Go East, Young Knight: The True Story of the First Crusade.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/op...sade.html?_r=0

NO sooner had the knights of the First Crusade captured Jerusalem from the Seljuk Turks in 1099 than writers began to swoon over their achievements. Inspired by a rousing call by Pope Urban II at Clermont, France, four years earlier to rescue the Holy Land, these first historians wrote, the crusaders and their conquest of the eastern Mediterranean coast proved that God had smiled on western Europe and the worldly authority of Rome. Enlarge This Image
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That story, and the papal authority it underlined, shaped the next 500 years of European history. Even today, the idea at the center of the crusades, that religion has long been at the heart of the East-West divide, drives foreign policy from Washington to Islamabad. But the real story is much more complicated, and much more earthly, than most people recognize.

The subject of the crusades, and in particular the first, has received enormous attention from scholars over the centuries, to the point that one leading historian wrote in a recent book review that there was nothing original left to say: the story is too well known, too secure.
Yet for all that work, distortions remain. The armchair historian could be forgiven for thinking, for example, that Jerusalem fell to the Muslims soon before the First Crusade set out to supposedly rescue it. In fact, Jerusalem fell some 450 years earlier.

Most striking, perhaps the central question behind the First Crusade has never really been asked: What happened at the end of the 11th century that made more than 60,000 men head east? If the pope was powerful enough to be able to unleash a huge force of knights, why had he never done so before?
The answer lies far from Western Europe, where the origins of the crusade are always set. In fact, the First Crusade was an eastern project, devised and inspired not by Pope Urban II but by Alexios I of the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire, which had survived the fall of Rome.

The Byzantine Empire came under territorial pressure in the second half of the 11th century, particularly at the hands of the Turks, who had swept across central Asia and made themselves masters of the Middle East. Moving like “wolves devouring their prey,” in the words of one contemporary commentator, the Turks supposedly brought chaos to the Byzantine heartland in Asia Minor.

But claims of Turkish penetration and control of the Byzantine east were much exaggerated. Material from long-forgotten and ignored Greek, Arabic, Syriac, Armenian and Hebrew sources shows that things were not as bad as some authors made out; if anything, relations between Christian Byzantines and Muslim Turks were surprisingly cordial and even collaborative.

That changed dramatically, however, at the start of the 1090s. A catastrophic chain of events brought the empire to its knees: emboldened by the death of the sultan of Baghdad, a cluster of local Turkish warlords seized control of some of Byzantium’s most precious and sensitive territories, putting the capital itself at risk. With pressure mounting, Alexios’ closest intimates turned on him. In a dramatic showdown, the emperor forced a gathering of his opponents; it was touch and go as to whether he would leave the meeting alive. Against the odds, he bought himself one last roll of the dice.

He issued pleas for help across western Europe, including one to Pope Urban II, which brought with it the offer to unite the Catholic and Orthodox churches once and for all.

What followed was less a war to protect the Holy Land than a defense of the Byzantine Empire, taking back cities like Nicaea and Antioch, places whose Christian significance was, at best, tangential. And, rather than being under the command of the pope, the knights were controlled by Alexios, to whom they swore solemn oaths over precious Christian relics as they passed through Constantinople. They also promised to hand over all the cities, towns and territories they conquered.
But Alexios eventually lost control. The crusaders simply refused to give over what they had conquered, which by the end included much of the eastern Mediterranean region. The resulting crusader states, as they were called, lasted for another 200 years.

As a result, a new story was needed. Alexios and Byzantium were ripped from the heart of the narrative, while Pope Urban II was moved to center stage — even though the very earliest accounts of the First Crusade barely mention him.

In short, the western knights’ glorious deeds, recorded in such lavish style by medieval historians and celebrated ever since, provided a cover story that only now has been revealed. Their bravery, heroism and piety, fodder for countless medieval romances, really were too good to be true.

The unspoken fact is that, at best, the Byzantines were troublesome allies at the best of times, i.e. such as the oath of fealty that Emperor Alexios demanded from the Latin crusader-lords, neverminding that many of them had already liege-lords of their own or the harassment of the Crusader forces as they travelled to Constantinople by Pechenegs in the service the Byzantine throne. The Crusaders refused to hand over to the Byzantines largely because, by the time Jerusalem was finally taken, they'd come to regard the Byzantines as largely unreliable.

The bulk of the successes of the Crusaders have little to do with the cooperation of the Byzantines and more to do with the Crusaders themselves, often working hand-in-hand with Christians in the Holy Land and even apostate Muslims, sometimes of the fearsome sect of the Assassins (I've read a couple of anecdotes of the time that indicate the Assassins were often employed to remove a troublesome crusader-lord; it seems that the Old Man of the Mountain had little trouble in working with/for Christians).

In 1094 the Byzantine Emperor, Alexios I came to the conclusion that Byzantium was not strong enough by itself to retake its lost territories in Anatolia and he appealed to the Christian states of Western Europe for assistance. This call for assistance from one Christian state to the other Christian states of Europe and the Catholic Church was the beginning of the Crusades.

The Beginnings of the First Crusade.
During in the first week of March 1095 at the Council of Piacenza, a delegation from the Byzantine emperor Alexios I presented Pope Urban II with a formal request for help against the Turks. Alexius' request was taken far more seriously than he had expected, because the Pope was already minded towards a crusade in the East. The request also showed to Urban that the Eastern Empire and the Orthodox Church were weak, and that if he sent assistance he could possibly reunite the churches under his authority. News of the threat to the eastern empire and the supposed threat to Jerusalem spread throughout France after the council ended; in November of 1095, Urban called an even bigger council, the Council of Clermont, and spent from July until September travelling through France.

On August 11, 1095, he sent out formal letters requesting his bishops to join him at Clermont, France. The Council lasted from November 18 to November 28, and was attended by over 300 of the most senior clerics from throughout France. On Tuesday, November 27, the crowds that had assembled for Urban's speech were too large to be housed in the cathedral, where the council was meeting, so the papal throne was set up on a platform outside the east gate of the city. Urban spoke for the first time about the crisis in the east and the request from their brother Christians for assistance and went on to tell them of the horrors their Christian brothers suffered under the "base and bastard Turks.". He described how God's kingdom had been, ground down into the dust, churches desecrated, pilgrims molested and preyed on by the Turks. Urban then declared that Europe was "too narrow for your large population" and urged his audience to take up swords against the Saracens who defiled "that land that floweth with milk and honey." He urged poor and rich alike, to come to the aid of the Greeks in the east, because "Deus le volt," ("God wills it"), this was the rousing cry with which Urban ended his final address which had stirred the crown into a near frenzy as they chanted 'Deus le volt'.

