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Siege of Antioch

Background Information


The Siege of Antioch, from a 15th-century miniature painting

The Siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098. The first siege, by the crusaders against the Muslim-held city, lasted from 21 October 1097 to 2 June 1098. Antioch lay on the crusaders' route to Palestine, and anticipating that it would be attacked the Muslim governor of the city, Yaghi-Siyan, began stockpiling food and sending requests for help. The Byzantine walls surrounding the city presented a formidable obstacle to its capture, so the leaders of the crusade decided to besiege Antioch.






After the Byzantine Empire reconquered Antioch in 969 a programme of fortification building was undertaken in the surrounding area to secure the gains. As part of this, a citadel was built on Mount Silpius in Antioch. High enough to be separate from the city below, historian Hugh Kennedy opined that it "[relied] on inaccessibility as its main defence". At its fall to Seljuk Turks in 1085, Antioch was the last Byzantine fortification in Syria. Yaghi-Siyan was made governor of Antioch in 1087 and held the position when the crusaders arrived in 1097.

A 13th-century depiction of John the Oxite's imprisonment from William of Tyre's Histoire d'Outremer, in the care of the British Museum


Knowing they had to capture Antioch, the crusaders considered how best to go about the task. Attrition suffered during the army's long journey across Anatolia meant the leaders considered leaving an assault until reinforcements arrived in spring. Tatikios, the Byzantine advisor to the crusade, suggested adopting similar tactics to those used by the Byzantines themselves when they moved to capture Antioch in 968. They had installed themselves at Baghras some 12 miles (19 km) away and from there conducted a blockade of the city by cutting of its lines of communication. Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, was alone in advocated assaulting the city. In the end, the crusaders chose to advance on Antioch and establish a siege close to Antioch.

First siege

Starting the siege

On 20 October 1097 they reached a fortified crossing, known as Iron Bridge, on the Orontes River 12 miles (19 km) outside Antioch. Robert II, Count of Flanders and Adhemar of Le Puy led the charge across the bridge, opening the way for the advancing army. Bohemund of Taranto took a vanguard along the river's south bank and headed towards Antioch on 21 October and the crusaders established themselves outside the city's north wall. The crusaders divided into several groups. Bohemund camped outside Saint Paul's Gate near the northernmost corner of the city walls and immediately to the west were Hugh I, Count of Vermandois; Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy; Robert II, Count of Flanders; and Stephen II, Count of Blois. Adhemar of Le Puy and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, took up positions outside the Dog Gate either side of where the Orones penetrated Antioch's defences. Godfrey of Bouillon was stationed west of the Duke's Gate in the northwest of the city walls. The bridge across the Orontes outside Antioch's west walls remained under Yaghi-Siyan's control at this point. The ensuing nine-month siege has been described as "one of the great sieges of the age".







A 13th-century depiction of Bohemund and Tancred from a manuscript in the care of the Bibliothèque nationale de France

While Count Raymond was repulsing a sally from Antioch's garrison, an army under the leadership of Duqaq of Damascas was en route to relieve Antioch. Bohemund and Raymond of Flanders were unaware that their foraging party was heading towards Duqaq's men. On 30 December news reached Duqaq while his army was at Shaizar that the crusaders were nearby. On the morning of 31 December Duqaq marched towards Bohemund and Raymond's army and the two met at the village of Albara. Robert was the first to encounter Duqaq's men as he was marching ahead of Bohemund. Bohemund joined the battle and with Robert fought back Duqaq's army and inflicted heavy casualties. Though they fought off Duqaq's army, which retreated to Hama, the crusaders were suffered too many casualties to keep foraging and returned to Antioch. As a result of the fight the crusaders lost the flock they had gathered for food, so returned with less food than they needed. The month ended inauspiciously for both sides: there was an earthquake on 30 December, and the following weeks saw such unseasonably bad rain and cold weather that Duqaq had to return home without further engaging the crusaders. The crusaders feared the rain and earthquake were signs they had lost God's favour, and to atone for their sins such as pillaging Adhemar of Le Puy ordered that a three-day fast should be observed. In any at this time case supplies were running dangerously low, and soon after one in seven men was dying of starvation.



The arrival of spring in February saw the food situation improve for the crusaders. That month Tatikios repeated his earlier advice to resort to a long-distance blockade but his suggestion was ignored; he then left the army and returned home. Tatikios explained to the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos that Bohemund had informed him that there was a plan to kill him, as they believed Alexios was secretly encouraging the Turks. Those close to Bohemund claimed that this was treachery or cowardice, reason enough to break any obligations to return Antioch to the Byzantines. News arrived that a Turkish army was approaching and Bohemund used the situation to his advantage. He declared that unless he was allowed to keep Antioch for himself when it was captured he would leave. Knowing fully that Bohemund had designs on taking the city for himself, and that he had probably engineered Tatikios' departure in order to facilitate this, Godfrey and Raymond did not give in to his blackmail, but the minor knights and soldiers wanted to recognize his demands and he gained their sympathies.



