The siege of Sidon was an event in the aftermath of the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ...

. The coastal city of

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

was captured by the forces of

Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I, also known as Baldwin of Boulogne (1060s – 2April 1118), was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100, and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lor ...

and

Sigurd I of Norway Sigurd Magnusson (1089 – 26 March 1130), also known as Sigurd the Crusader (Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Jórsalafari'', Norwegian: ''Sigurd Jorsalfar''), was King of Norway (being Sigurd I) from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his half-broth ...

, with assistance from the

Ordelafo Faliero Ordelafo Faliero de Doni (or Dodoni) (died 1117 in Zadar, Kingdom of Hungary) was the 34th Doge of Venice. Biography He was the son of the 32nd Doge, Vitale Faliero de' Doni. He was a member of the Minor Council (''minor consiglio''), an asse ...

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 ...

Background

In August 1108, Baldwin I marched out against Sidon, with the support of a squadron of sailor-adventurers from various Italian cities. However, the Egyptian fleet defeated the Italians in a sea-battle outside the harbour. Upon the arrival of additional Turkish horsemen from

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, Baldwin decided to lift the siege. In the summer of 1110, a Norwegian fleet of 60 ships arrived in the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...

under the command of King Sigurd. Arriving in

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

he was received by Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem. Together they made a journey to the river

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, after which Baldwin asked for help in capturing Muslim-held ports on the coast. Sigurd's answer was that "they had come for the purpose of devoting themselves to the service of Christ", and accompanied him to take the city of Sidon, which had been re-fortified by the

Fatimids The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the ea ...

in 1098.

The siege

Baldwin's army besieged the city by land, while the Norwegians came by sea. A naval force was needed to prevent assistance from the

Fatimid fleet The navy of the Fatimid Caliphate was one of the most developed early Muslim navies and a major military force in the central and eastern Mediterranean in the 10th–12th centuries. As with the dynasty it served, its history can be distinguished ...

at Tyre. Repelling it was however only made possible with the fortunate arrival of a Venetian fleet. The city fell after 47 days. The Icelandic

skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditional ...

Einarr Skúlason Einarr Skúlason (ca. 1100 – after 1159) was an Icelandic priest and skald. He was the most prominent Norse poet of the 12th century. Einarr's poetry is primarily preserved in ''Heimskringla'', ''Flateyjarbók'', ''Morkinskinna'', ''Fagrski ...

gives the following account.

Aftermath

When the city surrendered, King Baldwin gave the same terms of surrender he had previously given to Arsuf and

. He allowed safe conduct of passage for those leaving and even allowed some members of the Muslim populace to remain in peace.''The Crusades'' by

Thomas Asbridge Thomas Scott Asbridge (born 1969) is a historian at Queen Mary University of London, a position he has held since 1999. He is the author of ''The First Crusade: A New History'' (2004), a book which describes the background, events, and consequences ...

, p. 125 By order of Baldwin and the Patriarch of Jerusalem,

Ghibbelin of Arles Ghibbelin of Sabran (also spelled Gibelin) ( 1045 – 1112) was Archbishop of Arles (1080–1112), papal legate (1107–1108), and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem (1108–1112). Biography Ghibbelin was named Archbishop of Arles at the Council of Av ...

, a splinter was taken off the holy cross and given to Sigurd. The

Lordship of Sidon The Lordship of Sidon (french: Saete/Sagette), (Later County of Sidon) was one of the four major fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem,According to the 13th-century writer John of Ibelin one of the Crusader States. However, in reality, it appears ...

was created and given to

Eustace Grenier Eustace I Granier, also known as Eustace Grenier or Eustace Garnier, called in Latin ''Eustachius Granarius'' in the charters (born around 1070 and died on 15 June 1123), was a Flemish crusader who took part in the First Crusade. He became lord ...

, later a constable of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Notes

References

Sources

Battles and sieges, Tony JaquesThe Crusades and the expansion of Catholic Christendom, 1000–1714, John FranceThe Second Crusade, Jonathan PhillipsThe chronicle of Ibn al-Athīr for the crusading period from al-Kāmil fīʼl-taʼrīkh, ʻIzz al-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr and Donald Sidney
{{coord missing, Lebanon Norwegian Crusade Battles involving Norway

Sidon District 1110s in the Kingdom of Jerusalem

1110 in Asia