| |
CHAPTER X.
THE FIRST CRUSADE:
CONSTANTINOPLE TO ANTIOCH
The journeys of the crusaders through the Balkan peninsula gave the emperor
Alexius time to plan his policy toward their leaders when the armies should
arrive at Constantinople. However little he might have wanted an expedition of
the type that was coming, he could see that, if they were carefully directed, the
crusaders could be of great advantage to his empire, which he not unreasonably
regarded as the main bulwark of Christendom. But they must be handled
delicately. In 1096 the empire was enjoying a lull in the Turkish wars. Alexius
had not yet been able to win back much territory, except along the coasts of
the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean. But the emir Chaka of Smyrna (Izmir), the
most menacing of the empire’s enemies, had been murdered in 1092 by his
son-in-law, the Selchukid Kilij (or Kilich) Arslan, at the emperor's instigation. Kilij Arslan
himself, established at Nicaea and calling himself sultan (Arabic, sultan) was
alarmed by the growing power of the Danishmendid dynasty farther to the east and of the emir Hasan of Cappadocia. It was the
emperor’s aim to follow the traditions of Byzantine diplomacy and play off the
Turkish princes against each other until the Christians could collect a force
strong enough to deal them a deadly blow. In the meantime it was essential to
avoid any premature and precipitate attack that might frighten the Turks into
union.
The first crusaders to reach Constantinople presented a problem to the
emperor’s police rather than to his politicians. In the middle of July 1096,
Walter Sans-Avoir (“the Penniless”) arrived before
the capital at the head of two or three thousand French peasants. This was the
vanguard of the huge disorganized rabble that the preaching of Peter the Hermit
and his fellows had urged eastward. As the preceding chapter has indicated, the
Peasants’ or People’s Crusade had not been willing to wait while the princes
organized their expeditions; and Walter and his Frenchmen had been more
impatient even than Peter the Hermit, whom they had left at Cologne. Walter had
had trouble with the Byzantine authorities when he entered the empire at
Belgrade, but by the time that he approached Constantinople his company was
satisfactorily controlled by the imperial police. The visitors were established
in a camp in the suburbs. There they were joined by a stream of pilgrims from
Italy, who had crossed the Adriatic from Apulia and had tramped along the Via Egnatia to Constantinople.
Peter the Hermit and the main body of the People's Crusade, which now
included thousands of Germans, arrived at Constantinople about a fortnight
after Walter, on August 1. Their passage across the Balkans had been turbulent
and unfortunate; but the emperor considered that they had been sufficiently
punished for their misdeeds and had sent Peter while he was still at Adrianople
a gracious message of forgiveness. There seems to have been amongst the Byzantines
a sympathetic interest in these humble, enthusiastic pilgrims who had left
their homes to fight for Christendom. In spite of their lawlessness they were
well received. The emperor himself was eager to see Peter, who had already
acquired an almost legendary renown. Peter was summoned to the palace, where he
was given handsome presents and good advice. Peter’s expedition was not at all
impressive from a military point of view. Alexius therefore urged him strongly
to wait till the organized armies of the crusading princes arrived.
Peter was impressed by the emperor’s counsel, but his followers were more
impatient; and in the meantime they alienated sympathy by endless acts of
violence. Hardly were they settled in a camp in the suburbs before they began
to raid the neighboring villages, breaking into farms and villas and even
stealing the lead off the roofs of churches. They were too numerous to be
easily controlled by the police. The authorities decided that the sooner they
were conveyed across the Bosporus and settled in some camp farther away from
the great city, the better. On August 6 the whole expedition, Peter’s and
Walter’s men as well as the Italians, was conveyed across the straits and began
to march down the road that ran eastward along the shore of the Sea of Marmara,
to Nicomedia. It was an unruly journey. Houses and churches along the way were
pillaged. At Nicomedia, which had lain deserted since it had been raided by the
Turks a few years before, a quarrel broke out between the Germans and Italians
on the one hand and the Frenchmen on the other. The former broke away from
Peter's leadership and elected their own chief, a petty Italian noble called
Reginald. But they continued to march in conjunction. Probably on the emperor's
instructions, they rounded the head of the Gulf of Nicomedia and went westward
along its southern shore toward Helenopolis, at the
mouth of the Dracon, to a fortified camp by the coast, called by the Byzantines Cibotus and by the Franks Civetot or Civitot. It had been constructed by Alexius a few
years previously to house his English mercenaries and seemed a suitable resting
place for the expedition till the other crusaders arrived. The district was
fertile, and it was easy to keep in touch with the camp by sea from Constantinople.
Unfortunately Civetot was close to the Turkish
frontier; and the proximity of the “infidel” proved too great a temptation to
the impatient crusaders. They began to raid the villages in the immediate
neighborhood, which were inhabited by Christian Greeks. Then they ventured into
Turkish territory. Peter, remembering the emperor's advice, tried vainly to
restrain them. He no longer had any authority over the Germans and Italians,
and even his own Frenchmen turned from him to follow the more dashing leadership
of Geoffrey Burel. In the middle of September a large party of Frenchmen
penetrated as far as the gates of Nicaea, sacking the villages on the
outskirts, rounding up the flocks and herds that they found, and torturing and
massacring the villagers, who were Christians, with appalling savagery. They
were even said to have roasted babies on spits. The Turkish troops sent out
from the city to oppose them were driven back. They returned to Civetot laden with booty.
Their success roused the jealousy of the Germans, who set out in force a
few days later under Reginald, and marched past Nicaea, pillaging as they went
but sparing Christian lives, till they came to a castle called Xerigordon. They surprised it and finding it well stocked
with provisions decided to hold it as a center from which to raid the
countryside. On hearing the news Kilij Arslan sent out a strong expedition from
Nicaea which arrived before the castle on September 29 and invested it. After
the summer the castle cisterns were dry, and the only well was outside the
walls. The besieged Germans were soon desperate from thirst. After eight days
of misery Reginald surrendered on receiving a promise that his and his friends’
lives would be spared if they renounced their faith. All those that remained
true to Christianity were slaughtered. Reginald and his fellow apostates were
sent into captivity in the east.
