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Quote Originally Posted by |Sith|DarthRoach View Post
The same goes on in the medieval era - no matter how many men the Saracens brought, these were mown down by the crusaders and Byzantines.

Is there some inherent technological inferiority in the region compared to the west?
I im more or less with Prince Cobra on this one,but not entirely. To me the success of early crusades was more about the fractured nature of the region rather some inheritent weakness of the population. Once the political power was unified.The chancess of any successful Crusades diminished and the Middle Easterns were even able to be first to stop the Mongol Invasions.I am not dismissing the fighting capability of specially European knights in any capacity as life long training in matters martial, no doubt created one of the finest fighters of the time.

Nevertheless. Turko-Persian Seljuk Empire dealt a grippling defeat to Byzantines at Manzikert 1071 and as far as i understand they were outnumbered against Byzantines. Numbers suggested that Byzantines had 40 000-70 000 men, while Seljuks 20 000- 30 000. So the Seljuks were outnumbered 2:1.When the armies of 1st Crusade arrived at the area.There was no more a Seljuk Empire, but a dozen small Sultanates fighting each other.

When we look at the Battle´s of the 1st Crusade. At the 1st battle fo Dorylaeum,1097. 40 000 to 50 000 crusaders defeated between 6000 -8000 soldiers of Sultanate of Rum, with similar casualties to both sides.Some sources suggest that the actual casualties of Crusaders were larger then the forces of Rum.
Next we have maybe the brightest Crusader victory, with similar odds with Seljuks at Manzikert, Battle of Ascalon. About 10 000 crusaders against 20 000 troops of Egyptian Fatimid Caliphate. In this battle it can be said that in this first major open battle between the Fatimids and Crusaders.Fatimids under estimated their enemies to a large extent, were caught off guard and were soundly beaten by the Cusaders suffering heavy casualties.

Next, Crusade of 1101. The Crusaders were defeated and shattered in three battles by Sultanate of Rum and their allies.One at Mersivan and twice at Heraclea. I dont have exact figures for these battles, but i doubt the military capacity of Sultanate of Rum had exponentially increased in 4 years after their defeat at Dorylaeum.

2nd Crusade. 2nd Battle of Dolyraeum. 20 000 strong German Crusader army crushed by Seljuks.2000 survivors on the Crusader side.

I have left out the sieges and concentrated on open battles, so far as it can be clearly pointed out that during any of the sieges of early crusades.The attacking Crusaders were not outnumbered by the besieged forces.

I have no more time currently, but i think the early Crusades already show that the numerical superiority was not continuosly at the side of the Muslims. More like other way around.