Battle of Ascalon

Battle of Ascalon
Part of the First Crusade
Bataille d'Ascalon, 12 août 1099 (oil on canvas by Jean-Victor Schnetz, 1847), Salles des Croisades, Palace of Versailles
Date 12 August 1099 Location Ascalon, Fatimid Caliphate 31°40′14″N 34°33′29″E / 31.67056°N 34.55806°E / 31.67056; 34.55806 Result Crusader victory[1] Fatimid army retreats to Egypt End of the First Crusade
Belligerents
Crusaders	Fatimid Caliphate
Commanders and leaders
Godfrey of Bouillon Raymond IV of Toulouse Robert II of Normandy Robert II of Flanders Eustace III of Boulogne Tancred of Hauteville Gaston IV of Béarn	Al-Afdal Shahanshah
Strength
10,200 men[2] 9,000 infantry 1,200 knights	20,000 men[3][4][5] 10,000 regular infantry 4,000 regular cavalry Unknown number of auxiliaries (Armenian archers, Arab and Bedouin light cavalry)
Casualties and losses
Light[1]	Heavy; most of the army 12,700 (contemporary Muslim sources)[6]

The Battle of Ascalon took place on 12 August 1099 shortly after the capture of Jerusalem, and is often considered the last action of the First Crusade.^[7] The crusader army led by Godfrey of Bouillon defeated and drove off a Fatimid army, securing the safety of Jerusalem.^[8]

The Crusaders completed their primary objective of capturing Jerusalem on 15 July 1099. In early August, they learned of the approach of a 20,000-strong Fatimid army under vizier al-Afdal Shahanshah. Under Godfrey's command the 10,200-strong Crusader army took the offensive, leaving the city on 10 August to risk everything on a great battle against the approaching Muslims. The Crusaders marched barefoot, carrying the relic of the True Cross with them, accompanied by patriarch Arnulf of Chocques. The army marched south from Jerusalem, approaching the vicinity of Ascalon on the 11th and capturing Egyptian spies who revealed al-Afdal's dispositions and strength. (The distance from Jerusalem to Ascalon is about 77 km (48 mi))

At dawn on 12 August, the Crusader army launched a surprise attack on the Fatimid army still sleeping in its camp outside the defensive walls of Ascalon. The Fatimids had failed to post enough guards, leaving only a part of their army capable of fighting. The Crusaders quickly defeated the half-ready Fatimid infantry, while the Fatimid cavalry had little contribution in the fighting. The battle ended in less than an hour. The Crusader knights reached the center of the camp, capturing the vizier's standard and personal baggage, including his sword. Some Fatimids fled into the trees and were killed by Crusader arrows and lances, while others begged for mercy at the Crusaders' feet and were butchered en masse. The terrified vizier fled by ship to Egypt, leaving the Crusaders to kill any survivors and gather up a vast amount of loot. Ibn al-Qalanisi estimated 12,700 Fatimid dead,^[9] and mentioned that all Muslims with the means to do so chose to emigrate.^[10]

The first Muslim attempt to recapture Jerusalem ended in complete defeat, but Godfrey failed to exploit the victory and take Ascalon, whose Fatimid garrison was willing to surrender only to Raymond of Toulouse, a condition Godfrey would not accept. The Fatimid base in Ascalon remained a thorn in the side of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and would not fall until the siege of Ascalon of 1153.