Siege of Tripoli
| Siege of Tripoli | |||||||||
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| Part of Aftermath of the First Crusade | |||||||||
.jpg) Fakhr al-Mulk ibn-Ammar submitting to Bertrand of Toulouse, 1842 painting by Charles-Alexandre Debacq |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Kingdom of Jerusalem Principality of Antioch County of Edessa County of Toulouse County of Cerdanya Republic of Genoa
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 Seljuk Turks Fatimid Caliphate (from 1108)
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Raymond IV of Toulouse† William II of Cerdanya Bertrand of Toulouse Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin II of Edessa Tancred of Galilee |
Fakhr al-Mulk ibn-Ammar | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown number of Crusaders Large Genoese fleet |
Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
The Siege of Tripoli lasted from 1102 until July 12, 1109. It took place on the site of the present day Lebanese city of Tripoli, in the aftermath of the First Crusade. It led to the establishment of the fourth crusader state, the County of Tripoli.
After the capture of Antioch (June 1098) and the destruction of Ma'arrat al-Numan (January 13, 1099), the Syrian emirs were terrified of the advancing crusaders and quickly handed over their cities to the Franks. On January 14, Sultan ibn Munqidh, emir of Shaizar, dispatched an embassy to Raymond IV of Toulouse, one of the leaders of the crusade, to offer provisions and food for men and horses, as well as guides to Jerusalem. In February, the emir of Homs, Janah ad-Dawla, who had fought bravely at the siege of Antioch, offered horses to Raymond. The qadi of Tripoli, Jalal al-Mulk, from the Banu Ammar, sent rich gifts and invited the Franks to send an embassy to his city. The ambassadors marvelled at the splendors of the city, and an alliance was concluded. The crusades moved on to Arqa, which they besieged from February 14 to May 13, before continuing south to Jerusalem; they did not attack Tripoli or any other possessions of the Banu Ammar.
The Siege of Jerusalem was a success and led to the foundation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Most crusaders returned home afterwards; a second movement set out, encouraged by the success of the First Crusade, but it was mostly annihilated by the Seljuk Turks in Anatolia. Raymond participated in this crusade as well, and returned to Syria after escaping from his defeat at the hands of Kilij Arslan I in Anatolia. He had with him only three hundred men. Fakhr al-Mulk, qadi of Tripoli, was not as accommodating to Raymond as his predecessor had been, and called for assistance from Duqaq of Damascus and the governor of Homs. However, the troops from Damascus and Homs defected once they reached Tripoli, and the qadi was defeated at the beginning of April, losing seven thousand men. Raymond could not take Tripoli itself, but captured Tortosa, which became the base of all future operations against Tripoli.
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