During the speech he had berated the knights of France for their violence towards one and other, and reminded them that "It is less wicked to brandish your sword against Saracens." He also emphasized the sanctity of the Holy Land, which must be in Christian possession so that prophecies about the end of the world could be fulfilled and promised remission of sins for those who went to the east to crusade. On the last day of the council, a great call was sent out to all of the soldiers of France to join the crusade. People were told to put their affairs in order and be ready to leave their homes on the Feast of Assumption (15th August) the next year and that the armies should assemble at Constantinople. The last act of the council was to appoint Adhemar de Monteil, Bishop of Le Puy as leader of the crusade.

The first great magnate to join the crusade was Raymond, the count of Toulouse, exemplary for courage and piety among the knights of France. On December 1st he declared that he was fully prepared to take up arms and so were many of his nobles as well on behalf of the church and crusade for the liberation of the holy land. His taking of the cross prompted many other nobles to do like wise and swiftly the numbers of soldiers committed to the Crusade grew. Urban himself spent the next few months preaching the Crusade in France, while papal legates spread the word in the south of Italy. During this time the focus turned from helping Alexius to taking Jerusalem and by now over 100,000 men had taken up the call to crusade.

"Let those who have been accustomed unjustly to wage private warfare against the faithful now go against the infidels and end with victory this war which should have been begun long ago. Let those who for a long time, have been robbers, now become knights. Let those who have been fighting against their brothers and relatives now fight in a proper way against the barbarians. Let those who have been serving as mercenaries for small pay now obtain the eternal reward. Let those who have been wearing themselves out in both body and soul now work for a double honour. "

There are five major versions of Urban's speech--two of which were recorded by people who were actually there--but there is little similarity between them.

Disorder and the people - the Crusade gets under way.
Peter the Hermit, also known as Peter of Amiens because he was born in that French town, had never met the pope; however that did not prevent him from telling his followers that it was he who had persuaded Urban to preach the crusade. Peter was among the first to preach it, but was just one of many others who were passing on the Pope's message of the crusade. It was Peter who became the de facto leader for many of the poor people who joined the Crusaders. A former soldier, Peter was a short, elderly man whose face was almost as long and sad as that of the donkey he always rode. His garments were filthy and ragged and his bare feet had not been washed in years as an act of piety. He ate no meat or fruit, living almost entirely on wine and fish. In 1093, Peter had made a pilgrimage to Palestine, but he was unable to reach the Holy City. One person who knew him, Abbott Guibert of Nogent, stated that he "seemed somehow semi-divine both in his actions and his words." In a few weeks he had some 15,000 followers and on his march south he gathered many more as he progressed through Germany. His higher-ranking followers, included most notably the French knight Walter Sansavoir (Walter the Penniless) who was a very able leader of men and highly regarded by his fellow knights. These senior knights brought thousands of men-at-arms with them as well as core units of professional soldiers and mercenaries. Two knights in Germany formed large contingents in a similar way, but both were probably about half the size of Peter's host in total.

Both Alexius and Urban wanted professional armies, not rabble. The quickly swelling 'mob' that rallied to the pope's appeal caused grave concern for Alexius, primarily because their leaders had minimal control them over them. Reports to Alexius, according to the writings of his chronicler daughter Anna Comnena, that "all the west, even the barbarians who dwell beyond the Adriatic, out as far as the Pillars of Hercules (Gibraltar), are on the move, bringing their whole families with them." and heading for Constantinople. So it was that Peter's army set out months ahead of the main papal army and there was a constant stream of pilgrims heading in its footsteps to Constantinople to wait there for the legate and the main papal army.

In the spring of 1096, Peter's army halted at Cologne to recruit and gather provisions. He had always given his every coin to the poor, but now he realized that he could not lead his followers on such a journey without a war chest. Walter, impatient with the many delays and slow progress of Peter's army had already set out from France. He sent messengers ahead to request permission from King Kolomon I of Hungary requesting permission to pass through his lands. This was granted, and the passage was completed with only minor incident between the army and the local population. Alexius had established stores of food and fire wood along the route of the approaching Westerners, but they could not begin to feed the huge numbers approaching his borders. He now learned that a second, much larger body of soldiers, was also on its way and he urgently tired to get more provisions together for them.

With a small military escort of lesser German nobility leading his horde, Peter finally began his eastward trek, following in Walter's footsteps. Things went well until they reached Semlin (Zemun), a small Hungarian frontier town, where a small number of Walter's men preceding the army had been caught by the local law while trying to rob a bazaar. They had been stripped of their arms, armour and clothing and sent on their way naked back to the army. Their weapons and clothing were still hanging on the town walls for all to see, and this sight sent rumours through the Crusaders' ranks about what had happened. Hostility toward the Hungarians grew out of control until an argument over the sale of a pair of shoes sparked a riot, and the Crusaders attacked the townsfolk. Shops and markets were looted, and hundreds of Hungarians were killed as well as parts of the market being set on fire. Then a large body of soldiers led by Geoffrey Burel , attacked the main part of the town and succeeded in storming the citadel. Over four thousand Hungarians were killed within the town and citadel and a large store of provisions was looted. Frightened of what King Kolomon's reaction would be, the Crusaders hurriedly tried to cross the Sava River into Byzantine territory and out of Hungary.

Walter's arrival at Belgrade took the cities commander by surprise. He had received no instructions on how to handle such an 'invasion', so he sent urgent messengers racing to the provincial governor in Nish, asking for advice. The Governor Nicetas, requested guidance from Constantinople as he was unsure what to do either. Meanwhile at Belgrade, Walter demanded food for his followers, but the available supply was far too small to feed such a large host. Walter and his troops began to pillage the countryside, forcing the local commander to call out his troops. Several Crusaders were killed and a stand off ensued. Walter finally made it to Nish, where Nicetas sent the crusading horde on to Constantinople under escort.

