Starting in late September, Count Raymond led a series of campaigns into the Summaq Plateau region southwest of Antioch. He desired to obtain a lordship for himself because he needed to fulfill his nearly depleted treasury, but also because Raymond needed enough leverage to oust Bohemond from Antioch.
The first town Raymond set out for was Marat, a large town inhabited entirely by Muslims. He, along with Robert of Flanders, Bohemond, and a reasonably sized force, arrived at the town gates on 27 November. The siege was short, yet ruthless. Marat fell to the crusaders on 11 December. All of its inhabitants were slaughtered or sold into slavery.
Immediately following his victory, Raymond initiated a vigorous program of Christianization. All mosques were turned into churches and the town, peopled with Latins. But, rather than garrison Marat and ensure that its inhabitants were well fed, Raymond continued to quarrel with Bohemond over the possession of Antioch.
Most, if not all of the crusaders — soldiers and pilgrims alike — were eager to see their leaders put aside their differences and organize the march to Jerusalem. So, around Christmas Day, representatives of the soldiers suggested to Raymond that if he organized their departure, they would recognized him as the uncontested leader of the expedition. It was an opportunity Raymond embraced and he immediately prepared for the march south. However, he refused to leave Antioch in Bohemond’s hands, so Raymond called upon the other princes to a council meeting to settle this issue once and for all.
Meanwhile, at Marat, food ran out and the people began to starve. Their desperation led them to commit an atrocity that disgusted and appalled even their Christian brethren: cannibalism. The crusaders “burned the bodies of the dead because they found gold besants hidden in their stomachs, while others cut the flesh of the bodies to pieces and cooked them for food,” wrote one chronicler.
This act of barbarity terrified the Syrian Muslims so much that the emirs chose to negotiate with their new western foe, an act that would open the road to Jerusalem.
The crusaders would not take advantage of the situation right away though. As the year 1098 came to a close, the issue of who would govern Antioch still had not been resolved. The princes continued to squabble over the city, which compelled infuriated pilgrims and soldiers to revolt. In early January 1099, pilgrims tore down part of Marat’s fortifications. In response, Raymond marched south of Marat, barefoot and clad in a coarse tunic, the dress of a penitent pilgrim. It was his way of promising the army that he would no longer delay the march to Jerusalem. Really, though, Raymond did this to restore peace in the army and to show them that he was a capable, humble and empathetic leader. Whatever Raymond’s intentions, his actions earned him recognition as leader from the army at large. However, Raymond needed to make sure he received that same amount of support from his cohorts.
At Rugia, a town located south of Marat, Raymond convened another council meeting. There, he paid each prince a sum of money on terms that they would accept and acknowledge him as the leader of the Crusade. Raymond’s bribe was received coldly, yet the other princes acquiesced, probably because they, themselves, needed money.
To be continued…
Sources Used:
Asbridge, Thomas. The Crusades: The Authoritative History of The War For The Holy Land. Ecco; New York, 2011.
Krey, August C. The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eye-Witnesss and Participants. Princeton; Princeton University Press, 1921.
Runciman, Steven. A History of the Crusades: The First Crusade. Vol.1. Cambridge; Cambridge University Press, 1951.
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