In the enthusiasm of victory over the Hiaroquin, the barons of Jerusalem decided to damage their greatest enemies by seeking to destroy the orchards around Askalon. But when they arrived, they found the enemy were terrified and reluctant to come outside the walls, so they resolved on a siege, and gathered their full army. Baldwin III and Fulcher the patriarch collected all the magnates of the kingdom, ecclesiastical and lay, and they camped around Askalon; they bound themselves by solemn oath not to abandon the siege till the city was taken, supported by the True Cross. At least ten ecclesiastical lords and nine lay lords are listed as having been present