On This Day September 21, AD 1096

The Fateful Day of the People's Crusade

By Khen Lim



Image source: dianliwenmi.com

Even before Pope Urban II could mobilise the First Crusade off Europe, a filthy and barefoot Peter the Hermit of Amiens was already rallying the masses to gather their all and head east to fight. Though largely untrained, the “People’s Crusade” had a few hardened soldiers.

Upon arrival at the Bosphorus Strait, the Byzantine Emperor offered safe passage but warned them to avoid engaging the Turks. By then Peter’s ragged army was joined by the French, Italian and German armies but as a motley crew, arguments ensued and instability was rife.

The “People’s Crusade” had crushed many Jewish and even Christian settlements along the way, killing, pillaging and looting that is, until they decided to head towards Nicaea.

By now, with the constant infighting, Peter had lost credibility as the leader and so there was no holding back what the others wanted to do.

Peter the Hermit (image source: crusadesandcrusaders.com)

On reaching the edge of Nicaea, a Turk-Seljuk stronghold, the Germans decided to go to Xerigordon and captured the fortress there. Not to be outdone, on September 21 1096, the Turks led by one of Kilij Arslan’s generals recovered the fortress but not without shocking stories of crusaders drinking donkey’s blood and their own urine because their water supply had been cut off.

Many of the captured crusaders were forced to convert to Islam and those who didn’t, were killed. Meanwhile Peter the Hermit had gone back to Constantinople on the pretense of getting more supplies but he never returned. The rest, led by Geoffrey Burel insisted in pressing on. As they neared a narrow valley passageway, the Turks who had been lying in wait, pounced. Most were slaughtered.

And all that happened because no one cared to wait for the real Crusade from arriving.