The fall of Xerigordos demonstrated the vulnerability of disorganized Crusader forces and foreshadowed the destruction of the People's Crusade in Anatolia.
Key Facts
- Crusader force size
- 6,000 Germans
- Duration of siege
- 8 days
- Date of surrender
- September 29, 1096
- Distance from Nicaea
- ~4 days' march
- Crusader commander
- Rainald of Broyes
- Turkish commander
- Elchanes, general of Kilij Arslan
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A raiding party of roughly 6,000 Germans from the People's Crusade, led by Rainald of Broyes, sought to establish a pillaging outpost near Nicaea. They seized the Turkish fort of Xerigordos, approximately four days' march from Nicaea, provoking a Turkish military response under Elchanes, a general of Seljuk Sultan Kilij Arslan.
Elchanes arrived three days after the Crusaders took Xerigordos and laid siege to the fort. The defenders were cut off from any water supply and endured eight days of severe deprivation before capitulating on September 29, 1096, having been unable to break or outlast the Turkish encirclement.
Upon surrender, the Crusader garrison was given an ultimatum: convert to Islam or face death. Some accepted conversion; those who refused were killed. The defeat eliminated a significant portion of the People's Crusade's forces and signaled that poorly organized Crusader contingents could not withstand disciplined Seljuk opposition in Anatolia.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Rainald of Broyes.
Side B
1 belligerent
Elchanes.