One contingent of crusaders, approximately 3,000 strong, journeyed by sea towards the Holy Land. According to
Arnold of Lübeck's
Chronica Slavorum, the fleet had 44 ships. It sailed in mid-May, stopping in
Dartmouth and also in
Normandy. According to the
Chronica of
Roger of Howden, the crusaders were part of the emperor's army and came from Germany and "other lands". They were led by Archbishop
Hartwig of Bremen, Duke
Henry I of Brabant and Count
Henry V of the Rhine. These crusaders may have considered the sea route preferable to a crossing of the Alps or else may have sought to distance themselves from the emperor. Arriving in
Lisbon in mid-June, Hartwig was honorably received by Bishop . After reaching the
Gharb al-Andalus, the crusaders launched an attack on Silves. The only source for the raid on Silves is Roger of Howden, although the German sea crusade is also mentioned in the
Chronica Regia Coloniensis and the
Annales Stadenses. There was no Portuguese involvement in the attack on Silves, possibly because Sancho I had signed the peace treaty with Caliph
Yaqub al-Mansur in 1196 following the
battle of Alarcos. According to Howden, the crusaders completely destroyed the city, leaving no stone upon another, because they did not believe that the Portuguese could hold it. There is no evidence of any interruption in Almohad administration, so the claim is clearly an exaggeration. The Almohad lands in al-Andalus had, however, not suffered such a temporary shock since 1189. The crusaders stayed in Portugal no more than three weeks. The raid can probably be considered an act of revenge for the crusaders of 1189, whose success had been so quickly undone. ==Aftermath==