The first news to reach Civetot from Xerigordon told of its capture by the Germans; and it was
followed by a rumor, sedulously put around by two Turkish spies, that Nicaea
too had been taken. The Turks hoped thus to lure the eager crusaders out into
ambushes that they had prepared. The trick would have succeeded had not a
messenger arrived to tell the true story of Reginald’s fate and to warn that
the Turks were massing. The excitement in the camp turned into panic. Peter the
Hermit set sail at once for Constantinople to beg for additional help from the
emperor. Without his restraining influence the crusaders decided to attack the
Turks at once. Walter Sans-Avoir persuaded them to
await Peter’s return; but when Peter delayed at Constantinople, Walter and his
friends were overruled by Geoffrey Burel, who shared the general impatience. It
was arranged that the whole armed force of the expedition should march out at
dawn on October 21.
Some three miles out of Civetot the road to
Nicaea passed through a narrow wooded valley, by a village called Dracon. There
the Turks lay in ambush. As the horsemen in the van entered the valley they
fell on them and drove them back on to the infantry behind. In a few minutes
the whole Christian army was fleeing in disorder back to the camp, with the
Turks on their heels. There followed a general massacre. Hardly a Christian,
soldier or civilian, survived, except for a few boys and girls whose appearance
pleased the Turks, and a few soldiers who with Geoffrey Burel managed to reach
an old castle by the shore, where they improvised defenses. After sundown a
Greek with the survivors managed to find a boat and sailed to Constantinople
with the news of the disaster. The emperor at once sent a squadron of naval
vessels to Civetot. On its approach the Turks
retired. The survivors, nearly all severely wounded, were taken off and were
settled, deprived of their arms, in a suburb of the capital.
A few days after the collapse of the People’s Crusade in the autumn of 1096
the first of the crusading princes arrived at Constantinople. As we have seen
in the preceding chapter, this was Hugh of Vermandois,
brother to the king of France. Alexius had by now decided on his policy towards
the princes. Hugh was received honorifically and given sumptuous presents. In
return Alexius demanded of him a promise to restore to the empire lands that it
had owned up till the time of the Turkish invasions and an oath of allegiance
for any further lands that he might conquer in the east. It was a reasonable
demand. The crusaders might well be expected to help the empire to recover its
recent frontiers; and if they wished, as Alexius rightly suspected, to carve
themselves principalities farther to the east, it was natural that Alexius, as
emperor in the east, should be accepted as overlord. That small states should
be sovereign and independent was unthought of at that time; and though some of
the crusaders may have envisaged the pope rather than any lay potentate as
their suzerain, the claims of the eastern emperor could not be disregarded.
Hugh of Vermandois made no objection to taking
the oath. He had only a small following with him; and Alexius saw to it,
tactfully but firmly, that he was not allowed liberty of movement. But Hugh
bore him no resentment for it and was ready to further his policy.
The next prince to arrive was less amenable. Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of
Lower Lorraine, arrived at Constantinople on December 23, with his brothers
Eustace of Boulogne and Baldwin, and a large and well-equipped army. Some of
his followers had arrived before him; but Godfrey had delayed in Thrace, where
his troops had ravaged the countryside, on the news, Godfrey said, that the
emperor was keeping Hugh of Vermandois in prison. Two
Frenchmen in the emperor's service, Ralph Peeldelau and Roger, son of Dagobert, were able to pacify Godfrey and persuaded him to
come on to the capital. He encamped near the head of the Golden Horn.
Alexius at once sent Hugh to Godfrey to ask him to visit the palace and to
take the oath of allegiance. Godfrey hesitated. He was suspicious of Hugh’s
role. He had probably met some of the survivors of the People’s Crusade, who
chose to blame the emperor for their disaster. It may be that, having taken a
personal oath of allegiance to the western emperor when he was appointed to
Lorraine, he felt that he could not also pay allegiance to a rival emperor. In
any case he wished to wait for the other princes, to see what they intended. He
would not fall in with Hugh's suggestions.
Alexius was annoyed, and cut off the supplies that he had promised for
Godfrey's troops, whereupon Godfrey's brother Baldwin raided the suburbs till
the blockade was lifted. Godfrey at the same time agreed to move his camp to Pera, across the Golden Horn, where it would be better
protected from the winter winds and more easily watched by the imperial police.
For the next three months Godfrey’s army remained there. Discipline was
maintained; and Alexius supplied sufficient food. At the end of January 1097,
Godfrey was again invited to the palace, but only sent some vassals who would
make no promises on his behalf. At the end of March, on the news that other
crusader armies were approaching, Alexius brought matters to a head by cutting
off supplies once more. Again Baldwin riposted by raiding the suburbs and had a
slight success in a skirmish against the emperor’s Pecheneg police. Emboldened
by this, Godfrey moved his camp from Pera, which he
pillaged, and established himself outside the city walls, by the palace of
Blachernae, which he began to attack. It was the Thursday in Holy Week, April
2. The city was unprepared for an onslaught; and Alexius was deeply shocked at
having to fight on such a day. He calmed the growing panic of the citizens and
drew up his troops. His cavalry made a demonstration outside the walls, and
his archers on the walls fired over the Franks’ heads. Godfrey soon retired,
having slain only seven Byzantines. Next morning Hugh of Vermandois went out to make another attempt to induce Godfrey to meet Alexius, but in
vain; and when later in the day an imperial embassy went out toward the camp,
Godfrey's men at once attacked them. Alexius then sent out seasoned troops to
attack the Franks, who turned and fled. Godfrey realized at last that he was no
match for the emperor. He agreed to take the oath and to have his men
transported across the Bosporus.
On Easter Sunday Godfrey, Baldwin, and their leading vassals all solemnly
promised to restore to the empire its recently lost lands and to regard the
emperor as overlord for their further conquests. They were then entertained at
a rich banquet and rewarded with gifts of money. Immediately afterwards
Godfrey’s army was shipped across the straits, and marched from Chalcedon to a
camp at Pelecanum, on the road to Nicomedia.
During the next few days a miscellaneous host of crusaders, mainly vassals
of Godfrey who had preferred to travel through Italy and along the Via Egnatia, arrived at Constantinople. Their leaders agreed,
grudgingly, to take the required oath; and Godfrey and Baldwin were invited to
attend the ceremony. It was on this occasion that a boorish knight sat himself
down on the emperor’s throne, and was severely reproved by Baldwin.
Next week, on April 9, Bohemond of Taranto reached the capital, leaving
his nephew Tancred in command of his army, a day’s journey from the walls.
