Amalric and Philip had been allies for several years: the two had supported Amalric's mother, Queen Melisende, in her opposition to Amalric's brother, King Baldwin III. Around the same time Amalric convinced his ally through marriage, Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenos, to send soldiers to help in the invasion of Egypt (see illustration). Amalric also had the Hospitallers on his side.
This combination Franco-Byzantine expedition thought they would be served by unrest in Egypt. Egypt was being ruled by outsiders, and Shirkuh had been killed. Rough seas hindered the fleet, however, and the mouth of the Nile was blocked, making it difficult to reach the port city of Damietta, their first goal.
William of Tyre reported that Damietta could be taken quickly; however, constructing siege engines took too long, and boats from the south could provide Damietta with fresh supplies. Also, the Egyptians launched a ship on fire at the Byzantine fleet, causing the loss of six ships.
Weather was also a problem. Heavy October rains were demoralizing, and the food stores of the attackers were running low. They were unable to land and find fresh supplies. The Greek leaders felt Amalric was being too timid. Amalric worried that they had not battered the walls of Damietta enough to try to take the city. The Greeks prepared to ignore Amalric and attack, but Amalric started negotiations with Damietta before the attack could take place. For a sum of gold, Amalric retreated. He was back home on 12 December.
It was not wise to stay away from Jerusalem for overlong, since Nur ad-Din was constantly harassing the borders. Then something happened on 29 June 1170 that caused Amalric and Nur ad-Din to declare a temporary truce, something devastating to both men and their people, with a death toll estimated at 80,000. It was not a plague.
Tomorrow we'll look at the earthquake of 1170.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.