By the time Peter reached the Hungarian border, his armies ranks had grown to about 20,000. By demolishing local inhabitant’s houses his army stole enough timber to build the rafts they needed to cross the river. The local troops were sent in barges to keep the crossing orderly, while local inhabitants ran away to hide in the mountains from Peter's army. Peter's mob resisted every attempt to keep it under control and had forced its way across the Sava by June 26. When the escorting soldiers tried to keep the Crusaders along one specified route, Peter's men attacked them. Many of the soldiers were captured alive and put brutally death, while Belgrade was looted and and set on fire and many of the inhabitants were put to the sword. After a seven-day march, punctuated by more violence against the local inhabitants and the plundering of anything his army could steal, Peter arrived at Nish on July 3. His first act was to demand food for the army, and giving the conduct of the army so far hostages were demanded as a guarantee of good conduct. Geoffrey Burel and Walter of Breteuil were handed over as surety of the armies’ good behaviour.

The next morning, the Crusaders set out for Sofia, but as they were leaving Nish, a group of Germans who had quarrelled with some of the townspeople the night before set fire to a cluster of mills. When Nicetas heard of the incident, he sent troops to attack the rear guard and take hostages. A man ran to Peter with the news, and Peter turned back to talk with Nicetas and to ransom the captives. During the conference, rumours once again spread among the Crusaders. A large body of them attacked the town but was driven off by the garrison. Later on a larger group resumed the assault and Nicetas tired of the provocation and seeing that talking was not an option unleashed his army. The Crusaders were completely routed after some brief resistance. Many were killed, while many others were captured and spent their remaining years as slaves. Peter lost his war chest and spent the night hiding in the mountains with, Rainald of Breis, Walter of Breteuil and some 500 others believing that they were the only survivors and that the rest of the army had been massacred. In reality, about one quarter of their company had been killed or taken into slavery. On July 12, the remaining Crusaders reached Sofia, and from there they proceeded, under Imperial escort, to Constantinople, arriving on August 1st.

The crusaders march from Germany to Constantinople.
Another wave of Crusaders was on the march towards Constantinople, and as the progressed they attacked "infidels" they encountered on their way, the European Jews. Earlier, Peter and his army had extorted money from the Jews, whom they declared "murderers of Christ," either as a tax or in some cases by taking hostages and demanding ransoms for their safe return. In Eastern Europe a full scale pogrom was unleashed and even though the worst of it occurred where the Pope was he did nothing to stop it

The German contingents, who followed Peter, became notorious for their cruelty towards the Jews. They first attacked the Jews of Spier, a small number of whom were saved through the direct intervention of the local bishop who threatened the crusaders with excommunication. The Bishop of Worms tried to protect that town's Jewry when the crusaders arrived in May 1096, but the Crusaders stormed into his palace and slaughtered over 500 Jews who had taken refuge in it, .and over the next two days they indulged in an orgy of slaughter and robbery while killing another 300 Jews. At Mainz, the crusaders laid siege to the city and demanded a ransom from the Jews to spare their lives. The ransom was paid, but the crusaders stormed the city anyway for sheltering Jews. The Jews sought refuge in the palace of the archbishop, but he was driven from the city so they had little defence. With their situation hopeless, the Jews chose quick death to the more terrible fate they could expect at the hands of the Christians. They were aware that other communities of Jews that the crusaders had attacked many had been mercilessly tortured to reveal where their valuables were hidden and many had died slow and terrible deaths. Since suicide was prohibited under Jewish law, they first killed their elderly brethren and then each other, rather then fall alive into the hands of the crusaders. About 1,000 Jews died in Mainz, but its chief rabbi and a small number of survivors sought asylum in Rudesheim, where the archbishop had retreated to his country villa. The archbishop agreed to protect them, but under the condition that the Jews had to convert to Christianity and become Catholics. The rabbi, crazed with rage, seized a knife and attacked him and the archbishop’s guards massacred the last of Mainz's Jews.

Finally, with the Jews in the Rhineland either murdered, tortured or bled dry of money, the Germans started out on the road previously travelled by Walter and Peter. Where as previously the Crusaders had limited their thefts and attacks to Jewish property, they now stole from fellow Christians along the way. Another German band, led by a nobleman named Volkmar, reached Prague at the end of May and fell upon its Jewish community. When Volkmar's Crusaders tried to do the same thing in the Hungarian town of Nitra, however, they were themselves killed or taken prisoner by the Hungarian army.

Kolomon had already experienced the unruly behaviour of the earlier waves of Crusaders and was less willing to tolerate this new contingent who were descending on his country. That summer, the German crusader army laid siege to the Hungarian fortress town of Wieselburg for six weeks, until rumours that Kolomon was coming with a relief force disheartened the Germans, at which point the garrison sallied forth and scattered the Crusaders. Gottschalk, one of the German crusader contingent leaders, after massacring Jews throughout Bavaria, ran afoul of Kolomon's troops and was killed. In sum, as many as 10,000 Crusaders were killed by the Hungarians. The few survivors turned back or established new homes along the path of the march, none having reached Constantinople.

Gathering the Crusade and Constantinople.
Emperor Alexius met Peter as soon as he arrived at Constantinople, he was eager to see what had arrived to aid him against the Turks. Little is known of this first meeting, however the crusader army soon fell into its accustomed ways and started to steal anything they could get their hands on. The soldiers ransacked homes, places and even stripped the lead from church roofs. Alexius was so alarmed at the lack of control of the mob that had descended on him and realised that he was days away from his own people revolting due to the incessant looting that he quickly arraigned for the crusaders to be ferried across the Bosphoros Strait to Civetot. Once across the Bosphoros they were ushered into an old army encampment where the women, children and sick individuals could live during the campaign to come. The Crusaders were instructed to wait until more seasoned knights and soldiers arrived and an effective campaign could be launched, however there was little that could control them or hold them back.

