Fall of Saruj
Fall of Saruj | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Zengids | County of Edessa | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Imad al-Din Zengi | Unknown | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
None | None |
The Fall of Saruj in 1145 saw the main surviving Frankish fortress of Edessa fall to the Zengids.
Following the capture of Edessa in 1144, the Zengid ruler, Imad al-din Zengi, wanted to exploit his victory by clearing the remaining Crusader fortresses on the east of Euphrates, which was his main goal. In early January of 1145, Imad al-Din marched towards the city of Saruj, the second-greatest Crusader fortress on the east of Euphrates. The Crusader garrison and the inhabitants evacuated the town to Birecik before the arrival of the Zengids. Imad al-Din captured the city without a fight. Zengi went to besiege Birecik after that, but after three months of siege, he retreated.[1][2][3]