[1] In the Battle of Ager Sanguinis, fought near Sarmada on 28 June 1119, the Franks suffered a disastrous defeat by the forces of Ilghazi, the ruler of Mardin.

Once the Venetians decided to participate, Callixtus sent them his papal banner to signify his approval, At the First Council of the Lateran he confirmed that the Venetions had crusader privileges, including remission of their sins.

A fierce battle commenced, both sides fought with great bitterness, and there were so many killed, that those who were there, most emphatically assure you as unlikely as it may sound, that the victors waded in the enemy's blood and the surrounding sea was dyed red from the blood that flowed down from the ships, up to a radius of two thousand steps.

But the shores, they say, were so thickly covered with the corpses that were ejected from the sea, that the air was tainted and the surrounding region contracted a plague.

The Latin army was led by the Patriarch of Antioch, the doge of Venice, Pons, Count of Tripoli and William de Bury, the king's constable.

[12] The Venetians and Franks built siege towers and machines that could throw boulders to shatter the city walls.

[13] Toghtekin advanced towards Tyre, but withdrew without fighting when the forces of Count Pons of Tripoli and Constable William rode to confront him.

They had only praise for the resolute perseverance of the citizens who, despite the pressure of terrible hunger and the scarcity of supplies, had been able to ward off surrender for so long.

Baldwin II granted the Venetians extensive commercial privileges in Tyre, and thus ensured that they would maintain a naval presence in the Latin East.

[4] The privilege included guarantees of property rights for the heirs of Venetians who were shipwrecked or who died in Tyre.

When the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa died during the Third Crusade he was buried in the Tyre Cathedral.