Doumenge, The Crusader
Lived: 1144-1196
Head of the House of D’Albon: 1147-1196
King of Burgundy and Africa: 1147-1196
As a baby Doumenge came close to death when his unstable father attempted to murder him but this tragic event actually saw the crazed King Ives die and baby Doumenge succeed to one of the great thrones of Christendom. Over the course of his long reign he became the ideal Christian warrior King, a ‘Crusader King’ if there ever was one and was one of the greatest Kings of Burgundy. During his reign Burgundy fought many wars but just one against a fellow Christian state and at that time the ruler was excommunicated. Doumenge also established D’Albon dominance over the papacy for the very first time and during his reign the very first D’Albon Popes were elected.
The regency years of Doumenge’s reign large scale peaceful expansion. Although in 1147 (the year of his succession) the independent isle of Menorca was taken from the Moslems in a war left over from Ives’ rule. Meanwhile Burgundy peacefully took over the prosperous city of Parma which switched allegiance from the Empire to Burgundy whilst in 1153 the battered Duchy of Barcelona joined the Kingdom and in the same year the Duchy of Toulouse did likewise having lost a war to the French but preserved independence.
However in the East more important events were occurring. Alexandria had been Christian ever since the 1st Crusade of the 1070s and 1080s but in the year 1156 a rejuvenated Fatimid Caliphate overwhelmed the city and slaughtered its French rulers. In response the Pope called for a great Crusade against the Fatimids to conquer Jerusalem (the primary goal) and reclaim Alexandria (the secondary goal).
The first to answer the call was Burgundy and in early 1157 a massive army was assembled in Nice, setting sail for the Holy Land in March. Despite protests pf the teenage King Doumenge was forced to stay at home whilst a cousin of his (Richard D’Albon) lead the armies. On December 3rd 1157 25,000 Burgundians landed near the rebel town of Jaffa. This Bugundian army was equal in number to the entire Egyptian host. The 1st Burgundian Crusade had begun.
After capturing Jaffa the army split in two with 1/3 heading North to Acre and 2/3 heading directly for Jerusalem. The fortress at Acre was relatively small and fell without difficulty, the city’s sheik then surrendered it to Burgundy. Meanwhile at Jerusalem the Crusaders met their first major opposition.
Near the most Holy of Cities the main Burgundian host met a much larger Egyptian army. The Egyptians initially took the upper hand as they were able to force the Crusader infantry to rout but as they went to pursue them the mighty cavalry host (which included some 2,000 knights) charged directly at the Egyptians. The Moslems were slaughtered and the Fatimid King himself only narrowly avoided capture although he was wounded by a Christian’s knight’s lance.
Buoyed by their success the Crusader army then proceeded to assault Jerusalem itself and although facing some terrible casualties the city fell to the armies of Christ. The Islamic inhabitants of the city were slaughtered to the last man and although many Jews were killed as the Burgundians rampaged through the city many of them were able to survive by seeking refuge in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which was defended by a number of more chivalrous Burgundian knights.
After this the Burgundian armies began to rampage through the Egyptian Levant taking town after town form the Fatimids before finally meeting the King once again, this time at the city of Ascalon which had repeatedly alluded Christian capture. Here 13,000 Burgundians (the entire Crusader army) did battle with 15,000 Arabs (the entire reaming Egyptian army. This two sides ground eachother into the dust and only 2,000 Burgundians escaped whilst 4,000 Arabs survived. After this it was decided by both sides to end the slaughter and the 1st Burgundian Crusade came to an end on March 4th 1149 with the Treaty of Jaffa.
With Jerusalem in Christian hands the Pope was elated and declared the Crusade over. This did not stop the Bohemians and French preying on the weakened Caliphate and capturing most of Egypt during the early 1160s. Meanwhile immediately after the Crusade the 15 year old King of Burgundy went on pilgrimage to his new conquests and indeed came of age in the Holy Land.
