Atlas of Battles

siege, major, medieval

Battle of Ascalon

Battle of Ascalon was a siege conducted on 12 August 1099 at Ashkelon, in what is now Israel; it lasted 6 days. It was part of First Crusade, which ran from 1096 to 1099. The recorded result: Crusader victory; Fatimid army routed to Egypt; End of the First Crusade.

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An engraving of the Battle of Ascalon.
An engraving of the Battle of Ascalon.. Engraving by C.W. Sharpe, based on a painting of the same title by Gustav Dore. Copyright held by Frank Hunter Potter., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought12 August 1099lasted 6 days
WhereAshkelon, Israel31.671N, 34.558E
OutcomeCrusader victory; Fatimid army routed to Egypt; End of the First Crusade
BelligerentsCrusadersagainstFatimid Caliphate
Casualties and lossesLightandHeavy; most of the army; 12,700 (contemporary Muslim sources)
Part ofFirst Crusade1096 to 1099

Where it sits in First Crusade

Siege of Xerigordon, 1096Siege of Nicaea, 1097Battle of Dorylaeum, 1097Siege of Tarsus, 1097Siege of Antioch, 1097Battle of al-Barâ, 1098Battle of the Lake of Antioch, 1098Battle of the Bridge Gate, 1098Battle of Antioch, 1098Siege of Ma'arra, 1098Siege of Jerusalem, 1099Battle of Ascalon, 109910961099Battle of Ascalon, 1099
12 placed engagements of First Crusade in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date12 August 1099
to 18 August 1099
PlaceAshkelon, Israel
31.671N, 34.558E
KindSiege, medieval
Strength10,200 men; 9,000 infantry; 1,200 knights20,000 men; 10,000 regular infantry; 4,000 regular cavalry; Unknown number of auxiliaries (Armenian archers, Arab and Bedouin light cavalry)
Casualties and lossesLightHeavy; most of the army; 12,700 (contemporary Muslim sources)
Commanders
  • Al-Afdal Shahanshah
Battle of AscalonBattle of AscalonSiege of AscalonSiege of AscalonSiege of AscalonBattle of ForbieBattle of NitzanimBattle of ForbieBattle of NitzanimTel AvivAmmanHaifaNablusEl ArishNazarethAl KarakAz Zarqa100 km31.671N, 34.558E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Ascalon
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Ascalon today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-10-31. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 27 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -2 to 70 m, 72 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 44% built-up, 34% water, 6% tree cover.

built-up: 44%water: 34%tree cover: 6%shrubland: 4%grassland: 4%cropland: 4%bare ground: 3%built-up 44%water 34%tree cover 6%shrubland 4%grassland 4%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 57 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 65 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 4 times between AD 67 and 1247.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1099

Battle of Ascalon is one of 334 engagements of the 11th century in the atlas and one of 179 in present-day Israel.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q827472, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Ascalon, revision 1384922386, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.