Siege of Xerigordon

Overview

The siege of Xerigordos in 1096 pitted 6,000 Germans of the People's Crusade under Rainald of Broyes against the Turks commanded by Elchanes, general of Kilij Arslan, the Seljuk Sultan of Rûm. The Crusader raiding party captured the Turkish fort of Xerigordos, about four days' march from Nicaea, in an attempt to set up a pillaging outpost. Elchanes arrived three days later and besieged the Crusaders. The defenders had no water supply, and after eight days of siege, they surrendered on September 29. Some of the Crusaders converted to Islam, while others who refused were killed.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The siege of Xerigordon was an early and catastrophic demonstration of the military vulnerability of the People's Crusade, the undisciplined mass movement that preceded the organized baronial forces of the First Crusade. A raiding party under Rainald of Broyes captured the Turkish fort of Xerigordon, some four days' march from Nicaea, intending to use it as a base for plundering the surrounding region. The Seljuk commander Elchanes, acting for Sultan Kilij Arslan I, arrived within three days and immediately placed the position under siege. The absence of any water supply inside the fortification proved fatal: after eight days the defenders capitulated. The surrender produced a stark religious reckoning — some crusaders converted to Islam while those who refused were killed. The episode foreshadowed the near-total destruction of the People's Crusade, illustrating that capturing and holding fortified positions in Anatolia required logistical preparation the movement entirely lacked.

Tactics

Commanders (2)