Bohemond, who had a high reputation as a warrior, was an old enemy of the
empire; and Alexius was anxious how he would behave. He arranged at once for a
private audience with him. But Bohemond showed himself correct and even
friendly and helpful. He took the oath of allegiance without hesitation. Then
he asked for appointment as grand domestic of the east, that is,
commander-in-chief of all the imperial forces in Asia. It was an ingenious
request. As imperial commander he would be in a position to control the whole
allied expedition. He would have authority over all the other potential vassals
of the empire, and all the recovered territory would be handed over to him. He
could later decide what use to make of his power. It was also an embarrassing
request. Alexius distrusted Bohemond but wished to retain his goodwill. He
temporized non-committally, saying neither yes nor
no. Meanwhile he discussed with Bohemond the help that the empire could most
usefully give to the whole crusading expedition. Bohemond's army was summoned
to Constantinople and taken at once across the Bosporus, to join Godfrey’s at Pelecanum. Tancred and his cousin, Richard of Salerno, who
did not comprehend Bohemond’s game and were unwilling to take the oath to
Alexius, slipped through the capital by night. That same day Raymond of St.
Gilles, count of Toulouse, arrived and was at once admitted to an interview
with the emperor. His army waited behind at Rodosto (Tekirdagh).
Raymond’s journey had been uncomfortable, and his temper was frayed. When
he came to the palace and found Bohemond apparently on excellent terms with
Alexius, he was suspicious. His aim had been to be considered the lay leader of
the expedition, and he felt that Bohemond was his chief rival. There were
rumors that Bohemond was to become the imperial commander. If this were true,
Raymond by accepting the emperor’s suzerainty might find himself under
Bohemond’s orders. He told the emperor that he had come east to do God’s work,
and God was now his only suzerain. But he added that if the emperor himself
were to lead the imperial forces he would serve under him. The other western princes
in vain tried to make Raymond change his mind; and Bohemond even said openly
that he would support the emperor should Raymond have recourse to arms. Alexius
made no attempt to put pressure on Raymond, but withheld gifts from him.
Eventually on April 26, Raymond swore a modified oath promising to respect the
life and honor of the emperor and to see that nothing was done, by himself or
his men, to the emperor’s hurt. Such an oath of non-injury was often taken by
vassals to their overlord in southern France; and Alexius was satisfied with
it. As soon as the oath was taken, Bohemond left to rejoin his army in Asia,
and Raymond’s army was brought to Constantinople. Raymond took it across the
Bosporus two days later, and then returned to Constantinople, to spend a
fortnight at the imperial court.
At the end of this visit Raymond and Alexius were on excellent terms. It is
possible that Adhémar of Le Puy, armed as legate with
the pope’s instructions, made it his business to placate the emperor. But a
surer bond was the distrust that both count and emperor felt for Bohemond.
Henceforward, though he never took a more definite oath, Raymond was a loyal
friend to Alexius, who came to like and respect him.
The fourth great crusading army arrived at Constantinople in May. It was
led by Robert, duke of Normandy, and his brother-in-law Stephen, count of
Blois. Their cousin, Robert of Flanders, who had started out with them, had
hurried ahead and had arrived soon after Bohemond. None of these leaders made
any difficulty about taking the oath required by Alexius. Stephen of Blois was
particularly pleased and impressed by his reception and the gifts that were
made to him, and wrote to his wile a warm eulogy of Alexius. When this last
army was across the Bosporus Alexius could breathe again. The huge crusading
host had been safely escorted through his European province and past his
wealthy capital, with no serious incident apart from the skirmishes with
Godfrey’s men. The crusaders were now safely in Asia, ready to fight against
the Turks for the recovery of imperial territory; and if they chose later to
create buffer states beyond the imperial frontier, they might well add to the
security of the frontier, as the emperor's overlordship was apparently assured.
But the success of the whole scheme depended on the crusaders keeping their
oath, and a clear decision on what was admittedly former imperial territory. It
also required that the emperor’s troops should take an active part in the
campaign.
The first objective of the crusaders and their imperial ally was Nicaea.
Not only was it a city hallowed in Christian history, but it was the capital of
the Selchukid potentate, Kilij Arslan ibn-Sulaiman,
and it lay on the main military road across Anatolia. Its capture was a
necessary preliminary to any advance into Turkish territory. Nicaea, which lay
at the eastern end of Lake Ascanius, had been powerfully fortified by the
Byzantines, and its fortifications were in good repair. It formed a rough
pentagon, its western wall rising straight out of the shallow lake. The
inhabitants were still mainly Christian, but it contained a large garrison of
Turks as well as the officials of the Selchukid court. The moment for the siege was well chosen. After his easy victory over
Peter the Hermit’s rabble, Kilij Arslan was inclined to despise the whole
crusading movement and had gone with his main army eastward, to dispute the
suzerainty of Melitene (Malatya) with the Danishmendid emir. When he heard that a formidable
Christian army was advancing against Nicaea, it was too late for him to bring
back his full fighting force to defend it.
Godfrey of Bouillon’s army left Pelecanum on
about April 26 and marched to Nicomedia, where it waited for three days, while
Bohemond’s army came up, under the command of Tancred, as Bohemond was still at
Constantinople, negotiating with the emperor about supplies. They were joined
also by Peter the Hermit and the survivors of his party and by a small
detachment of Byzantine engineers, with siege machines, under the command of
Manuel Butumites. The whole force moved cautiously to Civetot and up through the valley of the Dracon,
where the People’s Crusade had perished. Scouts and engineers went ahead to
open up the track, which was then marked with wooden crosses. On May 6 the army
reached Nicaea. Godfrey encamped outside the northern wall and Tancred outside
the eastern, leaving the southern for Raymond's army, which arrived ten days
later, on May 16. Bohemond had joined his army two or three days before. Robert
of Normandy and Stephen of Blois followed with their troops a fortnight later,
on June 3. The arrangements that Bohemond had made with the emperor insured a
steady supply of provisions to the crusader camp. Alexius himself moved to Pelecanum, where he was in touch with both Nicaea and his
capital.
