June 7, 1099

Siege of Jerusalem (1099)

Crusaders arrive at Jerusalem and begin the siege

The army reached the object of a three-year expedition and found a countryside with little water and little usable timber.

7 June 1099, three sides of a city

The First Crusade's surviving armies reached Jerusalem on 7 June 1099 and began to besiege it. The city was Fatimid-held — not Seljuq.

They deployed on the accessible northern, western and southern sides. The steep Kidron Valley made comparable investment from the east impractical.

The first camp map

The Gesta Francorum places Robert of Normandy in the north near the church of St Stephen, Robert of Flanders beside him, Godfrey of Bouillon and Tancred to the west, and Raymond of Saint-Gilles to the south near Mount Zion.

A participant account says the defenders came out against the approaching vanguard, badly wounded the horses, killed three or four crusaders and wounded many more.

Nothing settled by nightfall

Jerusalem remained under Iftikhar al-Dawla's control that evening. No reliable near-contemporary account supports the claim that he offered a peace agreement on 7 June and was refused.

The besiegers had established camps and siege lines, but faced strong walls, scarce water and a shortage of nearby construction timber.

The city fell on 15 July, five and a half weeks later.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 7 sources 2 audit passes

How this was checked

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What the sources leave uncertain

The anonymous Gesta Francorum gives a Roman-calendar formula that appears literally to indicate 6 June, but the modern Dickinson commentary identifies the intended historical date as 7 June.
The exact evolution of the camps during the first days varies among participant narratives; Raymond’s force subsequently shifted its position around Mount Zion.
Earlier negotiations occurred between crusader and Fatimid representatives, but no consulted primary or scholarly source places a personal peace offer from Iftikhar on 7 June.