the most horrifying siege in history? siege of Antioch 1097/8

[0:00]So one of the most horrific sieges ever in the history of ever has to have been the siege of Antioch during the first crusade which had the full horrors of medieval warfare on display. And it even had the crusaders eating their own shit, so you know it's going to be good. Situated on route to their ultimate target of Jerusalem, conquering Antioch would have been absolutely huge religiously and strategically for the first crusaders. But the fortifications of Antioch were beastly and they wouldn't go down with just a little tickle. It was situated between two mountains and a river, had over three miles of wall, six gateways, over 400 towers and probably some ditches as well, because everyone loves bitches. One crusader said it was impregnable, but the crusaders were notorious bare backers, and they were about to give Antioch the night of its life. But their army, which consisted of 20 to 40,000, could only blockade three of the gateways, and the garrison of 5,000 could still be supplied. With the crusaders deciding an assault was fruitless, and it was best to starve the city out. The crusaders wasted no time in psychological warfare, as after skirmishes, they paraded the heads of the Muslim dead on spears for the whole city to see. And upon finding out the defenders buried some of their dead outside the city, the crusaders then dug them up and paraded their heads as well. And in response, many of the non-Muslims inside the city were massacred, and an exchange of heads was given via siege equipment. As winter set in, starvation and the elements caused the crusaders problems, they had to eat dogs, rats, cats, their own horses, and even grains found in their own shit, with a fifth of their army perishing. Spring did bring fresh supplies and reinforcements, and even beating off a few small Muslim forces. But the crusaders must have been peeing their pants upon hearing the news that an army double their size was only a week away to relieve Antioch. However, as it turns out, one of the crusader commanders had made contact with someone inside the city, who had turned a blind eye as they scaled the walls and then opened the gates to the entire crusader army. Months of pent-up crusader anger was unleashed inside the city sparing no one. However, their victory was short-lived, as the following day, the Muslim relief force arrived. The crusaders were in a much worse position than the previous garrison, as the city had been bled dry of resources, and the Muslims still held the citadel, meaning they were now surrounded. Lasting from dusk till dawn, wave after wave of Muslim assault had to be beaten off in some of the deadliest fighting the crusaders had ever experienced, not even getting a break for refreshment. But a blessing from the Almighty magically appeared, the crusaders had supposedly dug up a piece of a lance which pierced Jesus on the cross, showing that God was still on the crusader's side. But a piece of wood can't feed an army or kill 40,000 Muslims, and the crusaders sued for peace and safe passage. Their response was, fight your way out. The crusader last hurrah would be on donkeys, as they'd run out of horses, and the Muslim leader wants to lure them all out before striking his final blow. But he lost his cool and launched a chaotic advance. Crusader casualties were mounting, but they had nothing to retreat to. On the other hand, the Muslims growing uneasy that they couldn't break, they already practically defeated foe, thought, fuck that, and ran, despite numerical superiority. Against all odds, the crusaders had done it as they regrouped and marched onto their final goal of Jerusalem.