The Second Crusade Collapses in Asia Minor
Conrad III's German army is cut apart before it ever reaches Muslim-held territory
Quick facts
- German commander
- Conrad III (wounded, forced to retreat)
- French commander
- Louis VII of France
- Key defeats
- Dorylaion (25 October 1147) and the Cadmus Mountains (7 January 1148)
- Preacher of the crusade
- Bernard of Clairvaux
What happened
The Second Crusade was the first to be personally led by reigning kings, Conrad III of Germany and Louis VII of France, both responding to Bernard of Clairvaux's preaching after the fall of Edessa. Conrad's army marched first and was unprepared for the semi-arid steppe of Asia Minor, lacking food and underestimating travel time. At Dorylaion on 25 October 1147 Seljuk archers devastated the slow-moving Germans, wounding Conrad himself and forcing a retreat to Nicaea. Louis VII's French army, following behind, won a minor victory in December but was then badly beaten crossing the Cadmus Mountains on 7 January 1148 after its column became stretched out and lost contact between units. What remained of the western force limped toward the coast under the command of Knights Templar, having not yet even reached northern Syria, its original objective.
Why it matters
The disaster at Dorylaion and the Cadmus Mountains crippled the Second Crusade before its main objective was even attempted, and set the stage for the even more humiliating failure that followed at Damascus later that year.
How we know
The campaign's collapse is documented in western chronicle accounts of Conrad and Louis's marches, summarized in the World History Encyclopedia's detailed narrative of troop movements and casualties.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Second Crusade · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- World History Encyclopedia. Kingdom of Jerusalem · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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