Messengers, one of whom was intercepted by the crusaders, had been sent by
the Turkish garrison to urge Kilij Arslan to rush troops into the city before
its investment was complete. But the first Turkish relieving force came too
late, a day or two after Raymond’s arrival had blocked the southern gate. After
a brief skirmish with Raymond’s troops it withdrew, to await the main Turkish
army. When the commanders of the garrison saw its withdrawal, they established
contact with the Byzantine general Butumites to
discuss terms of surrender. But almost at once news came that Kilij Arslan was
not far off; and negotiations were abandoned.
Kilij Arslan was now seriously alarmed. He had not foreseen that the
crusading army would be so strong; and he had left his wife and family and much
of his treasure in Nicaea. He patched up a truce with the Danishmendids and brought his whole army by forced marches across Anatolia. On May 21 he
appeared in the plain before the city and at once attacked Raymond’s army.
Raymond was for a time hard pressed, as neither Godfrey nor Bohemond dared
leave his section of the walls unguarded. But the Flemish contingent came to
his aid. The battle raged all day long; but the Turks could make no headway. In
the open ground before the walls the crusaders with their better physiques and
better arms outmatched their enemies. Their losses were heavy. Many leading
knights, including the count of Ghent, were killed, many others severely
wounded. But the Turkish losses were heavier. At nightfall Kilij Arslan led off
his troops to retreat into the hills and leave Nicaea to its fate.
The crusaders were elated with their victory. They took delight in
catapulting the heads of the Turkish dead into the city; and they discovered
with glee the ropes that the Turks had brought for binding the prisoners that
they had thought to take. But the fortifications were still formidable, and the
besieged garrison fought well. Attempts by Raymond to mine the walls failed.
Moreover it was found that supplies and messages were reaching the city by way
of the lake. It was necessary to ask Alexius to provide a flotilla to blockade
the lake. It seems that Alexius deliberately waited for the westerners to make
this request in order that they should realize how essential was his
cooperation. He sent a few ships, which he put under the command of Butumites, and at the same time added to his military
contingent.
Kilij Arslan had told the garrison that it must do as it thought best; he
could give no more help. When it saw the emperor's ships and reinforcements, it
reestablished contact with Butumites and opened
negotiations. But it still played for time, hoping perhaps that the sultan
would make another attempt at its relief. Only when it was told, probably by Butumites, that the crusaders were planning a general
assault, did it yield.
The assault was ordered for June 19. But when dawn broke the imperial
standards were already waving over the city. The Turks had surrendered during
the night to Butumites, who had rushed his troops in
through the gates that opened on to the lake. The crusader leaders had probably
known that negotiations were in progress; but they certainly had not been told
of the final stages. They could not, however, disapprove, Nicaea would have had
to be restored to the emperor, and it was satisfactory that it should be taken
without further loss of life. But they were hurt that they had not been
consulted; while their rank and file, who had hoped to pillage the city and
hold the Turkish notables for ransom, found themselves robbed of their prey.
Alexius had no intention that his future subjects should undergo a sack, nor
did he wish unnecessarily to worsen his relations with the Turks. The crusaders
were only allowed in small groups into the city, closely watched by the police,
while the sultan’s family and nobles were conveyed with all their movable
possessions to Constantinople. There the nobles were permitted to ransom
themselves. The sultana, the emir Chaka’s daughter, and her children were sent
back to Kilij Arslan without a ransom, after some months’ delay.
Such generosity to the “infidel” enemy struck the average crusader, who
already felt himself cheated, as treason to Christendom. Alexius was, however,
generous to the crusaders themselves. Every soldier was presented with a
special gift of food, and their leaders were summoned to Pelecanum and there were given gold and jewels from the sultan’s treasury. Stephen of
Blois, who traveled there with Raymond of Toulouse, wrote home to boast of the
riches that he had received, and to say that, unlike his comrades, he quite
understood that the emperor should not have been able to come in person to
Nicaea. In return for the gifts that he made, Alexius insisted that the chief
knights who had not yet taken the oath to him should now do so. Tancred
demurred and made a truculent scene in the emperor’s presence; but in the end
Bohemond persuaded him to comply.
However disappointed they might be over the emperor’s behavior, the
crusaders were cheered by the liberation of Nicaea and looked forward to an
easy progress to Palestine. Stephen of Blois wrote hopefully to his wife that
in five weeks they would be at Jerusalem, unless, he added, they were held up
at Antioch. News of the victory was sent to the west and induced many hesitant
crusaders there, notably in the Italian cities, to decide to join the movement.
The next problem was to choose the route across Anatolia. The great
military road of the Byzantines ran eastward from Nicaea to the Sangarius (Sakarya) valley, which
it left at a village called Leucae to go southeast
across the hills to Dorylaeum, near the modern Eskishehir.
Thence it continued just south of east, by passing Ankara, to Caesarea-Mazaca (Kayseri), then across the Anti-Taurus range to Marash and down the valley to the east of the Amanus range
to Antioch. But it was not at the moment practicable; the whole section from
Dorylaeum to Caesarea was occupied by the Turks. There was a post-road that led
from Dorylaeum to Amorium and thence across the salt desert straight to the
Cilician Gates. It was the shortest route, but it led across long waterless
tracts of country and was suitable only for swiftly moving cavalry. The third
road after passing Dorylaeum skirted the salt desert to the south, past Philomelium (Akshchir) and
Iconium (Konya) to Tyana, where it forked, one branch crossing the Cilician
Gates and the other turning northeast to join the military road at Caesarea-Mazaca. It was this third road which the crusaders decided
to take, probably on the emperor's advice. It went through territory into which
the Turks had not yet penetrated in full force, and in the past it had been
supplied with wells and cisterns at regular intervals.
Whichever road was taken, the next objective must be Dorylaeum. On June 26
the crusader vanguard began to move from Nicaea, and during the next two days
the various divisions of the army followed, accompanied by a Byzantine
detachment under the general Taticius, who was to
supply the guides. A few crusaders, probably those who were still recovering
from wounds, stayed behind at Nicaea, in the emperor's service, and were
employed to repair and garrison the fortress.
At Leucae the princes met together to plan the
order of the march. It was decided to keep the army in two sections, the one to
precede the other at a day’s interval. The first consisted of the Normans of
southern Italy and northern France, the troops of the counts of Flanders and
Blois, and the Byzantines, the second of the southern French and the Lorrainers
and the troops of Hugh of Vermandois. Bohemond was to
be military commander of the former and Raymond of the latter force. As soon as
the council was over, Bohemond set out with his army, while Raymond and his
comrades, who had ridden ahead of their troops, waited for them to come up.
