Battle of Ba'rin

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Ba'rin


caption=
partof=the Crusades
date=1137
place=Near Hims, Syria
result=Zengid victory
combatant1=Kingdom of Jerusalem
combatant2=Zengids
commander1=King Fulk of Jerusalem
commander2=Zengi of Mosul and Aleppo
strength1=Unknown
strength2=Unknown
casualties1=Unknown, loss of castle
casualties2=Unknown
In the Battle of Ba'rin (Mont Ferrand) in 1137, a Crusader force commanded by King Fulk of Jerusalem was scattered and defeated by Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo. This setback resulted in the permanent loss of the Crusader castle of Ba'rin. [Smail, p 33]

Background

When Zengi became ruler of Mosul in 1127 and Aleppo in 1128, the Crusaders were faced with a dangerous opponent. For several years afterward, Zengi gained power at the expense of neighboring Muslim states. By occasionally allying itself with the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Muslim emirate of Damascus successfully resisted Zengi's efforts to conquer that city.

Battle

In early 1137, Zengi invested the castle of Ba'rin, about 10 miles northwest of Hims. When King Fulk marched with his host to raise the siege, his army was attacked and scattered by Zengi's forces. Nothing is known about the battle. The Christian chronicler William of Tyre "gave no tactical information, and neither did the Arab historians." [Smail, p 182]

After their defeat, Fulk and some of the survivors took refuge in Ba'rin castle, which Zengi surrounded again. "When they ran out of food they ate their horses, and then they were forced to ask for terms." [Gabrieli, p 43] Meanwhile, large numbers of Christian pilgrims had rallied to the army of Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus, Raymond of Antioch and Joscelin II of Edessa.

With this host approaching the castle, Zengi suddenly granted Fulk and the other besieged Franks terms. In return for their freedom and evacuation of the castle, a ransom was set at 50000 dinar. The Franks, unaware of the imminent arrival of the large relieving army, accepted Zengi's offer. [Gabrieli, p 43]

Aftermath

In April 1137, John Comnenus laid siege to Shaizar but his efforts came to nothing when Zengi relieved the city in May. Ba'rin was never recovered by the Franks.

References

* Gabrieli, Francesco. "Arab Historians of the Crusades." University of California Press, 1969. ISBN 0-52005-224-2
* Smail, R. C. "Crusading Warfare 1097-1193." New York: Barnes & Noble Books, (1956) 1995. ISBN 1-56619-769-4

Footnotes