Download PDF | Michael S Fulton, Siege Warfare During The Crusades Pen And Sword Military (2020)
370 Pages
Preface
The study of siege warfare can be traced back to antiquity. Much as some Roman figures sought to learn from the engagements of the ancient Greeks, and
certain medieval rulers looked to their Roman predecessors for inspiration, a number of early modern commanders tried to gain an advantage in battle by examining medieval, as well as ancient, sieges. As the modern discipline of historical study developed over the following centuries, armies grew to unprecedented sizes and the rate of technological innovation rapidly accelerated. In this context, which saw traditional fortifications become increasingly obsolete, most nineteenth- and early twentieth-century historians of medieval warfare focused naturally on the significance of battles rather than sieges. In the wake of the Second World War, guerrilla warfare became more prevalent and, consciously or not, historians began to shift their focus beyond the great battles. Today it is widely acknowledged that there were simply too few battles to decide the many wars and campaigns that raged across medieval Europe and the Middle East. Sieges tended to be more significant on a year-to-year, decadeto-decade basis, while raids, including small skirmishes, were by far the most common military actions.
In the medieval Levant, certain battles had dramatic consequences. The crusaders’ victories at the battles of Dorylaeum (1097), Antioch (1098) and Ascalon (1099) allowed them to gain a foothold in the East, while the battles of the Field of Blood (1119) and Hattin (1187) saw the near eradication of Frankish armies and almost led to the collapse of the principality of Antioch and kingdom of Jerusalem respectively. The second battle of Ramla (1102) and battle of Forbie (1244) were decisive defeats for the Franks, but had few territorial consequences. By comparison, the Mamliks’ victory over the Mongols at ‘Ayn Jalat (1260) provided them with the opportunity to spread their authority across western Syria. Aside from these rather exceptional events, battles were rare and most campaigns were fought without one. Rather than battles, sieges and the possession of strongholds were the primary means of holding and expanding territorial power and influence.
Our understanding of siege warfare and the significance of castles and other fortifications has developed dramatically over the past 200 years. In the nineteenth century, theories regarding the fortifications built by the Franks in the Levant were influenced by the ways that forts had been used to defend Europe over the past few hundred years. Ideas that rings of castles were built along frontiers and borders, with interior strongholds to secure road networks and provide depth if an enemy broke past the outer ring, are reminiscent of the thinking that guided Vauban in the late seventeenth century and Séré de Riviéres in the late nineteenth.
In the mid-twentieth century, R.C. Smail’s seminal work, Crusading Warfare, redefined the role of medieval castles, critically pointing out that these were not simply
P “Nhe study of siege warfare can be traced back to antiquity. Much as some Roman early forts and those within could do little to obstruct the movement of large armies. Rather than searching for some overarching grand defensive design, which did not exist, Smail pointed to the more immediate motives that often influenced the construction and placement of castles. As he put it, “The process of Latin settlement at the time of the First Crusade was not the result of a conquest ordered and organized by a single authority, but was extended by the boldness and greed of individuals.’! But even today, our appreciation of modern warfare influences our understanding of past conflicts.
In perhaps the most important contribution to the study of crusader siege warfare since that of Smail, Randall Rogers, writing at the start of the 1990s, despaired at what little attention was still devoted to the study of sieges. While Rogers wrote this highlighting the disproportionate attention given to battles, the same sentiment might just as easily apply to the study of castles. These great structures, which have captured the imaginations of tourists for centuries, came to attract more serious scholarly attention beginning with a line of scholars in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth, including Emmanuel Guillaume Rey, Max Van Berchem and T-.E. Lawrence (of Arabia).? But what remains the defining study of Frankish castles is the three-part work of Paul Deschamps, beginning with his masterful examination of Crac des Chevaliers and concluding with a posthumously published survey of castles in northwestern Syria.’ A number of studies have followed in the wake of Deschamps’, including those of Robin Fedden and John Thomson, Wolfgang Miiller-Wiener, and Hugh Kennedy, while two new studies of Crac have also been published.* Attention, traditionally devoted to ‘crusader castles’, has also begun to shift to more evenly include Muslim strongholds. This can be seen clearly in three excellent edited volumes published in the first decade of the twenty-first century, one in French, one in English and one in German, to which Cyril Yovitchitch’s study of Ayyubid fortifications might be added.