Kilij Arslan was waiting in the hills; and the common danger had induced
the Danishmendid emir and Hasan of Cappadocia to bring
detachments to join him. On June 30 the Turkish army was encamped in the valley
of the river Tembris (Porsuk)
when scouts reported that Bohemond’s troops were coming down into the valley of
the Bathys a few miles away beyond a low range of
hills. The crusaders encamped that evening in the plain. During the night the
Turks crept over the hills, and at sunrise they swooped down on to the camp.
Bohemond was ready for an attack. The noncombatants were in the center of
the camp, where there were springs; and the women were allotted the task of
carrying water up to the front line. Tents were quickly dressed, and knights
told to dismount and remain on the defensive. Meanwhile a messenger was sent to
the second army, urging it to hurry. One knight, the rude Frenchman who had
seated himself on the emperor's throne, disobeyed Bohemond's orders and with
his followers charged into the enemy, to be routed with ignominy. The rest of
the army patiently awaited the onslaught.
The Turks, whose numbers seemed to be infinite, attacked from all sides,
with archers running to the front to discharge their arrows, then making room
at once for others. As the hot July morning advanced the Christians wondered
how long they could hold out against such a rain of missiles. But Bohemond rode
ceaselessly round the lines encouraging them and telling them that flight was
impossible and surrender would mean life-long captivity. About midday the
vanguard of Raymond’s army appeared, with Godfrey and Hugh in front, and
Raymond himself close behind. The Turks, who had thought that they had
entrapped the whole Christian army, faltered. Godfrey was able to break through
into the camp. Then, when Raymond came up, the united army formed a long front,
with Bohemond, Robert of Normandy, and Stephen of Blois on the left, Raymond
and Robert of Flanders in the center, and Godfrey and Hugh on the right, and
moved forward against the enemy. The Turks were not prepared to meet an
offensive, and their ammunition was running out. As they hesitated, suddenly they
saw another army coming over the hills behind them. It was Adhémar of Le Puy, at the head of a detachment of southern Frenchmen. He had himself
planned this diversion and procured a guide to take him over the mountain
paths. Taken by surprise the Turks turned and fled eastward, leaving in their
panic their encampment intact. When the victors moved over the hill, they found
the tents of the sultan and the emirs undefended and full of treasure.
It was a tremendous and heartening victory, won by the generous cooperation
of all the crusaders. They lost some of their best soldiers, including
Tancred’s brother, William; and the battle had taught them to respect the Turks
as fighters. Indeed, they could not withhold their admiration for the Turks.
The anonymous author of the Gesta declared
that, if only they were Christians, they would be the finest of races; and he
recalled a legend that made Franks and Turks alike the descendants of the
Trojans, a legend that justified them both in hostility towards the Greeks.
Such praise made the victory seem the greater. But it was hardly needed; for
the battle of Dorylaeum permitted the crusade to cross Anatolia. After two
days’ repose to recover from the struggle the army set out again, on July 17
taking the road to Philomelium and Iconium. It
marched now as one unit, to avoid a recurrence of the risk run at Dorylaeum,
Kilij Arslan had now lost his capital, his tent, and the greater part of
his treasure. When he met in his flight some Syrian Turks who had come too late
for the battle, he told them that the Franks were stronger and more numerous
than he had expected and he could not oppose them. He sent orders out to
evacuate the cities along the crusaders’ route, and he and his people took to
the hills after ravaging the countryside and blocking the wells.
Taticius and his
Byzantines provided the crusade with guides. But their task was not easy. After
twenty years of raids and warfare much of the Christian population had moved
away. Villages were deserted and fields uncultivated. Bridges and cisterns had
fallen into disrepair, and the deliberate “scorched earth” policy of the Turks
completed the devastation. The guides themselves could not know the road as it
now was, and information was not always available from the sparse population.
But whenever things went wrong the guides were suspected by the Franks of
treachery. Resentment in the army grew against the Greeks.
After starting out along the road to Iconium, the army soon made a detour,
from Polybotus (Bolvadin)
to Pisidian Antioch, and thence back to the main road at Philomelium by a track over the bare range of the Sultan Daghi.
This was probably because Pisidian Antioch had not been destroyed by the Turks
and supplies could be obtained there. From Philomelium the road ran along desolate country between the mountains and the desert. In
the heat of high summer there was no vegetation nor any shade. Water was very
scarce, with the wells blocked or dry, and the cisterns that they saw all
ruined. The horses died in great numbers. Many knights were forced to go on
foot, despite their heavy armor. Others rode on oxen. Sheep, goats, and dogs
were captured and harnessed to the baggage carts. The men themselves, continually
thirsty and unprepared for such heat, vainly chewed thorn bushes. The older
pilgrims and the women suffered terribly. Even the leaders’ health began to
fail. Godfrey of Bouillon was wounded by a bear when hunting close to the road,
and his wounds took long to heal. Raymond fell desperately ill and was even
given extreme unction by the bishop of Orange. But the general morale remained
high. To Fulcher of Chartres the fellowship of the soldiers and pilgrims,
coming from so many different lands and speaking so many different tongues,
seemed to be inspired by God.
About the middle of August the army reached Iconium. The town itself was
deserted; but the green valley of Meram, in the
foothills close to the city, was full of running water and orchards laden with
fruit. There the weary crusaders rested and recovered their strength. Both
Godfrey and Raymond were restored to health. After about a week the army was
able to move on again much refreshed. Taking the advice of some friendly
Armenians settled there, the soldiers carried with them sufficient water to
last them till their next halting place in the fertile valley of Heraclea (Ereghli).
Near Heraclea a Turkish army was waiting, composed of the troops of the Danishmendids and of Hasan of Cappadocia. The emirs
probably hoped by their presence in force to induce the crusade to turn
southward over the Taurus mountains and so leave their own possessions
untouched. But at the sight of the enemy the Franks at once attacked, led by
Bohemond, who personally sought out the Danishmendid emir. The Turks had not wished for a pitched battle and rapidly retired. A
comet passed across the sky that night as though in celebration of the victory.