Upon his return the regency was disbanded and the great King Doumenge took full control. One of his first triumphs was convincing another French Duke to switch allegiance to Burgundy, in this case it was Bourbon. Ever since the Crusade Doumenge had been the toast of Christendom and in the year 1163 the Pope made him his Champion, a post Doumenge would retain until 1178. The King got his first chance to lead his armies to glory in the year 1165 as he went on an unofficial Crusade against the powerful Emirate of Cyrenaica. Between January and August 1165 the King crushed the Arabs in battle after battle and in August the victorious King signed a peace treaty in which the last of Tripolitania as well as Cyrenaica was ceded to Burgundy.
A long and peaceful period then ensued as Burgundy began to feel he benefits of its holdings in the East as the trade began to flow freely between Acre and Genoa bringing massive wealth to the crown.
Then in 1175 Doumenge lead his armies North into Danish Lorraine to take part in the dismemberment of the Empire of the heretical King of Demark. After a brief conflict the King of Denmark agreed to cede Lorraine, Metz and Santois. Then in 1179 several African Dukes lead out their armies to conquer the pirate haven of Mallorca from the Arab pirated who ruled the island. Then in 1181 a small county betwixt Barcelona and the main part of the Kingdom agreed to join Burgundy. In the year 1183 the relatively new holdings in Lorraine were connected to the main part of the Kingdom just as Barcelona had been 2 years earlier thanks to an independent Count swearing allegiance to Doumenge.
In the year 1184 an Arab army captured Rome, the Pope then fled to Dublin but sent out a request for all Christian Kings to reclaim the city form the Moors. In 1185 the Norman Duchy of Apulia conquered the city (keeping it for themselves) however Doumenge had already organised his expedition. Early in 1186 he declared war on a Sicilian Emir instead. Over the course of 1186 Doumenge personally lead his armies on a great Crusade against an extremely powerful Sicilian Emir who ruled half the island. Both Christian and Muslim sources talk of his incredible bravery and heroics as he lead his army from the front. One source talked of his valour at Trapani ‘’the King and his stead charged alone into a band of dozens of heathens. Even after his horse was cut down he continued to fight, slaying every last Moor’’ the Emirare was crushed.
Meanwhile in 1188 the first D’Albon Pope was elected, unsurprisingly he chose Doumenge as his Champion and ruled until 1194. In 1190 this Poe requested Doumenge’s assistance in finally eliminating the moors in Sicily, which the good King did in that very year by capturing Palermo from a small but powerful sheik. Now all of Italy and Sicily was Muslim free although the Count of Messina was an Imperial and not Burgundian vassal Doumenge was satisfied.
Despite his advancing years and tired bones Doumenge accepted the Pope’s request to relieve Antioch as he led a he expedition across the Mediterranean in 1192 at the age of 48. Between February 1192 and March 1193 Doumenge did battle with the mighty Emirate of Tripoli which was much more powerful than Egypt had been in the 1st Burgundian Crusade. However this time the Burgundians benefited from a great numerical advantage and in 1193 the Emirate of Tripoli agreed to surrender 4/5s of their land to the Burgundian Holy Land in the Treaty of Acre.
At the same time a great event occurred as Doumenge’s grandson, Guy, inherited the most powerful Duchy on earth (Flanders).
Little Guy did not have long to wait for an even greater inheritance as just 4 years later he was named King of Burgundy after the great King Doumenge, The Conqueror passed away in 1196.
Both Guy’s inheritances had been rather unexpected as the Duke of Flanders had had 2 sons ahead of him in the line of succession. The younger of the 2 died in infancy just 4 years before his father whilst the elder died at the age of 17 in 1190 just 2 years before the Duke himself died. Meanwhile Guy’s father Louis was still alive when Guy was named King (and would indeed outlive him) but had been declared a heretic by the Pope after starting a cult in his personal demesne in the Balearics and was cut out of the inheritance. When Gut was crowned King he united Flanders with Burgundy turning the D’Albon Kingdom into the most powerful in Christendom.