Initial raids by the crusaders into Turkish territory were short-lived and avoided contact with the Turks as the gauged the lay of the land and the strength of their enemy. They robbed and pillaged nearby villages, not caring that the villagers were fellow Christians and swiftly alienated these communities from the crusader cause. These local Christians, who, contrary to the exaggerated reports heard in Europe, were tolerated within the Islamic world as fellow "People of the Book," although they had an inferior social status and were more heavily taxed. Peters control over the Crusaders quickly slipped away as more and more raids came back laden with booty. The Germans and Italians under Rainald and the French knights over who Gefforey Burel held chief influence vied with each other in raiding the countryside.

In September, a large body of French soldiers marched inland to the provincial capital of Nicaea. When they passed through several Christian villages and commandeered the newly gathered harvests, mercilessly killing any peasants who tried to resist them. At that time, the sultan of the region, 16-year-old Kilij Arslan ibn Süleyman, was engaged in a war with rival Turks who had killed his father. Despite his many spies, both Christian and Turk, the young sultan was taken by surprise when the French Crusaders raiders turned up at the walls of Nicaea. Kilij Arslan dispatched a unit of cavalry to attack the French, but they were hopelessly outnumbered, and the Franj ("Franks," which soon evolved into a general Turkish and Arabic term for any foreigners) cut them to pieces. A few survivors managed to get back into Nicaea and tell him what had happened. The French army had no chance of breaching the city's six miles of walls with their 240 turrets as they had no siege equipment with them, however they did have some minor success in raiding the suburbs, again killing Christians and Turk alike who fell into their hands.

Kilij Arslan incensed at the attack and loss of his troops wanted to attack at once, but he was persuaded to wait for a better opportunity by his council of generals. In September 1096, two weeks after the attack on Nicaea, large contingents of German Crusaders arrived in the area, about 6000 in total and not to be outdone they set off on a pillaging expedition in the footsteps of the French. They looted as they marched, but, unlike the French, they spared the Christians. The Franj circled around the city and marched off toward the east and managed to take the un-garrisoned fortress of Xerigordon by surprise. The plan was to use the castle as a secure base for raids in the surrounding countryside, but within a few days they were surrounded by Turks and it became their prison. Xerigordon had no internal water supply. The stream that supplied the area with water flowed through a valley some distance from the castle and the valley was now full of the Turk army. Within a couple of days, the Crusaders "were so tormented by thirst that they drew blood from the veins of their horses and asses, and drank it. Some pissed into the hands of others, who drank it. Many dug into the moist ground and lay down, spreading the earth over them to allay their parching thirst. This part of the siege lasted for eight days." On September 29, the leader of the defenders, Rainald, sued for terms, and amazed his besiegers by offering to fight with them against the other Crusaders. The Turks promised only to spare the lives of those who renounced Christianity. Rainald and a few others did so and were sold into slavery, the rest were put to the sword.

The sultan sent spies to Civetot to spread glowing tales of the German success at Xerigordon, to ensure that the Europeans remained calm and many wanted to make haste to the castle and share in the bounty, down long roads that the sultan had carefully set with ambushes. This strategy worked until a survivor of the massacre arrived who had somehow escaped from Xerigordon and told of the slaughter of the European force. Peter was not there at this time, he was in Constantinople seeing Alexus, and a decision was made to wait for Peters return. Shortly after that a report was received that the Turk army was marching towards their camp and the leaders held an emergency meeting about what to do. Civetot offered the best battle field for the Christian army to give battle on and the best military council present said they should draw up a defensive position on the field and await the Turks. The leader of the many hotheads in the army, Geoffrey Burel, opposed such defensive tactics. Cries of "Cowardice!" outweighed sound advice and the army marched out to meet the Turk army on October 21.

About three miles from Civetot the road passes through a narrow valley, and it was here that the Turks waited in ambush for the Christian army concealed inside of a small wood next to the village called Dracon. With a large body of knights in the vanguard the Crusaders moved forward as a rabble, rather then as an ordered army on the march. According to the Arab accounts the knights did not even bother to wear their armour, not expecting to see the enemy so soon and they were laughing and joking with each other as the army moved down the narrow valley. Suddenly thousands of arrows tore into the Christian army from the hundreds of archers concealed around them in the woods and village. Hundreds were wounded within the first minute and horses crazed with pain from arrow wounds tore about through the army with their riders struggling to control them and many knights were unseated. Within the first few minutes of the arrow storm having started the Christian army had disintegrated and started to rout. Some small bodies of professional soldiers and knights struggled to form themselves into defensive groups, but they had great difficulty in organising their units due to the routing mob all around them. Into this anarchy or routing soldiers charged the main body of Turkish horsemen accompanied by mounted archers, all the while the concealed archers showered more arrows into the few units of Christians who were trying to organise a defence. The few knights and soldiers who did mount a defence were swept aside in moments by the Turks and the rout became a massacre as the Turkish horsemen rode down the fleeing Christians.

In the Christian camp at Civetot the women and priests who had been left behind when the army left saw a huge cloud of dust approach them and then a few Christian soldiers ran into the camp closely perused by the Turks. Panic, anarchy and massacre followed in short order as the Christian camp was over run by the Turks. Some partial defence was organised and the Turks we held off for a short while, also 3000 people managed to fell into a derelict castle and hastily threw up defences. By midday the camp was totally over run and most of the people had been put to the sword and a very small number spared and taken into slavery. The castle still held out against repeated assaults and now the Turks sat back to starve the Christians out as they knew they had no food or water. At dusk a Greek sailor managed to slip out of the castle and find a boat and set off for Constantinople for help and the following morning the Crusaders awoke to see a full Byzantine battle squadron off shore. The Turks seeing the battle squadron pulled back from the castle into the woods and hills and the survivors were taken to the ships and then back to Constantinople.

Only six of the great magnets in Peter’s army survived the battle and siege, one of whom was Geoffrey Burel, whose ill council had brought the Crusade to such calamity. The people’s part of the first crusade was over; they had been led to an ignominious end by incompetent, greedy leaders and their own foolishness.

