Quick History: The Cause of the Second Crusade
In July 1099, the armies of the First Crusade fought tooth and nail to capture the Holy City of Jerusalem, truly one of the most miraculous and unexpected victories of the middle ages. This event stunned the Muslim world and it was not until the 1140s that they could begin to muster a counter attack. In 1144 Emir Zengi, the Muslim ruler of Aleppo and Mosul, targeted Edessa, a city of great religious significance as it was the first city captured by the crusaders.
Zengi, not only hungered to recapture lost Muslim territory, but was also driven to take revenge on Count Joscelin II of Edessa who had recently made an alliance with Zengi’s enemy. Zengi tricked Joscelin into believing that he was away campaigning. Upon hearing this, Joscelin left Edessa taking a sizable number of soldiers and crossed the Euphrates feeling that the city was safe. As soon as Zengi’s spies informed him of Joscelin’s departure, he promptly laid siege to the city and. Over four weeks, Zengi’s troops assaulted the fortifications, trying to claw their way into the structure now defended by the citizens of Edessa themselves.
On December 23rd, Zengi’s sappers destroyed a long section of the walls and though the Christians fought hard. Eventually, the following day, the Muslims forced their way into the breach. Panicked, the populace fled for the safety of the citadel. Zengi’s men quickly sacked the city and in early January, low on water, the citizens of Edessa surrendered the citadel and were quickly despatched from the mortal realm or put into slavery.
The fall of Edessa sent a shockwave through the Christian world. News quickly spread to Antioch, Tripoli and Jerusalem, which, in turn, was quickly forwarded onto the Christians of Europe in the form of appeals for aid. If the fall of Edessa was the spark, these messages were the kindling that set the fires of crusade burning through Europe.
