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Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Tamerlane's campaigns against the Ottomans, the Mamluks, the Delhi Sultanate. But there's one siege that doesn't get as much attention, and it's fascinating because of who he was up against and where it happened. I'm talking about the siege of Smyrna in December 1402. Luna: Smyrna — that's on the Aegean coast, right? Modern-day Izmir? Lucas: Exactly. And at the time, it was held by the Knights Hospitaller, the same order that had been based in Rhodes since 1309. They'd taken Smyrna back in 1344 from the Aydinid beylik, a Turkish principality, and turned it into a fortified Christian stronghold right on the edge of Ottoman territory. Lucas: Now, Tamerlane had just crushed Bayezid at Ankara in July 1402. The Ottoman sultan was captured, his army destroyed. But instead of pushing deeper into Anatolia, Tamerlane spent the rest of the year methodically reducing the remaining Ottoman and allied fortresses. Smyrna was the last major target. Luna: Why the Hospitallers? They weren't exactly allies of the Ottomans. Lucas: Great question. There are a few layers. One, Tamerlane was sending a message to the Christian powers — the Genoese, the Venetians, the Byzantines — that he was the new power in the region, and that he wouldn't tolerate any independent fortresses along the coast. Two, the Hospitallers were seen as a threat to Muslim shipping and pilgrimage routes. And three, there's a theory that Tamerlane wanted to present himself as a defender of Islam against the Crusaders, especially after he'd just defeated a fellow Muslim ruler in Bayezid. Luna: So it was partly political theater. Lucas: Very much so. The siege itself was short but intense. Tamerlane arrived at Smyrna in early December 1402 with a huge army — estimates range from tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand, but that's typical exaggeration. The city was well-fortified, with strong walls and a harbor that allowed the Hospitallers to be resupplied by sea from Rhodes. Lucas: Tamerlane's engineers got to work immediately. They built massive stone-throwing catapults, what the sources call 'manjaniks', and they also constructed a stone causeway extending into the harbor to block naval access. The Hospitaller commander, I think it was a knight named Domenico d'Allemagna, held out for about two weeks. Luna: Two weeks. That's not long for a siege of a well-supplied fortress. Lucas: No, it's not. And the main reason is that Tamerlane's bombardment was relentless. Ibn Arabshah, the Arab historian who was captured by Tamerlane as a child and later wrote a hostile biography, describes the walls being breached in multiple places. The Hospitallers tried to evacuate by sea, but Tamerlane's causeway blocked the harbor, and his archers rained down fire on the boats. Lucas: When the city finally fell, Tamerlane ordered a massacre. The heads of the defenders were piled into a pyramid — a signature move of his — and the city was razed. The few survivors who made it to Rhodes spread the news, and it sent a chill through Christendom. Luna: Was there any European reaction? Did they try to form an alliance with Tamerlane against the Ottomans? Lucas: That's one of the most interesting what-ifs. Some European monarchs, like Henry IV of England and Charles VI of France, sent envoys to Tamerlane after Ankara, hoping to ally with him against the Ottomans. There were even letters exchanged — though their authenticity is debated. But Tamerlane wasn't interested in a long-term alliance with Christian powers. He saw them as infidels, and he had his own agenda. Lucas: In fact, there's a famous story — probably apocryphal — that Tamerlane sent Bayezid, who was being carried around in a litter, a letter taunting him. The letter supposedly said something like, 'Your kingdom is gone, and your fortresses have fallen. The Franks of Smyrna have been punished. Now you see who is the true ruler.' It's dramatic, but it captures the political message. Luna: So the siege of Smyrna was both a military operation and a piece of propaganda. Lucas: Exactly. And it's a good example of how Tamerlane's campaigns weren't just about conquest — they were about building a reputation. The fear he instilled was a weapon in itself. Luna: You know, listening to this, I keep thinking about the effort people put into keeping these conversations going. We're able to talk about Smyrna and Tamerlane without ads because of listeners who chip in. If today's episode was worth a coffee to you, you can find that link — it's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just a way to keep the show ad-free. Lucas: Yeah, absolutely. We're grateful for any support. And it lets us dive into these deeper corners of history without worrying about commercial breaks. Lucas: Back to Smyrna — one detail I love comes from Clavijo, the Spanish envoy who visited Tamerlane's court in Samarkand a year later. He reports that Tamerlane bragged about the siege, saying that the sea had turned red with blood. Now, that's probably an exaggeration, but it shows how proud he was of the victory. Luna: What happened to Smyrna after Tamerlane left? Lucas: He didn't hold it. After destroying the fortifications, he withdrew back into central Anatolia. The city was essentially abandoned for a while, and it wasn't until the Ottoman recovery under Mehmed I that Smyrna was rebuilt and re-populated. The Hospitallers never returned. Lucas: In a way, the siege of Smyrna marks the high-water mark of Tamerlane's westward expansion. He never went further west. After 1403, he turned his attention back east, eventually planning a campaign against Ming China. But that's a story for another episode. Luna: I'm glad we covered this one. It's a reminder that Tamerlane's ambitions were truly global — he wasn't just a steppe conqueror, he was playing on the world stage. Lucas: Absolutely. And the siege of Smyrna shows how he could pivot from fighting the Ottomans to fighting Crusaders in the space of a few months. His logistical ability to move a massive army from Ankara to the Aegean coast in late autumn, conduct a siege, and then move on — that's what made him so formidable. Luna: Were there any other Christian fortresses he attacked during that campaign? Lucas: He also besieged the Genoese colony at Phocaea, not far from Smyrna, but the Genoese paid a huge tribute and he left them alone. He also threatened the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, but never attacked it. Some scholars think he might have considered a campaign against the Byzantine Empire, but he died in 1405 before he could follow through. Lucas: So the siege of Smyrna remains the single most dramatic encounter between Tamerlane and the Christian West. It's a perfect example of his military prowess, his strategic messaging, and his utter ruthlessness. Luna: It's also a reminder that history is full of these strange intersections — a Central Asian conqueror laying siege to a Crusader fortress on the Aegean. You couldn't make it up. Lucas: That's what keeps me coming back to this period. Every time I dig into a new source, there's another unexpected connection.