Battle of Antioch
The Battle of Antioch was a pivotal military engagement during the First Crusade, occurring in the late 11th century. The city of Antioch, a historically significant site for Christians and a heavily fortified stronghold, was captured by the Seljuks in 1085. The crusaders, led by notable figures such as Bohemund, Raymond of Toulouse, and Godfrey of Bouillon, laid siege to Antioch in October 1097, facing severe challenges including starvation and harsh winter conditions.
After months of blockade, the crusaders managed to infiltrate the city through betrayal from within, leading to a violent massacre of civilians and the death of the city's governor, Yaghi Siyan. Following this conquest, the crusaders were confronted by a Muslim force led by Kerbogha. Despite initial setbacks, the crusaders ultimately defeated Kerbogha in a decisive battle on June 28, 1098. The successful capture of Antioch enabled the crusaders to advance towards Jerusalem with diminished resistance from the Muslim forces, solidifying the city’s significance in the context of the Crusades.
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Battle of Antioch
Type of action: Siege in the First Crusade
Date: 1097–1098
Location: Between the Orontes River and Mount Silpius, about twelve miles from the Mediterranean Sea
Combatants: Frankish knights vs. Muslim defenders
Principal commanders:Crusader, Bohemund (c. 1050/1058–1111), Raymond of Toulouse (d. 1105), Godfrey of Bouillon (1061?-1100); Muslim, Yaghi Siyan, governor of Antioch
Result: Successful crusader siege of Byzantine city
The Siege of Antioch was one of the main military engagements of the First Crusade (1095–1099). Antioch, where Saint Peter established the first bishop’s seat, had been regarded as a holy site to Christians since about 300 b.c.e. Ruled by the Byzantines from the 900’s, Antioch became an important commercial center. The Seljuks seized the city in 1085. At the time of the Crusades, Antioch was the most heavily fortified city on the Syrian frontier. To the north, Byzantine-built walls rose from low ground along the Orontes River. To the east and west, the walls climbed sharply up the slopes of Mount Silpius. To the south, they ran along the summit of a ridge and culminated in a citadel a thousand feet above the city. The walls of Antioch were punctuated by four hundred towers and several gates.
In October, 1097, the crusaders, led by Bohemund, Raymond of Toulouse, and Godfrey of Bouillon, fought their way to the city walls. Each of these three leaders occupied ground near one of the main city gates. Rather than attempt an assault on the city, the crusaders decided to wait for reinforcements. As the end of the year approached, the crusaders faced starvation, Seljuk marauders, and the cold, wet winter of the eastern Mediterranean. Men began to desert. Then, in February, 1098, Tatikios, the Byzantine general and representative of the emperor Alexius I Comnenus, decided to leave the army. Tatikios had accompanied the crusaders on the march south to Antioch. As soon as the Byzantine departed, Bohemund argued that because the city had been betrayed by such a dishonorable act, then surely he, Bohemund, had no obligation to return it to Alexius.
In the winter and early spring of 1098, the crusaders launched attacks on the Seljuk defenders and succeeded in blockading the city. No food was allowed to reach Antioch and its inhabitants. The rulers of the city, including Yaghi Siyan, governor of Antioch, continued to hold out, however. The crusaders sent a request for help to Alexius who was campaigning in Anatolia. In the meantime, Bohemund contacted a Seljuk captain inside the city who agreed to betray the city to the crusaders. On the night of June 3, the crusaders advanced on the west and northwest walls. They approached one of the towers and placed a ladder against its walls. Then, about 60 knights climbed up and entered the room in the tower where the conspirator was waiting. The knights then seized two other towers and opened the gates to the rest of the crusader force waiting outside. The crusaders rushed in and, in their frenzy, massacred men, women, and children. Yaghi Siyan was killed.
The crusaders then set about trying to defend the city from the approach of the Muslim warrior Kerbogha. The situation appeared grave because Alexius, who was moving south with his army, was persuaded by fugitives from Antioch that any rescue attempt was futile. The emperor turned back. When an attempt at a truce with Kerbogha failed, the crusaders met the Muslims in an all-out battle. On June 28, 1098, the crusaders drew up six divisions to advance against Kerbogha. The Muslims lured the crusaders on, showered them with arrows, and tried to attack them on their unprotected left flank. The crusaders pressed on at the center of the Muslim force, however, and eventually broke the Muslims’ will to fight. Kerbogha, in a final attempt to gain control, set fire to the dry grass in front of his line, but the crusaders’ cavalry stamped it out. The Muslim force broke ranks and fled. With their conquest of Antioch complete, the crusaders should have turned it over to Alexius, to whom they had sworn loyalty. However, Alexius had not appeared to help them, so Bohemund claimed the city for himself.
Significance
As a result of their conquest of Antioch, the crusaders were able to march south to the city of Jerusalem without serious opposition from the demoralized Muslims.
Bibliography
The Crusades. Documentary. A&E Home Video, 1995.
Downey, Glanville. A History of Antioch in Syria. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1961.
Riley-Smith, Jonathan, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Runciman, Steven. The First Crusade. Vol. 1 in A History of the Crusades. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1953.
Setton, Kenneth M., ed. The First Hundred Years. Vol. 1 in A History of the Crusades, edited by Marshall W. Baldwin. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1969.