Raymond of Antioch & his army were wiped out by Nur al-Din of Aleppo

Summary:
Nur al-Din had made general progress, capturing cities on the Euphrates and beginning the siege of Inab, not far from Aleppo. Raymond of Poitiers moved to resupply Inab, with characteristic boldness, before his cavalry were fully assembled. But on the return journey he camped in the open, though his army was too small to defend itself. According to Kinnamos, the army was exhausted and had no safe camp-site. Raymond wanted to push on to safety, but a companion accused him of cowardice and forced him to camp in unsafe surroundings. William of Tyre imputes the blame to Raymond's own bravado, because he had nearby fortresses available but refused to be scared into using them. Whatever the reason, Raymond awoke to find himself surrounded and attacked by a much larger army. Some of his men fled, but there was a general massacre of the rest, including Raymond himself and Reynald of Mar'ash 
Dates:
1149 
companion of Raymond of Poitiers (Anonymus 17038)
  • Imputed to cowardice Raymond 17001'’s unwillingness to camp in a dangerous place, thus forcing him to stop there and causing a general massacre (:) Kinnamos 122.22
Nur al-Din al-Malik al-'Adil of Aleppo (Nur al-Din 4001)
  • Captured cities on the Euphrates, took some prisoners (Joscelin 4002 of Edessa), and killed others (Raymond 17001 of Poitiers [see above] and Reynaud 4005 of Mar'ash) (:) Kinnamos 215.16-216.13
  • Like other Muslim leaders, he was elated, encouraged by the failure of the Second Crusade and its famous rulers; he gathered a great army and attacked the Antioch area, besieging the fortress of Inab; Raymond 17002 with his customary boldness approached Inab without waiting for his cavalry force (:) William of Tyre bk. 17, 9.1-19
  • When Raymond 17001 arrived, he stopped the siege of Inab to see the size of Raymond's forces and their possible reinforcements; he concluded that Raymond was camping carelessly in the open with a force which could be crushed; he therefore surrounded his camp in the night and attacked at dawn (:) William of Tyre bk. 17, 9.21-35
  • His forces won a crushing victory, killing Raymond 17001 and Renaud 4005, among many others; Raymond's head and right arm were removed, so his body was later recognised only by scars (:) William of Tyre bk. 17, 9.35-46
Raymond of Poitiers, prince of Antioch (Raymond 17001)
  • Resupplied a besieged fortress near Aleppo but on the return the exhausted army had no safe camp-site; he wanted to go on, believing the position was dangerous, but a companion (Anonymus 17038) made him stay by alleging cowardice (:) Kinnamos 122.22
  • When Nur al-Din 4001 besieged Inab, Raymond appeared with his customary boldness before his cavalry were properly assembled; Nur al-Din stopped the siege to investigate Raymond's strength, which made him bolder still; he spurned his nearby fortresses, and decided to camp in the open (:) William of Tyre bk. 17, 9.11-32
  • He awoke to find himself surrounded, and began, too late, to feel nervous; most of his men fled before superior numbers, while he and the rest fought well against impossible odds; he was killed with Renaud 4005 and many others; his head and right arm were removed, so he was later recognised only by scars (:) William of Tyre bk. 17, 9.35-46
  • He died in the thirteenth year of his rule; his body was taken back to Antioch and there buried with fit ceremony in the vestibule of the church of Hagios Petros, among the tombs of his predecessors (June 27 1149 (not 1148, as the ms says): mense Iunio, vicesima VII) William of Tyre bk. 17, 9.60-63
Reynald of Mar'ash (Renaud 4005)