Siege of Ma ' arra The Siege of Maarat , or Ma ' arra , occurred in late 1098 in the city of Ma ' arrat al - Numan , in what is modern - day Syria , during the First Crusade . It is infamous for the claims of widespread cannibalism displayed by the Crusaders . Prologue . After the Crusade rs , led by Raymond de Saint Gilles and Bohemond of Taranto , successfully besieged Antioch , they started to raid the surrounding countryside during the winter months . The Crusaders had been ineffective in assessing and protecting their supply lines , which led to widespread hunger and lack of proper equipment within the Crusader armies . In July 1098 , Raymond Pilet , a knight in the army of Raymond de Saint Gilles , led an expedition against Maarat , an important city on the road south towards Damascus . His troops met a much larger Muslim garrison in the town and they were completely routed with many casualties . For the rest of the summer the crusaders continued their march south and captured many other small towns , and arrived again at Maarat in November . Siege . Around the end of November , thousands of crusaders started to besiege the city . The citizens were at first unconcerned , since Raymond Pilet ' s expedition had been such a failure , and they taunted the crusaders . The crusaders could also not afford to conduct a lengthy siege , as winter was approaching and they had few supplies , but they were also unable to break through the city ' s defenses , consisting of a deep ditch and strong walls . The defenders of the city , mostly an urban militia and inexperienced citizens , managed to hold off the attacks for about two weeks . The crusaders spent this time building a siege tower , which allowed them to pour over the walls of the city , while at the same time a group of knights scaled the undefended walls on the other side of the city . The crusaders occupied the walls on December 11 . The Muslims retreated into the city , and both sides prepared to rest for the night , but the poorer crusaders rushed through and plundered Maarat . On the morning of December 12 , the garrison negotiated with Bohemond , who promised them safe conduct if they surrendered . The Muslims surrendered , but the crusaders immediately began to massacre the population . Meanwhile , Bohemond seized control of the walls and towers while Raymond of Toulouse took control of the interior of the city , continuing their dispute over who would rule conquered territories . Cannibalism . Maarat was not as rich as the crusaders had hoped and they were still short of supplies and food as December progressed . Most of the soldiers and knights preferred to continue the march to Jerusalem , caring little for the political dispute between Bohemond and Raymond , and Raymond tried to buy the support of the other leaders . While the leaders negotiated away from the city , some of the starving crusaders at Maarat reportedly resorted to cannibalism , feeding on the dead bodies of Muslims . A chronicler , Radulph of Caen wrote : These events were also chronicled by Fulcher of Chartres , who wrote : March to Jerusalem . The crusaders also began destroying Maarat ' s fortifications , forcing Raymond to finally agree to continue the march south . Legacy . Albert of Aix remarked that " the Christians did not shrink from eating not only killed Turks or Saracens , but even dogs . . . " ( " Nam Christiani non solum Turcos vel Sarracenos occisos , verum etiam canes arreptos ( . . . ) " )