Fatimid embassy

In April a Fatimid embassy from Egypt arrived at the crusader camp, hoping to establish a peace with the Christians, who were, after all, the enemy of their own enemies, the Seljuks. Peter the Hermit, who was fluent in Arabic, was sent to negotiate. These negotiations came to nothing. The Fatimids, assuming the crusaders were simply mercenary representatives of the Byzantines, were prepared to let the crusaders keep Syria if they agreed not to attack Fatimid Palestine, a state of affairs perfectly acceptable between Egypt and Byzantium before the Turkish invasions. But the crusaders could not accept any settlement that did not give them Jerusalem. Nevertheless the Fatimids were treated hospitably and were given many gifts, plundered from the Turks who had been defeated in March, and no definitive agreement was reached.

Capture of Antioch



The crusaders knew they would have to take the city before Kerbogha arrived if they had any chance of survival. Weeks earlier, Bohemund had secretly established contact with someone inside the city named Firouz, an Armenian guard who controlled the Tower of the Two Sisters. Firouz's motivation was unclear even to Bohemund, perhaps avarice or revenge, but he offered to let Bohemund into the city in exchange for money and a title. Bohemund then approached the other crusaders and offered access to the city, through Firouz, if they would agree to make Bohemund the Prince of Antioch. Raymond was furious and argued that the city should be handed over to Alexios, as they had agreed when they left Constantinople in 1097, but Godfrey, Tancred, Robert, and the other leaders, faced with a desperate situation, gave in to Bohemund's demand.

Despite this, on 2 June, Stephen of Blois and some of the other crusaders deserted the army. Later on the same day, Firouz instructed Bohemund to feign a march south over the mountains to ostensibly confront Kerbogha, but then to double-back at night and scale the walls at the Tower of the Two Sisters where Firouz held watch. This was done. Firouz allowed a small contingent of Crusaders to scale the tower (including Bohemund), who then opened a nearby postern gate allowing a larger contingent of soldiers hiding in the nearby rocks to enter the city and overwhelm the alerted garrison. The crusaders subsequently massacred thousands of Christian civilians along with Muslims, unable to tell them apart, including Firouz's own brother. Yaghi-Siyan fled but was captured by Armenians and/or Syrian Christians some distance outside the city. His decapitated head was brought to Bohemund.

Second siege




Discovery of the Holy Lance


Bohemund was skeptical of the Holy Lance as well, but there is no question that its discovery increased the morale of the crusaders. It is also possible that Peter was reporting what Bohemund wanted (rather than what St. Andrew wanted) as Bohemund knew, from spies in Kerbogha's camp, that the various factions frequently argued with each other. Kerbogha of Mosul was indeed suspected by most emirs to yearn for sovereignty in Syria and often considered as a bigger threat to their interests than the Christian invaders. On 27 June, Peter the Hermit was sent by Bohemund to negotiate with Kerbogha, but this proved futile and battle with the Turks was thus unavoidable. Bohemund drew up six divisions: he commanded one himself, and the other five were led by Hugh of Vermandois and Robert of Flanders, Godfrey, Robert of Normandy, Adhemar, and Tancred and Gaston IV of Béarn. Raymond, who had fallen ill, remained inside to guard the citadel with 200 men, now held by Ahmed Ibn Merwan an agent of Kerbogha.

Battle of Antioch


On Monday, 28 June, the crusaders emerged from the city gate, with Raymond of Aguilers carrying the Holy Lance before them. Kerbogha hesitated against his generals' pleadings, hoping to attack them all at once rather than one division at a time, but he underestimated their size. He pretended to retreat to draw the crusaders to rougher terrain, while his archers continuously pelted the advancing crusaders with arrows. A detachment was dispatched to the crusader left wing, which was not protected by the river, but Bohemund quickly formed a seventh division and beat them back. The Turks were inflicting many casualties, including Adhemar's standard-bearer, and Kerbogha set fire to the grass between his position and the crusaders, but this did not deter them: they had visions of three saints riding along with them, led by St. George, St. Demetrius, and St. Maurice. The battle was short. Before the crusaders reached Kerbogha's line, Duqaq and many other emirs had already betrayed Kerbogha and were taking their armies back to their own lands, this desertion considerably reduced the numerical advantage the mighty army had over its Christian opponents. Soon the remaining Muslim troops had to retreat.


The crusaders decided not to return Antioch to Byzantine Emperor Alexios I, depicted here in a drawing of around 1300.

As Kerbogha fled, the citadel under command of Ahmed ibn Merwan finally surrendered, but only to Bohemund personally, rather than to Raymond; this seems to have been arranged beforehand without Raymond's knowledge. As expected, Bohemund claimed the city as his own, although Adhemar and Raymond disagreed. Hugh of Vermandois and Baldwin of Hainaut were sent to Constantinople, although Baldwin disappeared after an ambush on the way. Alexius, however, was uninterested in sending an expedition to claim the city this late in the summer. Back in Antioch, Bohemund argued that Alexius had deserted the crusade and thus invalidated all of their oaths to him. Bohemund and Raymond occupied Yaghi-Siyan's palace, but Bohemund controlled most of the rest of the city and flew his standard from the citadel. It is a common assumption that the Franks of northern France, the Provencals of southern France, and the Normans of southern Italy considered themselves separate "nations" and that each wanted to increase its status. This may have had something to do with the disputes, but personal ambition is more likely the cause of the infighting.




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