The Second Battle of Ramla and the Siege of Jaffa, 1102

            In 1102, only a year after being defeated by the Crusaders at the First Battle of Ramla, the Egyptian Fatimids prepared yet another major expedition against the Latin Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem. Al-Afdal, the Fatimid Vizier, once again used the frontier fortress of Ascalon to launch an army north.

            Meanwhile, King Baldwin I was in Jerusalem, still accompanied by veterans of the ill-fated Crusade of 1101, including Stephen, Count of Blois. Reports that Baldwin was receiving seemed to indicate that the Fatimid force was small, possibly only a raiding expedition. Therefore, Baldwin quickly assembled a cavalry of just a few hundred knights, electing not to include an infantry, believing that he could move quickly to intercept and destroy the Fatimid contingent. Included in Baldwin’s force was Stephen of Blois and other veterans of the Crusade of 1101.

Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem

            However, when Baldwin and his knights encountered the Fatimids, they faced an enormous army three to five thousand strong. The Fatimids quickly moved to engage the small Crusader force, and Baldwin led his men in a desperate charge in an attempt to escape. The fighting was fierce, but the outnumbered Christians were overwhelmed. Most of the knights were slain, while Baldwin and a few of his men escaped to the fortress of Ramla.

            The victorious Fatimids now closed in on Ramla’s citadel. King Baldwin, accompanied only by his knight Hugh of Brulis and a single squire, escaped by night to try and get back to the Kingdom before rumors of his death began to circulate. Afterwards, the men left inside of Ramla staged a hopeless but bold break out charge, in which they fought valiantly against the Fatimids. The Fatimids were impressed by their courage, as these men managed to slay a great number before themselves falling in battle. Among those killed was Stephen of Blois, redeeming his reputation after his flight from the Siege of Antioch during the First Crusade.

Baldwin and his knights charge the Fatimids at Ramla, 1102

            The King and his two companions made a difficult journey through the mountains, though they managed to evade detection by the Fatimid army. They arrived at Arsuf, where they were joyously welcomed by the Frankish garrison.

            Emboldened by their victory, the Fatimids laid siege to Jaffa, the port city closest to Jerusalem. The Fatimids terrified Jaffa’s citizens by parading before the walls the body of one Gerbod, a knight killed at the Battle of Ramla. Gerbod apparently resembled Baldwin, and the Fatimids tried to convince the Jaffans that this was the slain body of their King.

King Baldwin, determined to save Jaffa, enlisted the ship of an Englishman named Goderic, who broke through the Fatimid blockade and allowed the King to join his people inside of Jaffa. The Franks of Jaffa rejoiced to see their King alive and well, and joined him in planning a counterattack. Baldwin assembled a large army, including some 170 mounted knights and perhaps 500 infantry. The Crusaders attacked, and this time the Christian troops quickly broke up the Fatimid formations. The Fatimids were defeated, and Jaffa was saved. The surviving Egyptians retreated hastily to Ascalon.

The Second Battle of Ramla was a dangerous defeat for the Christians. Fulcher of Chartres, a chronicler who was close to King Baldwin and much admired him, blamed Baldwin’s own rashness for this defeat. Indeed, Baldwin’s bold, decisive leadership often served him well, but in this case Baldwin’s quickness to act resulted in disaster. The King’s miscalculation resulted in the loss of many of Jerusalem’s knights, which the Kingdom could ill afford to lose. Nevertheless, Baldwin’s energetic response to the defeat was effective, and the subsequent battle at Jaffa saw the Fatimids beaten and repulsed with heavy losses.