1097 - The First Crusade begins in earnest
The overwhelming victory of the Turks against the Christians at Civetot convinced Kilij Arslan that the Frank armies were nothing to be feared and could easily be brushed aside as a minor problem. However the Peoples Crusade that had gone before it was very different to the armies that started arriving in Constantinople in December of 1097. Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorraine had arrived with a large body of soldiers, all professional solders and knight and very well versed in the art of war. Along with Godfrey was his brother Baldwin who was accompanied by a large household of knights and soldiers and his brother Eustace III, Count of Boulogne was following with another large body of knights and professional soldiers. Drawn to this large army were many other leading knights along with their households, many of them very capable commanders.

Shortly after arriving at Constantinople Godfrey's men made contact the remnants of Peter's army, most of whom justified their recent disaster by attributing it to imperial treachery; and Godfrey was deeply influenced by what he heard. There now followed several weeks of political manoeuvre between Alexius and Godfrey and the other leading Crusaders as he manoeuvred them to swear oaths of fealty to him and they refused to do so. After several confrontations and some stand offs Godfrey agreed to swear fealty and recognition of Alexius over all the lands that he conquered. Alexius had finished his manoeuvring just in time and shipped Godfrey's army to Chalcedon just as another large crusader army arrived at Constantinople lead by the Count of Toul and the same game of politicks repeated itself. As soon as the oaths of fealty were completed he shipped the army off to join up with Godfrey and just in time as on the 9th of April Bohemond of Taranto arrived with a large Norman army. A group of French knights had joined Bohemond at Amalfi, where he was conducting a major siege. Their zeal about the Crusade persuaded him that he should take up the cause and his men were already responding with great enthusiasm to the French knight’s calls. He announced that he to would take the Cross and summoned the whole army and all the leading nobles and knights to witness this act. In front of this assembled host he took of his rich scarlet cloak and tore it into pieces to make crosses for his captains, his vassals hastened to follow his lead and many of the vassals of his uncle, Roger of Sicily likewise did the same. Thus Bohemod arrived at Constantinople with an army that was smaller than Godfrey's, but it was significantly better equipped and all of the men were hardened veterans from recent wars.

To Alexius Bohemond was by far the most dangerous of the crusaders. Past experience had taught the Byzantines that the Normans were formidable enemies, ambitious, wily, and un-scrupulous; and Bohemond had shown himself to be a worthy leader of them. His troops were also well organised, well equipped and well disciplined and he had their complete confidence. Quite a contrast to some who had gone before him. More than a war leader and knight he was a diplomat, subtle and persuasive, and far sighted as a politician. When asked by Alexius to swear an oath of allegiance, Bohemond did so without hesitation and then suggested that Alexius made him Grand Domestic of the East that is commander in chief of all the imperial forces in Asia. Alexius was completely wrong footed by this request and struggled for an answer, but managed to delay Bohemond for a couple of days while he took advice. In the end the best that Bohemond could get was the vague promise that he could earn it by his energy and loyalty. On April 26th Bohemonds army was ferried across the Bosphorus to join Godfrey's at Pelecanum.

Now in late April Raymond, Count of Toulouse arrived at Constantinople. Unfortunately without his presence in his army following him and with the Bishop Le Puy being injured and absent from the army it took it upon itself to raid all the lands it passed through and generally wreck havoc and disaster on the local inhabitants lives. This led to a full scale encounter with several regiments of the Byzantine army who were bolstered by a large number of Petcheneg regulars who tore through the Crusaders army in minutes. News reached Raymond of the disaster just as he was setting out for an interview with the Emperor, his army was scattered and its baggage was in the hands of the Byzantine army now. Raymond's initial meeting with Alexius ended in a stalemate as he refused to swear the same oaths the other crusaders had sworn. After protracted negotiations Raymond agreed to swear a modified oath, which was lesser then the other oaths sworn by the Crusaders. He said that he’d only come to the East to do God’s work and as such God was now his only suzerain, thus implying that he was the lay delegate of the Pope. He did add that if the Emperor was to lead the united Christian force then he would serve under him. The Emperor accepting this oath and reconciled with Raymond let him progress to meet up with the other Crusading armies. Raymond’s rather crestfallen army gathered at Rodosto, and waited for the Bishop of Le Puy who was still recovering. He shortly joined the army and they were ferried across the Bosporus to meet up with Raymond and the rest of the Crusaders.

The fourth great army to set out on Crusade from northern France did so in October of 1096.This was under the joint leadership of Robert, Duke of Normandy, his brother-in-law Stephen, Count of Blois and his cousin Robert II, Count of Flanders. Several important nobles accompanied this army as well as Odo, Bishop of Bayeux as well as sizable contingents of knights and soldiers from England and Scotland. Arriving at Constantinople in May they were the last great army and were well received by the Byzantines. As they set out to join the main crusader army the first part of the main campaign had already begun with the investing of Nicaea.

Early in 1097, Kilij Arslan was informed that an even larger army of Franks had arrived, but he dismissed the threat as being of no real consequence given how easy the last crusader army had been to defeat. More pressing to him was the fact that his rival, King Danishmend the Wise, had laid siege to Malatya and could shortly take it from his possession. When a second messenger brought updated news of the Europeans' progress in April, Kilij sent a tiny detachment of cavalry to Nicaea simply to boost the citizens' morale. In early May, another messenger brought more details of the new crusader army, but by then it was too late.

As the crusaders marched south they passed though the valley where Peter’s army had been ambushed. Their bodies still covered the entrance to the pass so the army moved cautiously and marked its route with crosses along the rode to guide the following crusaders. In a few days the army was before the walls of Nicaea, which were some four miles in length and reinforced with two hundred and forty towers. On the 16^th Raymond’s army arrived and on the 3^rd of June Robert of Normandy arrived and the siege began in earnest. Meanwhile the Byzantine general accompanying the crusaders started talks with the cities commanders about surrender. One attempt was made to relieve the garrison, but after a days hard fighting this was a failure and the crusaders still held the city in an unbroken siege. The siege progressed slowly for the next week, while the Byzantines secretly talked with the local commanders in the city and on the morning of the 19^th when the crusaders planned a full assault they woke to see the Emperors flag flying over the city. Alexius swiftly made a gift to all of the crusaders of food and presented the leaders with huge quantities of gold and jewels to smooth relations out after he had deprived them of the city to sack. The crusaders were elated by their first victory and disappointment at not storming the city and sacking it was soon forgotten.

