Princes' Crusade departs Europe
August 15, 1096
The main Crusader columns under Godfrey of Bouillon, Raymond of Toulouse, Hugh of Vermandois, and Bohemond of Taranto set out for Constantinople by different routes. Between them they probably commanded fifty to a hundred thousand fighters and camp followers, one of the largest Western expeditions since Roman times. Emperor Alexios I watched their arrival with equal measures of hope and alarm, extracting oaths of fealty before allowing them passage.
In context
Also in 1096 (3 other events on record)
- Rhineland massacres begin · Europe · Religion
- People's Crusade destroyed at Civetot · Middle East · War
- People's Crusade sets out · Europe · Religion
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in War
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.