Siege of Edessa - Aftermath

Aftermath

In January 1145 Zengi captured Saruj and besieged Birejik, but the army of Jerusalem had finally arrived and joined with Joscelin. Zengi also heard of trouble in Mosul, and rushed back to take control. There, he was praised throughout Islam as "defender of the faith" and al-Malik al-Mansur, the victorious king. He did not pursue an attack on the remaining territory of Edessa, or the Principality of Antioch, as was feared. Joscelin II continued to rule the remnants of the county to the west of the Euphrates from Turbessel, but little by little the rest of the territory was captured by the Muslims or sold to the Byzantines.

Zengi was assassinated by a slave in 1146 while besieging Qalat Jabar, and was succeeded in Aleppo by his son Nur ad-Din. Joscelin attempted to take back Edessa following Zengi's murder, and recaptured all but the citadel in October 1146. However, he had no help from the other crusader states, and his poorly planned expedition was driven out of Edessa by Nur ad-Din in November. Joscelin, fearing for the safety of the city's Christian Armenians, attempted to break a hole in Nur ad-Din's forces through which the natives could flee to safety. However, Joscelin's attempt failed and the his fears came true when Nur al-Din's troops massacred the fleeing Armenians and forced the survivors into slavery.

By this time, news of the fall of Edessa reached Europe, and Raymond of Antioch had already sent a delegation including Hugh, Bishop of Jabala, to seek aid from Pope Eugene III. On December 1, 1145 Eugene issued the papal bull Quantum praedecessores calling for the Second Crusade. This crusade was led by Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, but by 1148 it had ended in disaster, and Edessa was never recovered.