Battle of Gerger

Battle of Gerger (1123)
Part of the Crusades
Location of Gerger
Date 18 April 1123 Location Gerger, Turkey Result Artuqid victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Jerusalem	Artuqids
Commanders and leaders
Baldwin II of Jerusalem  (POW)	Belek Ghazi
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Heavy	Unknown

The Battle of Gerger was a military engagement between the Latin Crusader army and the Artuqid Turks near the fortress of Gerger. The battle was a great victory for the Turks, who managed to capture King Baldwin II of Jerusalem.

Background

After the capture of Joscelin I, Count of Edessa, by Turks led by Belek Ghazi, it was a great blow to the Crusader states, though it did not affect the manpower of the Crusader states. This forced King Baldwin II of Jerusalem to take care of Edessa's administration. Luckily for the Crusaders, the Artuqid leader, Ilghazi, passed away, and his domains were inherited by his sons and nephews. Belek inherited the north and took Harran in the south. Baldwin decided to take advantage of his death. He first went to Edessa and placed Geoffrey the Monk as the governor until Joscelin was freed. He then decided to face Belek in order to free Joscelin. ^{[1] [2]}

Battle

In the spring of 1123, Belek was besieging the fortress of Gerger which belonged to Edessa. Baldwin assembled his army against him. Hearing of this approach, Belek abandoned the siege temporarily to meet the Crusaders since his forces were already pillaging the surroundings. Baldwin encamped in a place called Nahr Al-Azrak in the Euphrates, not far from Gerger. As Baldwin was unaware of Belek's forces being nearby. The Turks lured the Crusaders into an ambush and hurled the Crusaders with their main forces. The majority of the Crusaders were massacred, and Baldwin fell prisoner to the Turks. The battle happened on April 18. Gerger soon fell afterwards. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Aftermath

Once again Baldwin and Joscelin found themselves prisoners who both fell in 1104. The capture of Baldwin was a serious issue for the Crusader states, which deprived them of a capable leader. Belek, despite achieving a great victory, used it to expand his domains in Aleppo rather than destroy the Crusader states. ^[6] Baldwin joined Joscelin in Harpoot. On May 1123, a group of Armenians sneaked into Harpoot and managed to liberate the prisoners. Joscelin was able to escape, ^{[7] [8]} but Baldwin was besieged by the Turks and remained a prisoner until he was ransomed in June 1124. ^[9]

References

1. Steven Runciman, p. 161-162
2. Kenneth Meyer Setton, p. 418-419
3. Steven Runciman, p. 162
4. Kenneth Meyer Setton, p. 419
5. Spencer C. Tucker
6. Steven Runciman, p. 162-163
7. Kenneth Meyer Setton, p. 419-420
8. Spencer C. Tucker
9. Steven Runciman, p. 162-171

Sources

• Steven Runciman (1987), A History of the Crusades, Vol II.
• Spencer C. Tucker (2019), Middle East Conflicts from Ancient Egypt to the 21st Century, An Encyclopedia and Document Collection [4 Volumes].
• Kenneth Meyer Setton (2016), A History of the Crusades, Volume 1, The First Hundred Years.