 I love how you dismantle the guys entire argument argument with a simple dude clouds...

[@boriskapchits7727]

@@samueleandriolo4517 Clouds? In Jerusalem in July? No way. There could be a sandstorm however, although these are more typical to spring months.

[@samueleandriolo4517]

@@boriskapchits7727 it was just a way to say that there were many explanations without going to see the moon cycle

[@imma5761]

​@@boriskapchits7727 Deus Vult

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Quite interesting how medieval armies reverted back to a somewhat primitive logistics train after Western Rome’s end.

[@MrLoobu]

Well they marched a very long distance to a very unfamiliar territory where they couldn't forage or communicate with locals very well. When Roman's went there to fight they didn't need to go very far, and in fact many of them were locals turned Roman themselves. Totally different situation and people's involved.

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

@@MrLoobu The Romans, what is this, for God's sake, the Berbers always lie

[@user-dm6oq6nh9y]

Thank you for the video but it is called Al-aqsa mosque not the temple

[@estebanod]

Crusaders and Templar Knights 🇫🇷🤩

[@gerfand]

Cool thing you got a ad that goes 1:1 with the video

[@jsealejandro06]

We need this video but titu's siege

[@gotbaka3]

Staggering!

[@jnoobstar]

Its it me or is this how I see anvil empire youtuber should be.

[@AntipaladinPedigri]

Y:51 Don't you hate it when you are a crusader and you run out of rocks to throw at the enemy garrison and to eat?

[@Trbrigade]

The surprising facts are that sieges in the early Middle Ages (even of such huge cities as Jerusalem) often led to a quick victory for the attackers, while in the high Middle Ages almost all such sieges (even of small castles) ended in nothing, either they lasted for years, or cities surrendered when they were running out of supplies. What is it connected with? With the fact that the construction of defensive fortifications reached a new level?

[@Jesse_Dawg]

Please more videos

[@megatronDelaMusa]

when men suffer to conquer, there's no mercy.

[@Akeraton]

Great

[@CountlessPWNZ]

Crusaders vs Bompton Prius vs Ninjas

[@richardvaldes3959]

GOD WILLS IT

[@samy7013]

We can only say that God _willed_ it.

[@akkarapolrapsolz5728]

เล่าได้สนุกมากครับ

[@susanstein6604]

Light calvary armed with scimitars versus heavily armored knights and heavily armored horses in the desert heat,

[@jesusloya4771]

DIO LE VUE!!!

[@EricBarbman]

It would be fair to explain why pope Innocent called for a Crusade. It was not out of the blue, starting with the request for help against the Seljuks by byzantine emperor at the Council of Piacenza in 1095.

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

Why did they destroy villages and cities in Europe on their way? Were these people Muslims? 😂😂😂😂😂

[@herzog1857]

One thing worth noting. The Crusaders felt additional anger towards the Muslims because the Muslims at one point decided to mock the Crusaders, and they tore off all the crosses from the churches in Jerusalem and hung them on the walls (maybe even upside down, I don't remember exactly). Source: History of the Crusades by Dr. Zeljko Fajfric

[@KristinkaAranova]

Sounds like what Muslims would do

[@zxylo786]

What a way to give the crusaders even more morale

[@ObiKKa]

The big channel, Kings and Generals, posted a new 24 minute map analysis video of this same siege battle just almost two weeks after on Boxing Day, after Christmas Day, 2022. Besides the detailed top-down 2D mapping designs, it also shows a composition of 2D illustrations and brief clips of 3D ground-level battles.

[@ObiKKa]

Video link from Kings and Generals. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIamiqB-rKmAaac

[@ObiKKa]

The first map analysis upload on this same siege battle was released by BazBattles five years ago on the first day of September, 2017. It's a much shorter video at 10 minutes with simpler 2D top-down map visuals. So you can see how much advances these other channels have created with their newer videos.

[@ObiKKa]

Link to BazBattles' old video on this same siege battle. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJ3SiJyAiLp3f7M

[@RandomVidsforthought]

@@ObiKKa They made a very inaccurate battle video of an LOTR battle on their other channel

[@herzog1857]

​@@ObiKKa Kings and Generals was a good history youtube channel but they sold themselves.

[@interestinglife934]

Didnt the crusaders also walk barefoot around Jerusalem a few times before the assault?

[@AndrewTheMandrew531]

Yep

[@mpalfadel2008]

How come you didn’t mention the pogroms that Peters army engaged in along the way to Constantinople?

[@johnharris8394]

This voice cannot be human. Maybe from 1099?

[@legioxequestris811]

Can we get happy saturnalia with roman legions short

[@julianshepherd2038]

It's what Jebus would want.

[@TrollDragomir]

Awesome video, incredible history. Though I have to say - knowing how the crusaders acted on Jesus' words to "love thine enemy", the way they treated local populations, I find it hard not to laugh at games about them being called "Knights of Honor" :P More like "Piouous Sadistic Suicidal Fanatics"

[@majorianus8055]

The “local population” were the Christian’s that were enslaved by the Fatimids in fear of collaboration with the crusaders, the Muslim there comprise only 20 percent of the original inhabitants and were mostly immigrants. Still wrong that some of them were killed tho but war is war

[@HaloDude557]

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword

[@jaygoldstein651]

Rightful Roman Clay

[@ExperiencePlayers]

Top

[@karliikaiser3800]

1:05 Never heard deus vult. I only know deus lo vult...

[@robert48044]

How often did battles just happen because an army needed to march through someone else's territory? Was it something that came up often or not much?

[@sugar-daddykhayreddin1115]

Trebuchets were first used by Europeans during the late 12th century. Showing the crusaders with advanced chinese siege equipment really puts me off from watching the video.

[@bruhbruh-us6gl]

God taught them how to make trebuchets, duh

[@patriciusvunkempen102]

Deus Io VULT!

[@ristow4554]

echo!