A few miles beyond Heraclea the road branched. The shortest route to
Antioch led over the Taurus through the great pass of the Cilician Gates, into
Cilicia, and then over the Amanus range, through the Syrian Gates, to the
Orontes valley. The road was hardly suitable for a large army. As it winds up
through the Cilician Gates it is at times so steep and narrow that quite a
small hostile force can easily cause havoc to a slow-moving expedition. Cilicia
was in Turkish hands; and the climate there in September is at its worst. The
Syrian Gates, though less sensational than the Cilician, were almost as
difficult to cross. On the other hand, the defeat of the Turks at Heraclea
opened the alternative road, which led to Caesarea-Mazaca.
The Byzantine military road could be joined at Caesarea. From Caesarea it ran
over the Anti-Taurus to Marash, through mountainous
country, but country held for the most part by Christians, Armenian princelings
who were, nominally at least, vassals of the emperor. From Marash to Antioch the road was easy, running over the low, broad pass known as the
Amanus Gates. It seems that Taticius and the
Byzantines advised the route through Caesarea and Marash,
which would have the additional value of reestablishing contact between the
emperor and his distant isolated vassals. Tancred and the crusader princes
hostile to Byzantium therefore opposed this route; and when they were outvoted,
Tancred decided to separate from the main army and lead his own expedition of
southern Italians into Cilicia. About September 10 he left the camp by Heraclea
with a company of a hundred knights and two hundred infantrymen, and made
straight for the Cilician Gates. His example was followed by Godfrey’s brother
Baldwin, who, like Tancred, was the landless cadet of a great family and was
determined to found a principality in the east. His company was considerably
larger than Tancred’s. His cousin, Baldwin of Le Bourg, together with Reginald
of Toul and Peter of Stenay and five hundred knights
and two thousand infantrymen drawn from the Low Countries and Lorraine, set out
with him a few days later. They were too numerous to take the rough track followed
by Tancred to the head of the pass, but kept to the main road, through Tyana
and Podandus. Neither party was encumbered by
noncombatants. Baldwin’s wife, Godvere of Tosni, and her young children remained with the main army.
While Tancred and Baldwin crossed into Cilicia the other crusading princes
moved northeastward. At a village called Augustopolis they caught up with Hasan of Cappadocia’s army and defeated it again, but did
not pause to capture a castle of Hasan’s that stood not far from the road. The
villages through which they passed were handed over to a local Armenian lord,
at his request, to hold under the emperor. They found Caesarea, which they
reached at the end of September, quite deserted, but they hurried on at once
southeastward to Comana, or Placentia, a prosperous
town inhabited by Armenians. The Danishmendid Turks
had been laying siege to it, but retired when the crusade approached. Bohemond
with some of his knights set out at once in pursuit of them, but, though he
followed them for several days, he never established contact. Meanwhile the
Armenians of Comana enthusiastically welcomed their
rescuers, who asked Taticius to nominate a governor
to rule the town for the emperor. Taticius chose
Peter of Aulps, a Provencal knight who had in the
past served under Guiscard before he entered the emperor's service. It was a
tactful appointment and showed that the Franks and Byzantines could still
cooperate.
From Comana the road led on to Coxon (Goksun), vhosce Armenian inhabitants were equally friendly. The crusaders
remained there for three days, collecting supplies for the passage over the
last portion of the Anti-Taurus, which lay just ahead. While they were there, a
rumor came that the Turks had abandoned Antioch. Bohemond had not returned from
his pursuit of the Danishmendids; so Raymond, without
consulting any of his colleagues, sent Peter of Castillon with live hundred knights to ride there at full speed and occupy the city. They
reached a castle held by Paulician heretics not far from the Orontes, and there
they learnt that the rumor was false. On the contrary, the Turks were pouring
in reinforcements, Peter of Castillon returned, to
report to Raymond; but one of his knights, Peter of Roaix,
with a few comrades went off to the east and, with the help of local Armenians,
occupied some forts and villages in the valley of Rugia,
towards Aleppo. When Bohemond later returned to the camp and heard of Raymond’
maneuver he was furious. Relations between them grew strained, and most of the
princes sympathized with Bohemond.
For some reason unknown to us the crusaders did not take the usual road
from Coxon to Marash.
Perhaps they learnt that it was ambushed by the Turks. Instead, they took a
track to the south, which was at the best of times a difficult path, very
narrow and steep as it climbed up and down the gorges that they had to cross.
It was now early October, and the rains had begun. For miles the army had to
pass along a muddy ledge overhanging precipices. Horses slipped and fell over
the edge. Baggage-animals, roped together, dragged each other into the abyss.
Riding was impossible. The knights, struggling on foot through the mud, tried
to sell their heavy armor to lightly equipped infantrymen or else threw it away
in despair. Many more lives were lost on the pass than at the hands of the
Turks. It was with great relief that at last the army emerged into the plain
before Marash.
In Marash too the
population was Armenian, and was commanded by a former imperial official called Tatoul. He was confirmed in his authority by Taticius, and gave the crusade all the help that he could.
The army paused three or four days there. Bohemond rejoined it, after his
fruitless pursuit of the Danishmendids; and Baldwin
came hurrying up from Cilicia, presumably to see his wife, who was dying; nor
did her children survive her. On her death, as will presently be discussed, he
went off again, towards the east. The main army left Marash on about October 15, along the easy road to Antioch. On October 20 it reached
the Iron Bridge across the Orontes, at three hours’ distance from the city.
It was four months since the crusade had left Nicaea. For so large an army,
heavily encumbered by noncombatants, traveling in the full heat of the
Anatolian summer through barren country that lay open to a mobile and
formidable enemy, the achievement was remarkable. Without zeal and a burning
faith it could never have been achieved; and it had required the sincere
cooperation of the various component parts of the crusade. Except for a growing
tension between certain of the leaders, in particular between Bohemond and
Raymond, the army had been singularly free from quarrels. In a lyrical passage
Fulcher of Chartres lauds the divinely inspired comradeship of the soldiers,
coming as they did from so many diverse lands and speaking so many diverse
languages. It had required, too, the cooperation of Byzantium. Though many of
the soldiers and a few of the leaders were deeply suspicious of the Byzantines
and were inclined to blame them for anything that went wrong, as yet relations
between the emperor’s representative, Taticius, and
the Frankish command were correct if not cordial. Towns captured on the journey
had been duly handed back to the emperor’s nominees. Taticius on his side seems to have sent favorable reports back to Constantinople; for
when Anna Comnena came later to write her history she
must have used such reports, and it is noteworthy that, though she came to
loathe Bohemond, she pays tribute to his prowess and the courage of his
comrades when she describes the march across Anatolia.
