The History of the Crusades (vol. 1 of 3)Michaud, J. Fr. (Joseph Fr.)
History
The History of the Crusades (vol. 1 of 3)
Michaud, J. Fr. (Joseph Fr.)
Crusades
At this moment, say the historians, a squadron was seen to descend
from the summit of the mountains, preceded by three horsemen clothed
in white and covered with shining armour. “Behold!” cried Bishop
Adhemar,[128] “the heavenly succour which was promised to you. Heaven
declares for the Christians; the holy martyrs George, Demetrius, and
Theodore come to fight for you.” Immediately all eyes were turned
towards the celestial legion. A new ardour inspired the Christians,
who were persuaded that God himself was coming to their aid, and the
war-cry “_It is the will of God!_” was heard as at the beginning of the
battle. The women and children who had remained in Antioch, and were
collected on the walls, animated the courage of the Crusaders by their
cries and acclamations, whilst the priests continued to raise their
hands towards heaven, and returned thanks to God by songs of praise
and thanksgiving for the succour he had sent to the Christians. Of the
Crusaders themselves each man became a hero, and nothing could stand
before their impetuous charge. In a moment the ranks of the Saracens
were everywhere broken, and they only fought in confusion and disorder.
They endeavoured to rally on the other side of a torrent and upon an
elevated point whence their trumpets and clarions resounded; but the
count de Vermandois attacked them in this last post and completely
routed them. They had now no safety but in flight, and the banks of the
Orontes, the woods, the plains, the mountains were covered with the
fugitives, who abandoned both their arms and their baggage.
Kerboghâ, who had been so certain of victory as to have announced the
defeat of the Christians to the caliph of Bagdad and the sultan of
Persia, fled towards the Euphrates, escorted by a small body of his
most faithful soldiers. Several of the emirs had taken to flight before
the end of the battle. Tancred and some others, mounted on the horses
of the conquered enemy, pursued till nightfall the sultans of Aleppo
and Damascus, the emir of Jerusalem, and the scattered wreck of the
Saracen army. The conquerors set fire to the intrenchments behind which
the enemy’s infantry had sought refuge, and a vast number of Mussulmans
perished in the flames.
According to the account of several contemporary historians, the
infidels left a hundred thousand dead on the field of battle. Four
thousand Crusaders lost their lives on this glorious day, and were
placed among the ranks of the martyrs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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