Letters home for the nobles and knights to their kings, church and families told that the city had been liberated were greeted with great enthusiasm, and it was evident that the crusade was proving to be a success. This news made more knights and soldiers take the cross and head for the holy land.

A week after the fall of Nicaea the crusader army was again on the march, this time towards Dorylaeum. The army split into two contingents to easy the problem of supplies, the first consisted of the Normans of southern Italy and of northern France, with the troops of the count of Flanders and of Blois and some units of the Byzantine army. The second army, following the first, consisted of the southern French and the Lorrainers, along with the troops of the Count of Vermandois. The two armies marched with a days gap between them.

Sultan Kilij Arslan had managed to make peace and unite with the Danishmend Emir against the new menace of the Frank army. Gathering all of his troops, the troops of his vassal Hassan, Emir of Cappadocia and with the Danishmend army he waited at Dorylaeum for the crusaders army to emerge from the pass so that he could ambush them.

The first crusading army encamped in the plain not far from Dorylaeumn and the next morning at sunrise the Turks launched a surprise attack on the crusader camp. Bohemond was not unprepared though and quickly mustered the army into a defensive formation with the non-combatants at the centre next to the water springs, who were tasked with supplying the soldiers with water throughout the battle. Riders were sent of to urgently summon the second crusader army, knights prepared for battle and the camp was soon surrounded. The Turk army seemed huge to the Crusaders and all morning thy kept on attacking by showering the crusaders with arrows and then retiring to the back of their lines so that fresh archers could approach. The attack was relentless, but the crusaders knew that surrender meant captivity and slavery for the rest of the lives and so they determined that if necessary they would suffer martyrdom together. At about midday they saw the standards and the vanguard of the second army appear behind them marching in battle formation lead by Godfrey and Hugh and Raymond’s division behind. The Turks had believed that they had surrounded the entire Christian army and at the sight of this new army their attacks faltered. While these attacks faltered the two armies linked up and the and with their spirits raised the now whole army took the offensive.

The Turks were unready to receive an attack and their archers were short of ammunition as they tried to reorganise their army the confusion turned to panic at the sudden appearance of a third army behind them on the hills. The Bishop of Le Puy and a sizable contingent of southern French had managed with the aid of local guides to find a path behind the Turk army and now panic spread rapidly through the Turn army. Within minutes the Turks broke rank and were in full flight; even abandoning their camp. The camp fell to the Christians along with all of the tents and treasure of the Emirs, for the crusaders it was a great victory, although an expensive one with the number of soldiers lost. The Sultan now having lost his capital, royal tent and encampment and most of his treasury took to the hills after pillaging and deserting the town and cities that the crusaders would advance along. As they retreated to the hills all of the wells were poisoned, or had dead carcases dropped in them and any food they could not take with them was burnt to ensure that nothing was left for the Crusaders.

After a two day break the Crusaders army was again on the march, but this time as one large host to avoid the risk of what happened at Dorylaeum happening again. A long and difficult march now took its toll on the Crusaders, the extreme heat exacerbated by the lack of clean, drinkable water. After numerous skirmishes and two large encounters with the Turks the army arrived at Coxon and managed to re-provision and rest properly. It was now that a rumour reached the army that the Turks had abandoned Antioch. Bohemond was absent perusing the Danishmends who had harassed the army throughout its march; so Raymond of Toulouse instantly; without consulting the other leaders, sent five hundred knights to race ahead and occupy the city. As Raymond’s knights neared Antioch they learned that rather than abandon Antioch the Turks were pouring in reinforcements and that they had be deceived.

The army now made an extremely difficult march from Coxon through the hills towards Antioch, the winter rains making the roads turn to mud and every small stream into a treacherous river to cross. By the 10th of October the army had exited the mountains and approached Marash, where Bohemond’s army rejoined them. Bohemond viewed Raymond’s act with deep suspicion and the division between the army commanders grew a bit deeper. After a short rest and a five day march the army was now camped just three days away from Antioch.

The walls of Antioch.
Hearing that the Crusader army was almost upon him the city governor, The Turcoman Yaghi-Siyan took drastic action against the Christians within the city. Fearing their loyalty in the coming siege he first threw the Patriarch, the head of the most important community in Antioch, into prison. Many of the leading Christians were ejected from the city, most of the remainder fled followed by whole communities. The Cathedral of St Peter was desecrated and became a stable for the Emir’s horses, and his troops raided the local villages persecuting the Christians within them and siege all food and provisions for the siege to come. An upshot of this was that as the Crusaders army approached even closer several of the local villages rose up against their Turk garrisons and massacred them.

The enormity of the city amazed the Crusaders and now a major problem was perceived in that the Crusader army was too small to surround the entire city and successfully lay siege to it. Two weeks of stalemate ensued while the Crusaders fortified their camps and slowly cut off the main roads leading to the city. The Crusaders were also waiting for Tancred’s arrival during this period and the arrival of a Genoese fleet with more reinforcements and provisions.

Bohemond had learnt the lesson of Alexius at Nicaea and due to the incomplete encirclement of the city he was able to contact some of the Christians within the city who were eager for news of their friends and family who had fled and vice versa. Due to this contact there was little that happened within the cities walls that the crusaders were not aware of and the local Christians wishing to be safe no matter who won in the end ensured that the Turk’s were well informed about events in the Crusaders camp.

A slow bitter war of attrition played out for the next few weeks as autumn turned to winter. Soldiers would slip out of the city and ambush small foraging parties from the Crusaders camps, and the garrison from Harenc would sortie frequently and attack the back of the crusaders camps and any supply units it became aware of. As news reached the defenders of a relief army marching towards them from Damascus, it looked like the Crusaders would never take Antioch and soon the Turk’s would have enough troops in the area to crush them once and for all.

Bohemond and the other crusaders were not idle during this time. Pricked into action by the constant raids from Harenc, he laid a careful ambush and managed to lure the garrison into it and annihilate them. Having cleared this area they moved through others and neutralised any form of organised resistance from their rear so they could better concentrate on Antioch. At the same time a large Genoese squadron appeared at the port of St Symeon, which cut off from seaborne assistance the Crusaders were able to occupy and ease the flow of supplies to the army. The extra troops and supplies came at a critical time for the crusaders as food had been getting harder to forage for and the further they went to forage the more times they were ambushed by the Turks.

