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==Background==
After [[Pope Innocent III]] had declared a [[Crusades|crusade]] to eliminate [[Catharism]] in the [[Languedoc]], a crusader army consisting of [[knight]]s with their retinue (mostly from [[northern France]]), professional soldiers, mercenary bands ([[routiers]]), and [[pilgrim]]s, assembled and departed from [[Lyon]] in early July 1209.<ref name=oldenbourg>{{cite book | author=[[Zoé Oldenbourg]] | title=Massacre at Montségur. A History of the Albigension Crusade (1961) | publisher=Phoenix, 2006 | page=[https://archive.org/details/massacreatmontse00olde_0/page/109 109ff] | isbn=1-84212-428-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/massacreatmontse00olde_0/page/109 }}</ref> Many participants believed that "crusade [[indulgence]]" officially absolving their sins ensured that they would suffer no punishment in the afterlife.<ref>"[http://www.provethebible.net/T2-Hist/H-0501.htm The Church of Rome's doctrine of absolution]"; accessed 2020.07.20.</ref><!--"[https://borgenproject.org/the-albigensian-crusade/ 10 Things You Didn't Know About the Albigensian Crusade]"; accessed 2020.07.22.-->
Béziers, a stronghold of Catharism, was the first major town the crusaders encountered on the way to [[Carcassonne]]. It was well fortified, amply supplied, and in a position to withstand a long siege. [[Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse]] was able to switch sides in time and joined the crusaders at [[Valence, Tarn-et-Garonne|Valence]]. The attempt by [[Raymond Roger Trencavel]], [[viscount]] of Béziers, to peacefully submit was rejected at [[Montpellier]]. The viscount departed from Montpellier in a hurry, ahead of the crusader army, to prepare his defenses. On the way to Carcassonne, he stopped at Béziers, promising reinforcements, and taking along some [[Catharism|Cathars]] and [[History of the Jews in France|Jews]].<ref name=oldenbourg/>
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