View source for Battle of Azaz (1125)

{{short description|Crusaders battle in 1125}}
{{more citations|date=April 2018}}
{{For|other battles with this name|Battle of Azaz (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of Azaz
| image             = Coin Baldwin2.jpg
| caption           = Coin depicting [[Baldwin II of Jerusalem]]
| partof            = the [[Crusade]]s
| date              = June 11, 1125
| place             = [[Azaz]], [[Seljuk Empire]] (modern [[Syria]])
| result            = [[Crusades|Crusader]] victory
| combatant1        = {{flag|Kingdom of Jerusalem}}<br>{{flag|Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia}}<br>[[Principality of Antioch]]<br>[[County of Edessa]]<br>[[County of Tripoli]]
| combatant2        = [[Seljuk Turks]]<br>[[Artuqids]]<br>[[Burid dynasty]]
| commander1        = {{flagicon|Kingdom of Jerusalem}} '''[[Baldwin II of Jerusalem]]'''<br>{{flagicon|Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia}} '''[[Leo I, Prince of Armenia|Leo I of Armenia]]'''<br>[[Joscelin I of Edessa]]<br> [[Pons of Tripoli]]
| commander2        = [[Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi|Aq-Sunqur il-Bursuqi]]<br> [[Toghtekin]]
| strength1         = 3,100
----1,100 knights<br/>2,000 infantry
| strength2         = 15,000
| casualties1       = 20 including 5 knights<ref>Fulcher of Chartres, p.281</ref>
| casualties2       = 1,000–5,015 killed
}}
{{Campaignbox Crusades Battles}}
{{Campaignbox Cilician Armenia Wars}}
The '''Battle of Azaz''' was a battle fought between king [[Baldwin II of Jerusalem|Baldwin II]]'s [[Crusader States|crusader forces]] and the [[Muslims]], led by [[Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi|Aq-Sunqur al-Bursuqi]], the [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuq]] [[atabeg of Mosul]] on 11 June 1125. Being one of the bloodiest confrontations before the [[Second Crusade]], the battle resulted in a decisive victory for the Crusaders, causing disturbances of power in the [[Levant]] and weakened Seljuk domination in the area. Contemporary chronicler [[Matthew of Edessa]] even states that the remnants of al-Bursuqi's army were chased all the way to [[Aleppo]]. The battle effectively lifted the [[siege]] of the [[town]] of [[Azaz]] and prevented it from falling to Turkoman hands. (One authority says the battle was fought on June 13.<ref>{{Harvnb|Smail|1995|p=182}}</ref>)

==Background==
[[Joscelin I of Edessa]] had captured [[Azaz]] in northern [[Syria]] from the [[atabeg]] of [[Halab|Aleppo]] in 1118. The next year the [[Crusade]]rs under [[Roger of Salerno]] were severely defeated at the [[Battle of Ager Sanguinis]], and King [[Baldwin II of Jerusalem]] was captured while patrolling in [[County of Edessa|Edessa]] in 1123.

==Prelude==
In 1124 Baldwin II was released, and almost immediately he laid [[Siege of Aleppo (1124)|siege to Aleppo]] on October 8, 1124. This caught the attention of al-Bursuqi, the Seljuk atabeg of [[Mosul]]. Al-Bursuqi marched south to relieve the siege of Aleppo, which was nearing the point of surrender in January 1125 after a three-month siege. In spite of the city being "the greatest prize the war could offer",<ref>{{Harvnb|Smail|1995|p=30}}</ref> Baldwin cautiously withdrew without a fight.

==Battle==
Later, al-Bursuqi (who had received troops also by [[Toghtekin]] of Damascus) besieged the town of Azaz, to the north of Aleppo, in territory belonging to the [[County of Edessa]].{{sfn|Ibn al-Athir|2010|p=258}} Baldwin II, [[Leo I, Prince of Armenia|Leo I]] of [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia|Armenia]], Joscelin I, and [[Pons of Tripoli]], with a force of 1,100 [[knight]]s from their respective territories (including knights from [[Principality of Antioch|Antioch]], where Baldwin was regent), as well as 2,000 [[infantry]], met al-Bursuqi outside Azaz, where the Seljuk atabeg had gathered his much larger force.{{sfn|Verbruggen|1997|p=6}}{{sfn|Ibn al-Athir|2010|p=258}} Baldwin [[feigned retreat|pretended to retreat]], thereby drawing the Seljuks away from Azaz into the open where they were surrounded. After a long and bloody battle, the Seljuks were defeated and their camp captured by Baldwin, who took enough [[looting|loot]] to [[ransom]] the prisoners taken by the Seljuks (including the future [[Joscelin II of Edessa]]).{{sfn|Ibn al-Athir|2010|p=258}}

===Casualties===
The number of Muslim troops killed was more than 1,000, according to [[Ibn al-Athir]].{{sfn|Ibn al-Athir|2010|p=258}} [[William of Tyre]] gave 24 dead for the Crusaders and 2,000 for the Muslims. [[Fulcher of Chartres]] suggested 5 [[emir]]s and 2,000 soldiers dead, while [[Matthew of Edessa]] estimated 15 emirs and 5,000 troops killed.{{cn|date=May 2020}}

==Aftermath==
Al-Bursuqi retired to Aleppo, leaving his son Masud as governor and crossed the [[Euphrates]] to [[Mosul]], where he gathered troops to renew the fight.{{sfn|Ibn al-Athir|2010|p=258}} Apart from relieving Azaz, this victory allowed the Crusaders to regain much of the influence they had lost after their defeat at Ager Sanguinis in 1119. Baldwin planned to attack Aleppo as well, but Antioch, which passed to [[Bohemund II of Antioch|Bohemund II]] when he came of age in 1126, ceased cooperating with Edessa and the plan fell through. Aleppo and Mosul were united under the much stronger ruler [[Imad ad-Din Zengi|Zengi]] in 1128, and Crusader control of northern Syria began to weaken.

==Citations==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Ibn al-Athir |first=Ibn |translator-last=Richards|translator-first=D.S.|title=The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period from al-Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh. Parts 1-3 |year=2010 |publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]] |location=[[Farnham]] |isbn=978-0754669395}}
*{{citation |last=Smail |first=R. C. |title=Crusading Warfare 1097-1193 |year=1995 |orig-year=1956 |publisher=Barnes & Noble Books |location=New York |isbn=1-56619-769-4 }}
* {{cite book |last=Verbruggen |first=J.F. |translator-last=Willard|translator-first=S.|title=De Krijgskunst in West-Europa in de Middeleeuwen, IXe tot begin XIVe eeuw |trans-title=The Art of Warfare in Western Europe During the Middle Ages: From the Eighth Century to 1340 |orig-year=1954 |year=1997 |publisher=[[Boydell Press]] |edition=2nd |location=[[Suffolk]] |isbn=0 85115 630 4}}
{{Refend}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Azaz, Battle of}}
[[Category:Battles involving the Seljuk Empire]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1125]]
[[Category:12th century in the Seljuk Empire]]
[[Category:1125 in Asia]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Principality of Antioch|Azaz]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia|Azaz]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Kingdom of Jerusalem|Azaz]]
[[Category:1120s in the Kingdom of Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Battles involving the County of Tripoli]]
[[Category:Battles involving the County of Edessa]]