Our ever-improving understanding of medieval fortifications is due in large part to the ongoing efforts of archaeologists. Thanks to C.N. Johns’ work in the 1930s, some of the earliest scientific excavations in the region, we have a careful study of ‘Atlit, now off-limits as part of an Israeli military base.° Denys Pringle’s surveys of smaller structures are perhaps the most comprehensive, and have provided an important record as urban sprawl and neglect threaten some of these less imposing structures.’ Presently, Israeli-led excavations are under way at Arsif and Montfort, French teams have recently worked at a number of Syrian strongholds, the crusader town of Caesarea and are now excavating at Belvoir, and a Syro-Hungarian team has been working at Margat for a number of years.* Elsewhere, excavations were conducted at Jacob’s Ford and Montreal, but we still await the publication of their finds. Excavations in Syria, most of which have been interrupted by the current conflict, will hopefully continue and improve our understanding of the citadels of Aleppo and Damascus, and countless other strongholds, such as Qal‘at Ja‘bar and Qal‘at Najm. Christina Tonghini’s thorough examination of Shayzar has proven an excellent start.” Outside of Syria, the mighty castles of Kerak, Safed, Subayba, Toron, Beaufort and numerous others still await comprehensive excavation and analysis. Some strongholds, including Gaza and Jaffa, have already been lost to history, while Beaufort, Crac, Aleppo and others have been damaged during the course of wars in just the last fifty years, adding urgency in what is still a volatile region prone to conflict.
Despite the attention dedicated to castles, siege warfare is often given little more than a token chapter in books on these strongholds or medieval warfare more generally. Perhaps the most important works on the topic, since that of Smail, are those of Randall Rogers and Christopher Marshall, both published in 1992.'° Dealing with the twelfth and thirteenth centuries respectively, each is laudable in its own right, although both authors would no doubt have benefited from the opportunity to read the other’s work before his own went to press. Both works are written from a primarily Frankish perspective and siege warfare, at least in the context of the Levant, is only a part of each. A generation later, it seems an updated synthesis and refinement might be in order.
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To make this study more accessible to students and a general audience, few references have been included other than where direct quotations are given. European names have been anglicized, while those of Eastern figures have been transcribed using their most common forms when employed by historians and archaeologists of the period. Muslim names have also been abbreviated according to custom — for example, Saladin’s brother is identified as a/-‘Adil [Sayf al-Din], while his uncle appears as [Asad al-Din] Shirkih. To assist with pronunciation, most Arabic names and terms have been transliterated with diacritical marks. A short glossary and lists of rulers by region have also been included and, for anyone looking for more information related to a particular site, a brief list of the principal strongholds and studies relating to them can be found near the end of the book, as can a bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
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This book would not have been possible without the help of a number of people, to whom thanks are in order. First, to John France, this generation’s great authority on crusader warfare, who directed this project to me in October 2016, and to Denys Pringle, under whom I had the pleasure of working while in Cardiff, where much of my early research was conducted. Next, to the numerous archaeologists working on medieval sites in the Levant, many of whom have enthusiastically shared their experiences and insights with me over the years. Denys Pringle, Ross Burns, Michael Eisenberg, Jean Yasmine, Fraser Reed and Steve Tibble have generously provided some of the images that have been included. I am also indebted to Christopher Marshall, Steve Tibble, Niall Christie and Adam LeRoux, who read and commented on the first draft of this book; it is immeasurably better thanks to their input. Finally, I am grateful for the support of the History Department at the University of British Columbia, with whom I served as a Visiting Scholar while writing this book. To everyone mentioned above and countless others, a big thanks!
M.S.F Vancouver, B.C. December 2018
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