The hot summer sun bore down on the deserts of Judea. Off in the horizon, in the North, the feet of over six thousand Genovese and Aragonese soldiers kicked up waves of sand marking the arrival of the wrath of God. Directly ahead of the armies, the Holy City of Jerusalem stood, its colors flying high and proud, but hiding the evil that had plagued the city. A large group of Muslim soldiers under the employment of the heretical King of Jerusalem had formed a line a couple hundred yards from the city, but upon seeing the mass of crusaders, they quickly fled to the protection of the city. Thousands of defenders swarmed to their positions on the sacred walls, with a vain hope of protecting the city and their lives. The Crusaders marched onward and stopped at a position just out of the range of the opposing archers. From there, the siege guns poured their payload into the walls. For an hour, this barrage went on without a pause, and the walls revealed the effectiveness of the Christian guns.
After a large number of holes had been bored into the walls, the crusaders marched forward in a heap, the cavalry following behind them. The march soon became a run and the run soon became an all out charge. The armies met each other at the walls, where the forces of the heretic had set up their defenses. The following conflict raged for the next hour, and the blood poured down the remnants of the walls like rivers. The fight seemed to be turning into a stalemate, until, in the horizon, the massive Venetian army was seen marching on the city. The muslims serving under the heretical King lost heart and soon, gaps began to form in the heretic’s lines. The Syrian cavalry took advantage of these gaps. With blinding speed, the Syrians charged into the holes and tore away at the enemy from behind. More heretical soldiers tried to fill the gaps, but the charging Syrians slaughtered them as they came. Within the moments before the line broke, Doge John II came, giving the crusaders the boost they needed to push the muslims off of the rubble that was once the walls of Jerusalem.
The heretics fled to every alcove of the city, hoping to escape the wrath of God, but few found refuge. The swords of the crusaders found almost all of the heretics sparing only the King and his puppets. After the slaughter had been finished, the crusaders gathered in Jerusalem’s center. John II stepped forward, closely flanked by his Syrian guards. To his right, was a man with a black hood over his head.
“Bring forth the Anti-Pope and the Patriarch!”
From the ranks of the soldiers, a group of guards led two bound men to the center. In the lead was Markus Ahod, the puppet of Charles Angevin who had declared himself Pope. In the end of the line was Antonius Pantelion, the man who claimed he was the Patriarch of Jerusalem. John II called in a loud voice.
“Bring Markus Ahod and Antonius Pantelion here.”
Awaiting them was a table with many wicked looking weapons and to the side of it, a wooden block. Markus Ahod was the first. After he received his cleansing through pain, he was placed on his knees, and his neck was placed on the block, despite his whimperings of mercy. A judge came forward from the crowd. His speech was short yet to the point.
“For the sins of creating a schism, I hereby sentence you to death.”
The executioner’s axe was quick and Markus’ whimperings were no more. After they took the body and the head away, Antonius Pantelion was brought forward. After receiving the same cleansing through pain, he was placed in the same way on the block. Not a sound came out of his mouth, but his face was pale and he was visibly shaking. The judge stepped forward and delivered another short speech.
“For defying the church and the Pope, I hereby sentence you to death.”
Judgement was swift and severe. The soldiers bowed their heads, and then went about their work readying the city for their new ruler and began doing the usual. The flags of Venice, Genoa and Aragon now flew above the flag of Jerusalem, welcoming all that came to the city. The army of Venice immediately took command of the city, despite the complaints of the other crusaders and the words of disapproval of John II. At last, the crusade, the one that began in 1419 with the war against the Mamelukes was finally over. Jerusalem would be in the hands of God, this time to stay.
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