The People’s Crusade departed Europe ahead of the official crusading forces sanctioned by Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095 to liberate Jerusalem from Muslim control. Led by a variety of charismatic leaders, such as the French monk Peter the Hermit, the crusaders were primarily peasants and untrained fighters, and included a number of women and children. Despite numbering in the tens of thousands, they were ill-prepared for the journey and lacked proper supplies and military discipline.
Departing in April 1096, the crusaders committed a series of enormous pogroms that massacred or forcibly converted thousands of European Jews before reaching the Byzantine Empire. Receiving a lukewarm reception from Emperor Alexios I Komnenos in his capital, Constantinople, they were quickly ferried across the Bosporus to Anatolia.
The crusaders’ presence in Turkish territory provoked the Seljuk leader Kilij Arslan I and, when they began to raid and loot villages near the city of Nicaea, the Seljuks ambushed the crusaders near the town of Civetot. The poorly equipped forces, who lacked cohesive leadership, were quickly overwhelmed by the experienced Turkish cavalry. The battle turned into a massacre, with tens of thousands of crusaders being killed. Only a small number managed to escape.
While the People’s Crusade was destroyed at Civetot, it did not deter the larger, more organized armies of the Princes’ Crusade that followed. They reached Jerusalem in June 1099 and took control of the city after a final assault on 15 July.
On the 21st October 1096, the Battle of Kivetot took place during the early stages of the First
Crusade, ending the so-called People's Crusade. Welcome to HistoryPod.
The People's Crusade departed Europe ahead of the official crusading forces sanctioned
by Pope Urban II at the capital of Clermont in 1095 with the aim of liberating Jerusalem
from Muslim control. Led by a variety of charismatic leaders such as the French monk
Peter the Hermit, the crusaders were primarily peasants and untrained fighters and included a
number of women and children. Despite numbering in the tens of thousands, they were ill-prepared
for the journey and lacked proper supplies and military discipline. Departing in April 1096,
the crusaders committed a series of enormous pogroms that massacred or forcibly converted
thousands of European Jews before they reached the Byzantine Empire. Having received a lukewarm
reception from Emperor Alexios Komnenos in his capital, Constantinople, they were quickly ferried
across the Bosporus to Anatolia. The crusaders' presence in Turkish territory provoked the Seljuk
leadership and when they began to raid and loot villages, the Seljuks ambushed the crusaders near
the town of Kivetot. The poorly equipped forces, who lacked cohesive leadership, were quickly
overwhelmed by the experienced Turkish cavalry. The battle turned into a massacre with tens of
thousands of crusaders being killed. Only a small number managed to escape, while thousands more
were taken as slaves. While the People's Crusade was destroyed at Kivetot, it did not deter the
larger and more organised armies of the Prince's Crusade that followed. They reached Jerusalem in
June 1099 and took control of the city after a final assault on the 15th of July.