By Christmas 1097 the armies stocks of food were exhausted and there was nothing left that they could obtain form the neighbouring countryside. The princes held council and Bohemond and Robert of Flanders were dispatched with 20,000 men to raid the Orontes valley for supplies for the army. Seeing so many leave prompted Yaghi-Siyan into action and as soon as he was sure they were far enough away he did a major night sortie from the city and attempted to storm the main Crusaders camp. The alertness of the camps guards gave Raymond barley enough time to summon his household knights and arm them selves and from out of the dark they thundered into the Turk ranks throwing them into confusion. The Turks routed back to the city and so closely did Raymond pursue them that he and his men actually managed to get through the main city gate. Anarchy reigned and during the fighting a horse bolted and charged into the knights causing them to lose momentum and the Turks managed to push them back out of the gate and pursue them back to the camp where the rest of the army was now ready and waiting. Both sides retied to lick their wounds and count their dead.

Meanwhile Bohemond was riding south with Robert of Flanders unaware of what was happening at Antioch and not knowing that he was headed directly towards the relief army hat had marched from Damascus. The Crusaders were taken completely by surprise; and Robert’s army, which was in the vanguard, was all but surrounded and attacked on all sides. Bohemond seeing the ambush happen prepared his army and just as it looked certain that the Turks would crush Robert’s army his army charged into the rear of the Turk army and inflicted grievous losses on them. The remnants of the Turk army fled for Hama, but the Crusaders were too weak to pursue them. Roberts’s army had been mauled during the battle and Bohemond had lost a lot of troops as well. Now they were to weak a force to continue the expedition and so they were forced to return to Antioch almost empty handed of the supplies the rest of the army so critically needed.

The situation in the Crusader army now was desperate. The weather turned foul and for several weeks they suffered from torrential rain and cold weather started to set in. Soon one man in seven was dying from hunger in the army and disease was killing more then Turk arrows did. Aid did trickle in from Cyprus and other Christian states, but it was not enough to sustain such a huge host, and slowly small numbers of soldiers began to desert the army. A crisis arose when Peter the Hermit accompanied by William the Carpenter fled the army. Fearful of what would happen to the armies moral Tancred was sent with a body of knights to fetch them back. Peter’s standing never recovered from this act and William was lucky to be accepted back and swore an oath to stay with the army until they reached Jerusalem.

The Turks were again massing for the relief of Antioch, but this time the Crusaders knew that they were coming. Bohemond took the 700 remaining mounted knights out of the camp at night and set up an ambush for the relieving army. At daybreak they sighted the Turk army advancing on their position and the first row of knights charged them. The Turks engaged the knights and slowly pushed them back, not realising that they were being drawn on to the chosen battle ground of the crusaders. This battle ground had one slide enclosed on the left by a lake and on the right by a river and thus prevented the great numbers of Turks outflanking them. On this narrow terrain the knights charged, full force, with lances levelled. The Turks were no mach for the weight of the knights and the army broke and routed, the front ranks causing confusing in the rear ranks that also routed. The pursuit carried on for several miles and the slaughter was terrible, the Crusaders stopping when they reached Harenc to muster and march back to their camps, exhausted, but elated at their victory.
While Bohemond was gaining a spectacular victory over the relief army the infantry left at the camps were fighting a desperate battle. Yaghi-Siyan had sortied in full strength from the city and the camps defenders were beginning to lost ground and be driven back into their camp. Seeing the return of the triumphant knights, Yaghi-Siyanunderstood that the relief army was defeated and called his men back into the city. Elated at their victory, the crusaders were still in a dire situation with food still critically short in their camp.

On March 4^th an English Fleet led by the exiled claimant to the English throne, Edgar Atheling sailed into ST Symeon. Critically they had called in at Constantinople on their way and were loaded with siege materials and engineers provided by the Emperor. By this date the last of four castles had been built to block the approaches to Antioch, so finally the siege was complete and the city was cut off from assistance. Soon after the last castle was completed Tancred ambushed a huge supply column heading for Antioch. As things looked better for the supply situation, news of another, larger relief army came to them. The much feared Kerbogha of Mosul was gathering his forces and vassals and was heading their way to relieve the siege.

In early May Kerbogha was at Edessa, fearful of leaving such a large body of Crusaders to his flank while he attacked at Antioch, he was determined to destroy this stronghold. He was unaware that Baldwin was too weak to attack him, but sitting in one of the strongest fortresses in the region he was almost impossible to defeat. Three long weeks of futile siege convinced him that the effort was lost there and he marched for Antioch.

During this time the crusaders were busy are Antioch with their siege, but none were more busy then Bohemond. Still in secret talks with those in the city he now was talking with one of the Emir’s senior commanders and was agreeing a price for the city.

News of Kerbogha’s coming spread panic through the army and desertion was at an all time high. On 2^nd of June Stephen of Blois lead a large body of Northern French out of the camp and onto the road for Alexandretta, it looked like the crusade would now fail and many more prepared to leave.

This all worked well to aid Bohemond, Stephen’s departure had been seen from the city and they were relaxing now knowing that relief was close to hand and seeing the crusader army disintegrate. A few hours after Stephen departed Firouz (the commander Bohemond was secretly communicating with) sent Bohemond a message saying now is the time for the city to fall and sent him a plan along with his son as hostage to prove that he could be trusted.

The plan was simple. Bohemond was to assemble the Crusading army at mid afternoon and head off to the East and look like they were heading for battle with Kerbogha. In the middle of the night they were to slip back to the western wall and scale the Tower of the Two Sisters which he commanded and he’d let them into the city. Bohemond summoned all the other Crusader leaders and told them of his plan and the deal he’d struck and they all agreed to follow the plan. As the sun set the Crusading army headed from the camp off to the east, with the knights at the front and the foot soldiers following. The garrison relaxed expecting a quiet night having seen them all leave. At about 10pm orders were given for the army to turn about and head for the west and north-west walls.

