Chapter 111: Siege of Damascus
Damascus – July 22, 1180
Baldwin IV’s Camp, Outside the Eastern Walls of Damascus
The morning sun had scarcely climbed over the jagged hills when Baldwin stepped out from his pavilion, the crisp mountain air heavy with silence. Before him lay the vast plain leading to the eastern walls of Damascus—a city of white stone and green groves, now girded for war. The towers and ramparts glittered in the sunlight like a holy city, but behind those serene walls, he knew, bristled soldiers ready to kill.
Baldwin leaned on his staff, wrapped in black velvet, his gloved right hand tight on the handle. The pain in his legs had returned, a deep ache from days on the move, but he did not let it show. His face was pale, and under his golden crown, sweat glistened on his brow. Behind him stood Balian d’Ibelin, Raymond of Tiberias, and Guy de Lusignan, awaiting orders.
"Are the engines in place?" Baldwin asked, his voice calm, level.
"They are, Your Majesty," Balian said. "Four trebuchets on the eastern ridge. Mangonels and bolt-throwers being pulled into position below the olive terraces. Engineers say they’ll begin the bombardment by midday."
Baldwin nodded. "Then we begin today. Send word to the other divisions. I want the northern heights to harass the walls and draw defenders that way."
Raymond stepped forward, a rolled map in hand. "If we hit them hard enough on the eastern wall, we might crack one of the outer towers by the week’s end. But these walls are thick and well maintained—Hellenistic foundations, Saracen masonry on top."
"They’ll hold unless we apply steady pressure," Baldwin said, eyeing the city as if peering into its soul. "Then one night, they will crack like ice underfoot."
The king’s gaze swept across his army—a host of nearly 27,000 men arrayed in encampments and forward lines. The flags of Jerusalem, Tripoli, and Antioch fluttered together for the first time in decades. Infantry companies carried bundles of logs and stone, digging trenches and creating forward platforms for the war machines.
A Hospitaller knight rode up, his armor dusty and dented. "Sire, the Archbishop has finished the blessing of the siege engines. Shall we proceed?"
Baldwin nodded once. "Let the hammers fall."