The crusaders had attempted to negotiate with…
August 1099 CE
The crusaders had attempted to negotiate with the Fatimids during their march to Jerusalem, but to no avail.
After the crusaders capture Jerusalem from the Fatimids, they learn of a Fatimid army about to attack them.
Godfrey of Bouillon on August 10 leads the remaining troops from Jerusalem to Ascalon, a day's march away.
The Fatimids are estimated to have as many as fifty thousand troops (other sources estimate about twenty thousand to thirty thousand) entering the battle.
Their troops consist of Seljuq Turks, Arabs, Persians, Armenians, Kurds, and Ethiopians, led by vizier al-Afdal Shahanshah.
Opposing them are the crusaders, whose numbers, estimated by Raymond of Aguilers, are around twelve hundred knights and nine thousand infantry.
Crusader scouts on August 12 discover the location of the Fatimid camp, which the crusaders immediately march towards.
According to most crusader and Muslim accounts, the Fatimids are caught unaware.
Because of an ill-prepared Fatimid army, the battle is fairly short, although it still takes some time to resolve, according to Albert of Aix.
Al-Afdal Shahanshah and his army retreat into the heavily guarded and fortified city of Ascalon.
The crusaders, learning the next day that al-Afdal Shahanshah has retreated back to Egypt via the sea, plunder what remains of the Fatimid camp.
Al-Afdal will reassert Fatimid control of Ascalon, as the Crusaders do not attempt to retain it, and utilize it as a staging ground for later attacks on the crusader states.
He will march out every year to attack the nascent Kingdom of Jerusalem.