It was as well for the harmony of the crusade that its two most turbulent
princes had left the main army to seek their fortunes in Cilicia. Cilicia had
formed part of the Byzantine empire up till the Turkish invasions. Now the
Turks occupied the plain, while the Taurus mountains behind were in the hands
of Armenians, refugees who had retreated there from Greater Armenia in the
course of the past few decades to escape the Turkish invaders. There were two
Armenian principalities in the mountains. To the west of the Cilician Gates was
the territory of Oshin, son of Hetoum,
with his headquarters at the castle of Lampron, on a
spur of the range overlooking Tarsus. Oshin professed
loyalty to the emperor, who had given him the title of strategopedarch of Cilicia. He made occasional incursions into the plain and in 1097 took
advantage of the Turks’ preoccupation with the crusade to attack Adana and
occupy half the town. East of the great pass Constantine, son of Reuben (West
Armenian, Roupen), was established. He claimed to be heir of the Bagratid
dynasty, and as such was a passionate adherent of the Separated Armenian Church
and hostile to Byzantium. His seat was the castle of Partzapert,
behind Sis (Kozan). To the east of the Roupenids, along the Anti-Taurus range and into the
Euphrates valley, there were other Armenian princelings, of whom the chief were Tatoul, whom the crusade found at Marash, Kogh Vasil (Basil the Robber) to the cast of him at Raban and Kesoun, Gabriel (Armenian, Khoril) farther north at Melitene,
and Toros of Edessa (Urfa) across the Euphrates. Tatoul,
Gabriel, and Toros were former officials of the empire and Orthodox in
religion. Kogh Yasil belonged to the Separated Church. The position of them all was precarious. It
was only by paying tribute to the neighboring Turkish lords, whom they tried to
play off against each other, that they managed to maintain themselves. They
were eager to make use of the crusaders as allies.
Tancred’s motive in invading Cilicia was probably pure ambition, a desire
to found quickly his own principality away from the dominating personality of
his uncle Bohemond. But Baldwin of Boulogne was definitely interested in the
Armenian question. He had taken onto his staff an Armenian called Pakrad, the brother of Kogh Yasil and a former imperial officer, on whom he relied for
advice. Pakrad was concerned with the welfare of the
Armenians nearer the Euphrates, where his family was settled; but when Tancred
decided to set out for Cilicia, Baldwin and Pakrad felt that it would be unwise to allow any other crusader chieftain to be the
first to embark on an adventure that would involve Armenian interests.
When Tancred moved down from the Cilician Gates, he marched straight on
Tarsus, which was still the chief city of the plain. It was held by a small
Turkish garrison, which came out to meet the invaders but was repulsed. The
Greek and Armenian inhabitants of Tarsus made contact with Tancred and promised
him help; but the garrison held firm, until, three days later, Baldwin and his
far greater army were seen approaching. That night the Turks fled under cover
of the darkness, and at dawn the Christians opened the gates to Tancred. When
Baldwin came up later in the morning, Tancred’s banners were flying from the
towers. Tarsus should have been restored to the emperor, but, even had Tancred
been minded to abide by the treaty, there was no imperial official at hand to
take over the city. In Baldwin, however, he had a far more dangerous rival.
Baldwin insisted that Tarsus should be transferred to his rule. Tancred, whose
army was hopelessly outnumbered by Baldwin’s, was furious but had to agree. He
withdrew his men and moved eastward to Adana.
Hardly had he gone before another three hundred Normans, who had decided to
follow him, came down over the pass to Tarsus, Baldwin would not allow them
into the city. They were obliged to camp outside the walls; and during the
night the former Turkish garrison crept up and massacred them to a man. The
disaster was rightly blamed on Baldwin, even by his own followers, and his
position might have been difficult had not news come of the arrival of a
Christian fleet off Longiniada, the now-vanished port
of Tarsus at the mouth of the Cydnus, under the
command of Guynemer of Boulogne.
Guynemer was a professional pirate who realized chat the crusade would need naval
help. He had collected an armada of Danes, Frisians, and Flemings, and had
sailed from the Low Countries early in the spring and was now trying to make
contact with the crusade. He was delighted to find himself close to an army
under a prince from his native town. He sailed up to Tarsus and did homage to
Baldwin, who borrowed three hundred men from him to act as a garrison for
Tarsus, apparently under Guynemer as governor. Baldwin
then followed Tancred eastward.
Adana was in a state of
confusion. Oshin of Lampron held half of the town. Other parts were still occupied by the Turks, who fled
when the Normans approached; and a Burgundian knight called Welf, who had
probably broken away from Baldwin’s party, had managed to force his way into
the citadel. Oshin and Welf both welcomed Tancred,
The former was probably glad to extricate himself from a risky adventure. With
his approval Welf was confirmed by Tancred in the possession of all the town,
while, on Oshin’s advice, Tancred continued eastward
to Mamistra (Misis), where there was an Armenian
population eager for deliverance from the Turks. He reached Mamistra early in October, The Turks fled before him, and the Armenians opened the gates
to him.
Meanwhile Baldwin, having
wrecked Tancred’s chance of founding a Cilician principality, had decided to
rejoin the main crusading army. He may have had news that his wife was dying;
he may have wished to consult his brothers; or he may, on Pakrad’s advice, have considered that his true destiny lay farther east on the
Euphrates. While Tancred was at Mamistra, Baldwin
came up with his army. His intent was now peaceable, but Tancred was naturally
suspicious, and would not let him into the town. Baldwin and his men had to
camp on the far side of the river Pyramus (Jeyhan).
Tancred’s brother-in-law, Richard of the Principate, could not bear to let
Baldwin’s crime at Tarsus go unavenged. He and his friends persuaded Tancred to
join them in a surprise attack on the camp. Their army was far smaller than
Baldwin’s, which easily repulsed them. After this unedifying conflict both
leaders felt ashamed. There was a formal reconciliation where it was agreed
that neither party would remain in Cilicia. Baldwin moved hastily on to catch
the main crusading army at Marash, while Tancred,
after leaving a small garrison at Mamistra, turned
southward round the head of the Gulf of Alexandretta to the town of
Alexandretta (Iskenderun). He had sent a message to Guynemer at Tarsus to ask for his help, which, now that Baldwin had left the province,
was willingly given. With Guynemer’s help
Alexandretta was captured, Tancred garrisoned it, then marched over the Amanus
mountains to join the crusading army just as it arrived before Antioch.