Just before dawn a ladder was placed against the Tower of the Two Sisters and sixty knights entered led by Falk of Chartres and met Firouz. Within minutes the Crusaders had taken over the other two towers under Firouz’s command and signalled to their companions without the walls to come forward. Many ladders were placed on the wall that they now commanded and soldiers started pouring onto the battlements. Soldiers now ran along the walls storming other towers where the defenders slept and others descended into the city and roused the Christian inhabitants with whose assistance they opened the Gate of St George. The bulk of the Crusader army was waiting on the gate of the bridge just outside of the city and they now stormed into the city.

Yaghi-Siyan awoken by the clamour saw that all was lost and fled the city with his personal guard. However, his son managed to rally some soldiers and made his way into the citadel where fought of repeated attacks by the Crusaders. Bohemond tried to organise a large enough body of soldiers to storm the citadel, but the soldiers were more interested in looting then fighting by then. At this point an Armenian peasant gave him Yaghi-Siyan’s head, he’d fallen from his horse while fleeing and while laying stunned on the ground his body guards had fled and he’d be discovered by local Armenians and killed. By nightfall on 3^rd of June there was no Turk left alive in Antioch; even in the neighbouring villages to which the Franks had never penetrated the Turkish population had fled to seek refuge with Kerbogha’s army. The houses of the citizens of Antioch, of Muslim and Christian alike were pillaged and any who resisted were put to the sword. Everywhere was slaughter; you could not walk on the streets without treading on corpses, all of them rotting rapidly in the summer sun.

Antioch – the second siege
The Crusaders immediately took on the task of readying the city for another siege; they were aware that Kerbogha was only a few days away and knew they had little time. With the Patriarch released and restored Peter saw to the cleansing and restoration of the churches a sort of normality returned to their religious lives, however Shams was still holed up in the citadel, too weak to attack, but too strong to be attacked without major loss by the Crusaders. Kerbogha now tightened his grip on the city and food was in short supply again. One night a group of knights led by William and Aubrey of Grant-Mesnil managed to slip out of the city and through the Turkish lines and made it to St Symeon. There they spread the news that the Crusading army was doomed and within days of starvation before leaving the port for a safer harbour. Now the only hope of assistance the Crusaders in Antioch had was that Alexius would arrive with his army.

Alexius had got as far as Phillomelium and was preparing to march on when Stephen of Blois and William of Grant-Mesnil appeared in the imperial camp and they told the emperor that the Turks were now certainly in Antioch and the Crusader army was annihilated. At about the same time Peter of Aulps, who had deserted his post at Comana, reported that a Turkish army was advancing to strike at Alexius before he could reach Antioch. Given no reason to doubt the men’s word and knowing that if Antioch had fallen then a huge army was going to confront him while deep in enemy territory Alexis decided to withdraw to his own lands and prepare to defend the empire. Bohemond’s half brother Guy who was part of Alexius army council begged him to stay and go to the assistance of the Crusaders, but he was the sole voice in the council and the rest wanted to protect their newly conquered lands from the Turks.

When the news reached the Crusaders that the Imperial army had turned back their bitterness was intense. To refuse to aid fellow Christians in their hour of need was an act of treason towards the faith and this caused a rift that would never heal between the two of them. Stephen of Blois was widely despised for his cowardice and betrayal of the cause and the story of this reached Europe before he did.

The siege dragged on and the situation got more desperate for the Crusaders. At their darkest hour a man called Peter Bartholomew came forward and spoke of a vision he’d had. Saint Andrew had told him in a vision where the lance that had pierced Christ’s side was buried within the city. Within a few days Peter was conducted to St Peter’s Cathedral and all day workmen dug in to the floor. Finding nothing during the long dig Count Raymond left bitterly disappointed. At last Peter jumped into the trench and started digging with his bare hands while asking all present to pray, he then triumphantly held up a piece of iron. The story of the discovery spread around the army and was received with excitement and joy by the soldiers. A few days later Peter had another vision and was told that the army must fast for five days for its sins, and then they should attack the Turks and would be given victory, however they must not sack the Turk camp. Bohemond eagerly prepared for the coming battle as this is what he’d planned to do and with Raymond ill he had sole control of the army.

Major problems had beset Kerbogha’s army, feuding had broken out between the rival Emir’s and other Emir’s who were not involved with the army were attacking the lands of those who were. As the siege dragged on more and more troops were deserting and returning home, a situation that the Crusaders must have been aware of.

On the morning on the 28^th of June Bohemond led the Crusader army out of Antioch for battle. Organised into six divisions, with Raymond of Aquilers carrying the holy lance, they knew they marched to certain victory. Kerbogha waited for the whole army to emerge from the city before he planned to attack, but seeing it all he was unnerved and sent a herald to announce that he was ready to discuss terms. It was too late, the Franks now in full battle formation and started to advance. The fighting was hard, but the Turkish archers could not stop the Crusaders advance. As the Turkish army began to falter the Christians pressed on and encouraged by a vision on the hill-side of a company of knights on white horses, waving white banners whose leaders they recognised as being Saint George, Saint Mercury and Saint Demetius. More physical as opposed to temporal aid arrived in the desertion of several of the Kerbogha’s Emir’s, they feared that victory would make him too powerful and that they would be the first to pay for it. As they left they spread panic in the Turk army and it began to disintegrate. Shortly the whole Turkish army broke up in panic and began to rout. Following St Andrews advice the Crusaders did not pause to sack the enemy camp but followed the fleeing army to the Iron Bridge slaying many thousands of them. The remnants who tried to fell through the hills were killed by the Syrians ands Armenians, Kerbogha only made it back to Mosul with a remnant of his army; but his power and prestige were lost forever.

Seeing the Turk army destroyed the commander of the citadel agreed to surrender and the Crusader victory was complete, Antioch was now theirs. Now serious disputed arose within the Crusader army as to who would have control of Antioch. It was decided that the army would wait until November to march on Jerusalem, this was to avoid marching through the stifling summer heat. Bohemond and Raymond settled down to a bitter round of politicks and manoeuvring while trying to see who’d get control of Antioch. Many of the lesser nobles rode off to join Baldwin at Edessa to see what raiding they could do and to see if they could carve out little kingdoms of their own.

The First Crusade