Battle of al-Buqaia
| Battle of al-Buqaia | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Crusades | |||||||
 Battle of al-Buqaia, miniature by Jean Colombe from Sébastien Mamerot's book "Passages d'outremer" (1474) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Kingdom of Jerusalem Byzantine Empire Principality of Antioch County of Tripoli |
Zengids | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Raymond III of Tripoli Hugh VIII of Lusignan |
Nur ad-Din Zangi | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
In the Battle of al-Buqaia in 1163, the Crusaders and their allies inflicted a rare defeat on
King Amalric I led the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, together with contingents from the northern Latin states, a substantial body of pilgrims who had just arrived from France, and a force brought by the Byzantine governor of Cilicia
. For the Christian forces, this victory only gave a brief respite from the sustained Muslim offensive.
Background
Nur ad-Din proved to be one of the most dangerous enemies the Frankish kingdom had ever faced. Starting out as Emir of Aleppo, he steadily increased his territory at the expense of his
Manuel I Comnenus married Maria of Antioch and this event gave Antioch a strong protector in the emperor.[2]
Both Amalric and Nur ad-Din soon became aware of the weakness of
Fatimid Egypt, whose government had fallen into a state of decay. After the assassination of Caliph al-Zafir and a series of palace coups, Shawar seized power in 1162, was soon deposed, and appealed to Nur ad-Din for help. Neither the Latin king nor the Muslim emir could afford to let the other capture the rich prize of Egypt. Accordingly, Nur ad-Din sent his lieutenant Shirkuh with an army to support the Egyptian vizier.[3]
Battle
While Shirkuh campaigned in Egypt, Nur ad-Din mounted an offensive in Lebanon. Following Latin policy, King Amalric took an army to support his northern vassals,
Konstantinos Kalamanos, the governor of Cilicia brought his Greek warriors to assist the Crusaders. Nur ad-Din was no match for such a formidable combination of enemies and his army suffered a defeat near al-Buqaia (located between Krak des Chevaliers and Beqaa Valley, in modern-day Akkar District, Lebanon).[4][5] Both Muslims and Franks were impressed by the fighting qualities of the Byzantine soldiers.[6] The negative result of al-Buqaia only made Nur ad-Din more keen for revenge.[7]
Aftermath
Believing his northern front secure, Amalric took his army to Egypt. He found himself in a
three-way contest between his Franks, Shirkuh, and Shawar, with the latter trying to maintain Egyptian independence. Amalric ousted Shirkuh from Egypt in 1164, but the king had to rapidly abandon Egypt upon the news of a great disaster in the north. The next major encounter would be the Battle of Harim
.
References
- ^ Oldenbourg 1966, pp. 353–354.
- ^ Oldenbourg 1966, pp. 358–359.
- ^ Oldenbourg 1966, p. 362.
- ^ Phillips 2019, p. 36.
- ^ Larkin 2015, p. 222.
- ^ Oldenbourg 1966, p. 363.
- ^ Smail 1995, p. 136.
Bibliography
- Larkin, Peter (2015). Richard Coer de Lyon. ISD LLC. ISBN 9781580442404.
- Oldenbourg, Zoé (1966). The Crusades. New York: Pantheon Books.
- Phillips, Jonathan (2019). The Life and Legend of the Sultan Saladin. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300247060.
- Smail, R. C. (1995). Crusading Warfare 1097-1193. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 1-56619-769-4.