Battle of Ascalon

Belligerents CrusadersFatimid CaliphateCommanders and leadersGodfrey of Bouillon
Raymond IV of Toulouse
Robert II of Normandy
Robert II of Flanders
Eustace III of Boulogne
Tancred of Hauteville
Gaston IV of BéarnAl-Afdal ShahanshahStrengthCasualties and losses Light Heavy; most of the army
12,700 (contemporary Muslim sources)

The Battle of Ascalon took place on 12 August 1099 shortly after the capture of Jerusalem. Often considered the last action of the First Crusade, the Crusader army led by Godfrey of Bouillon defeated and drove off a Fatimid army of Egypt.

The Crusaders completed their primary objective of capturing Jerusalem on 15 July 1099. In early August, they learned of the approach of a 20,000-strong Fatimid army under vizieral-Afdal Shahanshah. Under Godfrey's command the 10,200-strong Crusader army took the offensive, leaving Jerusalem on 10 August to protect the newly established Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Crusaders marched barefoot, carrying the relic of the True Cross with them, accompanied by patriarch Arnulf of Chocques. The army marched south from Jerusalem, approaching the vicinity of Ascalon on 11 August and capturing Egyptian spies who revealed al-Afdal's dispositions and strength. (The distance from Jerusalem to Ascalon is about 77 km (48 mi)).

At dawn on 12 August, the Crusader army launched a surprise attack on the Fatimid army still sleeping in its camp outside the defensive walls of Ascalon. The Egyptians had failed to post enough guards, leaving only a part of their army capable of fighting. The Crusaders quickly defeated the half-ready Fatimid infantry, while the Fatimid cavalry had little contribution in the fighting. The battle ended in less than an hour. The Crusader knights reached the center of the camp, capturing the vizier's standard and personal baggage, including his sword. Some Egyptians fled into the trees and were killed by Crusader arrows and lances, while others begged for mercy at the Crusaders' feet and were butchered en masse. The terrified vizier fled by ship to Egypt, leaving the Crusaders to kill any survivors and gather up a vast amount of loot. Contemporary historian Ibn al-Qalanisi estimates 12,700 Fatimid dead and mentions that all Muslims with the means to do so chose to emigrate.

The first Muslim attempt to recapture Jerusalem ended in complete defeat, but Godfrey failed to exploit the victory and take Ascalon, whose Fatimid garrison was willing to surrender only to Raymond of Toulouse, a condition Godfrey would not accept. The Fatimid base in Ascalon remained a thorn in the side of the Kingdom of Jerusalem until the siege of Ascalon of 1153.