A Forgotten Horror Buried in the Dust of Time
In December 1098, in the remote Syrian city of Ma’arra, a horrifying event occurred—one that still shocks historians today. Starving and desperate, Christian crusaders committed a taboo that echoes through history: they ate human flesh.
This is no myth. It is a documented reality, confirmed by medieval chronicles, letters, and eyewitness accounts. A moment when the sacred war of the First Crusade turned into a medieval horror story of starvation, madness, and blood.
The Context: The First Crusade and the Siege of Ma’arra
The First Crusade (1096–1099), launched by Pope Urban II, had already claimed thousands of lives in its mission to "liberate the Holy Land." After taking Antioch, the crusader army was weakened by disease, lack of food, and cold. When they reached Ma’arra, a fortified city in northern Syria, they found no supplies and fierce resistance.
The siege of Ma’arra lasted about two weeks. On December 12, 1098, the crusaders broke into the city and massacred over 20,000 people, including women and children. What followed was even worse.
Hunger Turns to Cannibalism
Once inside Ma’arra, the crusaders faced an even more terrifying enemy: hunger. The supplies were insufficient, the weather harsh. In their desperation, they turned to cannibalism.
Chronicler Radulph of Caen, a priest in the army of Bohemond of Taranto, wrote:
“In Ma’arra, our men cooked and ate the bodies of the Saracens, roasting them by fire, boiling them, even devouring children.”
The Gesta Francorum, an anonymous Latin account from a crusader, reports:
“Some cut the bodies of the enemies into pieces and cooked them; others ate them raw.”
These were not legends. Multiple soldiers openly confessed to the acts of cannibalism. Some even boasted about it in letters sent home. The leaders of the Crusades attempted to silence the scandal, but it was already spreading across Europe.
Men of God?
How could Christian soldiers—bearing the cross—commit acts of cannibalism?
Some modern historians explain it as extreme survival behavior. Others suspect ritualistic or psychological tactics meant to frighten Muslim defenders. Regardless of the motive, the fact remains that crusader cannibalism occurred—and it deeply disturbed even their allies.
Later Christian historians tried to erase the event from the official story, but the damage was done. The siege of Ma’arra had become a stain on the image of the crusading ideal.
A Permanent Stain on Crusader History
The Cannibal Banquet of Ma’arra is one of the darkest moments of Crusades history. It reminds us that even those claiming divine purpose can be consumed by madness and horror.
It was not myth.
It was flesh.
It was humanity devouring itself.
Leave a Comment