The Cilician diversion had not
been entirely valueless. The presence of Frankish garrisons in the principal
towns of eastern Cilicia prevented the district from being used by the Moslems
as a base for relieving Antioch and helped to put a wedge between the Syrian
and the Anatolian Turks. But it had revealed how precarious was the friendship
between the more ambitious princes of the crusade. The natives, Christian and
Moslem alike, learned that they could be played off one against another.
Unlike Tancred, Baldwin did
not again join the main crusade. He spent only a few days at Marash with his brothers. After his wife had died he set
out again eastward, with the Armenian Pakrad to
advise him. A smaller company than before traveled with him. Perhaps his
brothers would not spare so many men, with the siege of Antioch in view, or
perhaps his own popularity had suffered as a result of the affair at Tarsus. He
now had only a hundred horsemen. As chaplain he took with him the historian,
Fulcher of Chartres. While the main army moved southwest toward Antioch he
turned southeastward to Aintab (Gaziantep). As he journeyed he managed, with Pakrad’s help, to get into touch with the Armenians of the
neighborhood and their princes. Everywhere the Armenians welcomed him as a
liberator. The Syrian Jacobites, who formed the rest
of the population, were more doubtful but did not oppose him. The only
important Moslem lord of the district, the Turk Balduk,
emir of Samosata, made only half-hearted efforts to oppose him. Two local
Armenian lords, whom the Latins called Fer and Nicusus,
joined their small levies to the Franks. With their help Baldwin captured the
two main fortresses between Aintab and the Euphrates, Ravendan and Tell Bashir, known to the Latins as Ravendel and TurbesseL Ravendan was given to Pakrad to hold under Baldwin’s suzerainty and Tell Bashir
to Fer.
While Baldwin was at Tell
Bashir an embassy reached him from Toros, prince of Edessa. Toros had started
his career as an imperial official and had later been one of the chief
lieutenants of the Armenian, Philaretus (Filardos), who between 1078 and 1085 had ruled from Cilicia
to Edessa. On Philaretus’s death Edessa had been
taken by the Turks; but Toros had recaptured it in 1094, and held it as a fief
from the Selchukid sultan, whose garrison, however,
he had managed to eject. But his position was insecure. As an Orthodox
Christian he was disliked both by his Armenian subjects, who were of the
Separated Church, and by the Jacobite Syrians. The Turks resented him; and he
feared that the great army which Kerbogha, regent
(Turkish, atabeg) of Mosul, was planning to bring to the defense of Antioch
would suppress him as it passed by. He had, it seems, already invited Baldwin
to come to Edessa to serve under him; but Baldwin had no wish to be a mere
mercenary. The embassy that Toros now sent was empowered to offer Baldwin the
whole heritage of Edessa. Toros would adopt him as his son and at once coop him
as partner in the government. It was not what Toros had envisaged; but he was
old and childless and desperate. It seemed the best solution. Others of the
Armenians were less pleased. Before Baldwin left Tell Bashir, Fer reported to
him that Pakrad at Ravendan was plotting against him. Fer was doubtless jealous of Pakrad,
who may have done no more than get privately into touch with his brother, Kogh Vasil. But Baldwin was taking no risks. He rushed men
to Ravendan to arrest Pakrad,
who was tortured to make him confess. He revealed very little and soon escaped,
to take refuge with his brother. But it was now clear to the wiser Armenians
that Baldwin had come not to liberate them but to build up a dominion for
himself.
Early in February 1098,
Baldwin left Tell Bashir for Edessa, with only eighty horsemen. Balduk of Samosata, informed of his movements, rushed
troops to ambush him where he was expected to cross the Euphrates, probably at
Bira (Birejik); but he slipped round them and forded
the river a few miles to the north. He arrived at Edessa on February 6, and was
welcomed enthusiastically by the whole population. Toros at once formally
adopted him as his son at a ceremony whose ritual fascinated the Frankish
chroniclers. Baldwin was stripped to the waist, while Toros put on a wide shirt
which was passed over Baldwin’s head, and the two of them rubbed their bare
chests against each other. The ceremony was then repeated with the princess, Toros’s wife.
Baldwin’s first action as
co-regent of Edessa was to attack Balduk of Samosata,
whose raids endangered life in the Edessan countryside. He secured the help of
a vassal of Toros, Constantine, the Armenian lord of Gargar.
But the expedition was not a success. The Edessan soldiers were surprised and
routed by the Turks. Baldwin, however, with his Franks, captured a village called
St John near Samosata and installed a Frankish garrison there, which served as
a check on Balduk's raids. The achievement enhanced
his reputation.
A few days later the Armenians
of Edessa, helped by Constantine of Gargar, hatched a
conspiracy against Toros. Baldwin officially had nothing to do with it, but the
plotters informed him that they intended to dethrone Toros in his favor, and
they clearly knew that they could count on his support. On Sunday, March 7, a
riotous mob marched on the palace. Toros was deserted by his troops, and
Baldwin would not come to his rescue. He agreed to abdicate, merely asking that
he and his wife might retire to Melitene, whose
prince, Gabriel, was her father. Baldwin guaranteed him his life, but he was
not allowed to leave the palace. On the Tuesday he tried to escape through a
palace window, but was taken and torn to pieces by the mob. The fate of the
princess is unknown. On Wednesday, March 10, at the invitation of the people of
Edessa, Baldwin formally took over the government. Thus, some months before the
crusade entered Antioch, a Frankish state was formed in the east to the envy of
all the crusading princes. The news undoubtedly incited Bohemond to follow suit
as soon as he could and determined him to make a bid for Antioch.
Edessa had formed part of the
Byzantine empire before the Turkish invasions and so should have been restored
to the emperor. But it was far away. The only imperial representative there
had been Toros, who himself had invited Baldwin; and Baldwin could further
claim that he had taken over the government not by conquest from the “infidel”
but by the wish of the local Christian population. The emperor Alexius could do
nothing about it and did not even make a formal protest. But the rights of
Byzantium were remembered at the imperial court, to be revived when a better
occasion should recur. For the moment the problem of Edessa was dwarfed by the
far more serious problem of Antioch.
|
