ORDER OF BATTLE // October 21, 1096
Battle of Civetot
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 25,000 estimated
Seljuk Turks
5,000
Medium-confidence figure
Crusading peasants
20,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Civetot on 21 October 1096 ended the People's Crusade, the disorganized mass movement that had preceded the main baronial expedition to the Holy Land. A Seljuk force under Kilij Arslan I engaged the crusading peasants, who numbered around 20,000 under commanders including Walter Sans-Avoir, Geoffrey Burel, and Constantine Katakalon, inflicting approximately 3,000 casualties. The defeat effectively destroyed the movement as a fighting force. A portion of the survivors subsequently joined the First Crusade, meaning the People's Crusade contributed a remnant of manpower to the organized military expedition that followed, though the main campaign itself had been extinguished at Civetot.
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