Siege of Xerigordon The Siege of Xerigordon pitted 6 , 000 Germans of the People ' s Crusade under Reinald against 15 , 000 Turks commanded by Elchanes , general of Kilij Arslan I , the Seljuk Sultan of Rûm . The crusader raiding party captured the Turkish fort of Xerigordon , about four days march from Nicaea , in an attempt to set up a pillaging outpost . Elchanes arrived three days later and besieged the crusaders . The defenders had no water supply , and after eight days of siege , they surrendered on September 29 , 1096 . Some of the crusaders converted to Islam , while others who refused to abandon their faith were killed . Prelude . The army of the People ' s Crusade landed in Asia Minor on August 6 , 1096 , and camped at Helenopolis ( Civetot / Civetote ) to the north - west of Nicaea , at that time capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm . The young Sultan , Kilij Arslan I , was in the middle of a military campaign to the east , fighting the Danishmend emirate . While waiting for the main crusader army , the disorganized " People ’ s Crusade " army began to attack the villages surrounding Nicaea . The Norman raiding party returned unhindered many times with their booty , at some point even defeating the garrison of Nicaea when it tried to stop them . Reinald led 6 , 000 Germans ( Lombards and Alemanni ) , including 200 knights , on similar raids . Reinald was unsatisfied with the pillaging results near Nicaea and went farther to Xerigordon , a fortress four days march to the east , to set up a pillaging base . On September 18 , 1096 , Reinald easily defeated the Xerigordon garrison . Kilij Arslan ordered his general , Elchanes , to deal with the crusader ' s raiding parties with 15 , 000 troops , mostly mounted archers . The battle . Elchanes arrived three days after Reinald occupied Xerigordon , on September 21 and besieged the crusaders tightly . The speed of the Turkish mounted troops surprised the Germans ; they had not expected to be besieged and were unprepared and without adequate supplies . Moreover , there was no water system inside the fortress : Our people were in such distress from thirst that they bled their horses and asses and drank the blood ; others let their girdles and handkerchiefs down into the cistern and squeezed out the water from them into their mouths ; some urinated into one another ' s hollowed hands and drank ; and others dug up the moist ground and lay down on their backs and spread the earth over their breasts to relieve the excessive dryness of thirst . Relief forces never came . Some accounts mentioned that Turks sent two spies to the Crusaders ' camp at Civetot to make them think that Xerigordon was still safe , and even that Nicaea had been conquered by Reinald . Other accounts mentioned that Crusader leaders on the field were forced by their troops to advance , but could not make the decision until news of the Xerigordon surrender arrived on October . For eight days , the Crusaders resisted thirst and a rain of arrows and smoke from the Turks . After , the leader of the Germans offered to surrender and to fight for the Turks . The fort surrendered on September 29 , 1096 . Some of the Crusaders who converted to Islam became slaves , while others who refused to abandon their faith were killed . There are various accounts on Reinald ' s fate . Some mention that he was killed at the beginning of the siege while trying to ambush the Turks ' own water source in front of the fortress , others that he died during the siege , and one that claims he converted to Islam . Aftermath . Kilij Arslan I became more confident and sent his army to ambush the People ’ s Crusade army at the Battle of Civetot en route to Nicaea . References . Peter the Hermit and the Popular Crusade : Collected Accounts .