Book I
Chapter III – Aleppo
Part III
Tripoli – December 28, 1086
Chapter III – Aleppo
Part III
Tripoli – December 28, 1086
Jan and Raoul stood on the roof of the ruined palace. The banner of Saint George was flying over their heads, for everybody to see that the city of Tripoli now, too, had a Christian ruler. That ruler was Jan van Brederode. “It’s not a very nice sight, is it?” Raoul asked. Jan shook his head. “It looks as if the whole city is about to collapse altogether”. It would take years to rebuild the ruins. Jan wondered if it wouldn’t be easier just to leave it burning, and construct a new settlement outside the city walls. “The hospital monks believe that only less than a sixth of the population is still present. The rest perished in the fires, fighting, or through disease. Or fled to more peaceful places, of course”. “A sixth. Two thousand people. Though it will be easier to keep the peace with such a community”. Jan grinned. He wondered how his cousin Tileman was doing in Aleppo. “Oh - I forgot - Jan, but a message came from Constantinople this morning. It said an Imperial envoy is on his way to Aleppo, and he wishes to meet with you there”. “A German envoy? What would he want?” Had the Germans and Greeks reached an agreement? “I don’t know, but apparently it involved your reign over Tripoli”.
Jan and Raoul rode back to Aleppo with only a small escort. Three monks accompanied them, and eased Jan’s continuing illness. They could spare only a few in the defense and reconstruction of Tripoli, as the Fatimid Caliph was still an immediate thread, even though his lands were only limited to the south of Lebanon. They could the Khirbat Pass still free of snow, and reached Aleppo in the second week of January. Jan was glad to see the walls were still standing. A small army flying Imperial yellow and black banners was camping just outside the city wall. Could it be the Emperor had finally sent reinforcements?
“I’m glad to see the walls still stand, Tileman”, Jan said with a broad smile. “Don’t joke around, uncle. We might have had less luck if it wasn’t for this German’s army”. The Imperial envoy introduced himself as Heinrich von Wettin, son of the count of Meissen and ambassador to the Holy Roman Emperor, Heinrich IV of Franconia. “The Arabs have been restless. A few thousand have left the city since you were left, uncle. My men and I believe they might fight back, but to be honest, we have been expecting a rebellion ever since you left”. “We’ll have to wait, then”, Jan insisted, and then turned back to the German. “It has come to the Emperor’s attention that you have conquered Tripoli in the name of your lord, Dirk of Holland. The Emperor seeks to grant this city to you, but he also wishes you to stay loyal to your master”. Jan nodded. He had never had any reason to abandon Dirk, even though he questioned his motives. Besides, in his condition, he could use any allies he could get. “Therefore…” the envoy continued, “The Emperor has decided, in his endless wisdom, to bestow upon you and your heirs the title of Burgrave of Tripoli”. “Burgrave? Châtelain? But that’s a French title!” Raoul Carpanel said. “That’s right. The Emperor has created this title for this purpose, and he did indeed loan it from the Flemish nobility. But he believes that the title will be used more often in the future”, Heinrich von Wettin insisted.
This would start a whole new era for the house of Brederode, although it had not been realized to Jan as such. He and Tileman would travel to Tripoli once more. It would be the last time Jan van Brederode would see the grey walls of Aleppo. The young Tileman would be his heir. He would marry the daughter of a minor Spanish nobleman, just out of decency, as his weak health had rendered him infertile. Aleppo would fall to Leon van Rijn, once majordomo of Rijnsburg, now count Dirk’s eyes, mouth and hands in the Levant. The Emperor kept the small army and Heinrich von Wettin in Aleppo (it remained a mystery if the man was there on free will, or was in fact exiled), but apparently wouldn’t dare to send more forces to continue the Crusade.
The lack of enthusiasm for the First Crusade can be explained by two things. Primarily, the collapse of the Fatimid Caliphate in the early stage of the Crusade left the former Fatimid lands shattered into several independent emirates. This left Jerusalem under the reign of the Emir of Jerusalem, a man far more sympatric to the pilgrims, so many rulers believed there was no immediate thread to the Holy Sites. Secondly, the Investiture Controversy that was taking place during the reign of King/Emperor Heinrich IV had crippled cooperation between the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy. In effect, the Emperor (crowned by his self-appointed anti-pope, Clement III) was not in the least interested to conquer the Holy Land in the name of the Pope. He considered Dirk a renegade, but wasn’t blind to the opportunities to extend his reign further east. In the end, Heinrich IV would aid the Hungarians and Greeks in fighting the Pecheneg Turks in the Dunabe valley, but he would refuse to send any of his princes against the Arabs.
So, the first burgrave of the Holy Roman Emperor is crownedI must admit I had a bit of a problem explaining why a count would be loyal to another count. After Jan van Brederode took Tripoli, it became a new county, but remained my vassal. I guess adding the effect of burgraves (which were in fact vice-counts, or viscounts as they would later be called in England) would sort it out for this story. Furthermore I'd like to point out that Holland in the 11th century had no cities to speak of yet, and nor did the rest of the low countries (with the exception of Utrecht perhaps, and the cities of Flanders, of course) so Aleppo still looked like a very big city, even though it would have lost about half it's population by now. Edit: oh, and we'll return to Holland next time, to see how Dirk and the kids are doing
