My first crusade, I thought it would only take the complete army two months to reach the Holy Land but unfortunately, I found that it was much more lengthy since many cities and forts had to be besieged first. In fact it took two years for us to reach the Holy Land and in the way Nicaea, capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, was besieged and finally captured.
After many battles including the Battle of Darylaeum our army reached Jerusalem on May 7, 1099. Due to the lack of water in Jerusalem's surroundings, many soldiers died. A close estimate reveals that out of the 7,500 Knights who marched to Jerusalem, only 1,500 of us survived.
Good old Peter Desiderius had a divine vision in which he swore that provided the Crusader army starved and marched around Jerusalem, the city would fall within 9 days. Such was the enthusiasm for this that many siege weapons were built, although I had some serious reservations. Then Oh, deep joy we marched around the city and on the seventh day, we finally entered Jerusalem killing everyone in our path.
Everyone was massacred including children and women. There was so much blood on the street that it reached our ankles. Horrific scenes that haunt me constantly many years on, so much pain and suffering on all sides and for what?
