Today in Military History: May 29, 1123:Battle of Yibneh: Crusader Army Defeats Fatimid Egyptian Invasion

 by Siggurdsson

 

 

Secton of tapestry showing a clash of Muslim and Christian armies
Artist unknown, location unknown
Image courtesty of http://theculturetrip.com
(Unless otherwise indicated, all illustrations are courtesy of Wikipedia)

Today spotlight conflict involves the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. Although it was the culmination of a major Muslim invasion of Frankish territory, the battle itself is only briefly addressed in most histories of the Crusades.

Background

Southern & Central area of Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, c 1125
[Town of Yibneh located between Ascalon and Jaffa on Mediterranean coast]
Map courtesy of http://medievalcoins.ancients.info/crusaders/Map_Jerusalem.JPG

It was less than 25 years since the Western Crusaders [often called simply “Franks” by the Muslim chroniclers] had carved out European-style kingdoms in the Levant – modern-day Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria – during the First Crusade. Almost immediately after the surrender of Jerusalem in July of 1099, the Muslim rulers of Syria and Egypt began attacks upon the Franks, seeking to recover territory they had ruled for over 300 years, territory which they took from the East Romans (Byzantines). An Egyptian invasion launched within weeks of the capture of the Holy City was stopped at the battle of Ascalon. [Readers interested in that particular battle should see my Burnpit post from August of 2011: battle_of_ ascalon.]

The fortress city of Ascalon remained in Fatimid hands for some time after the Crusaders won the Holy Land. Between 1099 and 1107, the Egyptians mounted annual invasions of Palestine. Three major battles were fought at the nearby town of Ramla in 1101, 1102, and 1105 (the Franks winning the first and third battles). After the 3rd battle of Ramla, the Fatimid vizier al-Afdal Shahanshah decided to concentrate on large-scale raids rather than expensive invasions, using the fortress city of Ascalon as the base of operations.

Al-Afdal ruled as vizier of Egypt until 1121, when he was assassinated with the connivance of the Fatimid caliph, who chaffed under rule of this vizier. Two years later, the new vizier al-Ma’mum organized a large-scale invasion of the Frankish kingdom. The target of the invasion was the port city of Jaffa.

Fatimid Egyptian Army

The Egyptian army of this time period consisted of three primary parts: a) trained Egyptian, Arab, or Berber heavy cavalry equipped similar to the Frankish knights; b) not-so-well training Arab or Berber light cavalry that fought with swords and lances, similar to the Frankish men-at-arms or sergeants; and c) large numbers of foot archers, mostly recruited from Sudan (though the sources call them “Aethiopes” or Ethiopians). Ocassionally, the Fatimid armies included small numbers of spearmen, as well as javelin-wielding footmen. There is no indication in the sources for this battle that any spearmen or javelineers were present.

Bedouin light cavalry
Image courtesy of https://www.perry-miniatures.com

In battle, the Egyptian army would form the foot archers into a large central block, with the heavy and light cavalry on either wing. The archers would shower the enemy army withCLOUDS of arrows, hoping to disrupt their formations, or to wound or kill the horses of the enemy cavalry.Then, the Fatimid horsemen would charge the Franks, seeking to drive them from the field, then attack the isolated Frankish infantry.

Kingdom of Jerusalam Army

The Frankish kingdom of Jerusalem was organized like a European principality. Various lords and knights were given fiefs to support their profession of arms. The King of Jerusalem could call upon several hundred knights to defend the Christian kingdom. Each knight usually brought with him a number of sergeants (mounted men-at-arms), as well as commoners who usually served as spearmen, archers, or crossbowmen. By 1123, there were also a number of soldiers-for-hire (mercenaries) who helped to fill out a Frankish army.

Frankish knights, lances couched, charging
Image courtesy of https://www.perry-miniatures.com

Most Latin armies lined up with the spearmen and other footmen in the front rank, with archers and crossbowmen just behind. After an opening barrage of missiles, the European infantry would open their ranks and allow the Frankish horsemen to charge the enemy. Should the Frankish cavalry be driven back, they would retire behind their infantry to re-order for further attacks. In addition, the Latin armies usually had units of turcopoles, native horsemen who provided missile support (either bow or javelin) to harass the non-European enemy. They were usually stationed in front of the infantry, or on the flanks.

 [During the later Crusades, the backbone of most Latin armies were the military brotherhoods, i.e., the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller. Both of these sects were founded around the time of this battle or shortly before, and had not gained their military reputations for which they were well known to history.]

Prelude to the Battle

The Fatimid invasion force entered Christian territory in early May, and followed an ancient road from the area of the Nile delta up the Mediterranean coast, which went through Gaza, Ascalon, and right up to Jaffa. It was not the largest army which had threatened Christian territory, but it was notable in that the last major attack had been in 1107, with only minor raids since that time. Undoubtedly, local shepherds or townspeople noted the large Egyptian force on the march, and word was sent to Jerusalem.

The regent of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was Eustace Grenier, a Flemish knight who was one of the original Crusader lords who helped found the Christian kingdom during the First Crusade. He was elected Constable of Jerusalem earlier in 1123, when King Baldwin II was captured by Turks in northern Syria. Grenier put out the call for the kingdom’s military to muster. Once the Frankish forces were gathered, they left Jerusalem in mid-May. For additional psychological support, the Constable Grenier brought the True Cross.

[I have not found any firm figures for the size of the two armies. I found one reference on the Internet to the fact that the Christian forces were outnumbered 2-1. There was another reference to the size of the armies, 16,000 Fatimids to 8000 Franks. These figures seem reasonable, considering that the Chrisian forces almost never outnumbered their Muslim opponents. I present these numbers as a likely starting point.]

Battle of Yibneh

With no firm information in most of the sources concerning this fight, it is tempting to say that the two forces met on the march, as Yibneh is a small town about mid-way between Ascalon and Jaffa. It is possible that one side or the other saw a largeCLOUD of dust in the distance, indicating that a large enemy force was seeking to intercept them. Hasty orders were given to arrange the men into a line of battle.

According to several of the Western chronicles, the battle was of very short duration. It would seem that the Christian knights barely waited for their archers and crossbowmen to fire any volleys at the Fatimids. Whether by plan or not, the Frankish knights and men-at-arms impetuously charged the enemy. Perhaps it was the sight and sound of several hundred mailed Western horsemen bearing down on them, with their long lances leveled to attack; the Fatimid horsemen lost their nerve, and en masse retreated in a panic.

Armored Frankish spearmen, attacking
Image courtesy of https://www.perry-miniatures.com

With no other enemy to attack, the Frankish cavalry turned on the unsupported Sudanese foot archers. Seeing their comrades “having all the fun,” the Frankish infantry charged forward to join the melee. In less than hour, the Fatimid archers were slaughtered. Those that were not killed ran for their lives, probably heading to the Egyptian fortress-city of Ascalon.

Aftermath

The Egyptian invasion was repelled, with high casualties – 50 percent is probably not an outrageous figure. Frankish loses were probably propotionately fewer. As a result, until the time of Saladin 50 years later, the Egyptians never again seriously threatened the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Footnote #1: In the year 1141, the Kingdom of Jerusalem decided to build a large castle near Yibneh to limit the scope of Egyptian raids into the kingdom. It was named Ibelin.

Footnote #2: Eustace Grenier, the Frankish commander, died less than a month later. He was buried in Jerusalem.

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