The Bibliotheke

Book 11, Chapter 3

1 The Emperor was still staying at Pelecanus and as he wished that those Counts who had not yet sworn fealty to him should also take this oath, he commanded Butumites by letter to advise all the Counts together not to start on their way to Antioch before they took leave of the Emperor, for if they remained, it might be that they would receive still further gifts. Directly hearing the words 'money' and 'gifts,' Bohemund first of all gave his assent to Butumites' advice and urged all the others to go with him to the Emperor, so insatiably greedy was he. When they reached Pelecanus, the Emperor received them with great ceremony, and treated them with much consideration; later he called them and said, "You remember the oath you all took to me, and if you are not going to be transgressors of it, advise those who you know have not yet sworn fealty to me, to take the same oath." And the Counts at once sent for those who had not yet sworn fealty; and they all came together and consummated the oath. 

2 But Bohemund's nephew, Tancred, a youth of independent spirit, maintained that he owed fidelity to Bohemund alone, and that he would keep it to his death. His own friends standing by and even the Emperor's kinsmen kept importuning him, and then he said, feigning indifference, as it were, and with a glance at the tent in the front of which the Emperor was sitting (it was larger than any had ever seen before), "If you will give me this tent full of money and as much more as you have given to the Counts, then I too will take the oath." Now because of the respect he bore to the Emperor, Palaeologus could not stand Tancred's conceited speech, and turned him away with contempt. At which point Tancred, who was very hasty, rushed at him and the Emperor observing it rose from his throne and stood between them. Bohemund too held him back with the words, "It is not fitting for you to behave in such an impudent way to the Emperor's kinsman." Then Tancred, ashamed of having acted like a drunken man towards Palaeologus and also influenced to a certain degree by Bohemund's and the others' counsel, took the oath. When they had all taken leave of the Emperor, he assigned them Taticius, who was then Great Primicerius,* and the troops under his command, partly to assist them on every occasion and to avert danger and partly to take over the towns from them if God allowed them to take any. So the Franks once again crossed the straits the next day, and all took the road leading to Antioch. The Emperor guessed that not all the men would necessarily depart with the Counts and accordingly signified to Butumites to hire all the Franks, who remained behind when their army left, for the garrison of Nicaea.

*One of the most senior officials under the Emperor.

3 And Taticius with his army and all the Counts and the innumerable Frankish hosts under their command, reached Leucae in two days. The vanguard was apportioned to Bohemund at his own request whilst the rest drawn up in line followed him at a slow pace. As he proceeded fairly quickly the Turks in the plains of Dorylaeum thought, when they saw him, that the whole army of the Franks had come and despising its size at once commenced a battle with him. Then that swollen-headed Latin, who had dared to sit on the imperial throne, was forgetful of the Emperor's advice, and fought in the front of Bohemund's army and in his stupidity ran ahead of the others. About forty of his men were killed in consequence, and he himself, seriously wounded, turned his back to the foe and made his way back to the middle of the army, thus proclaiming in deed, though he would not in words, the wisdom of the Emperor's advice. As Bohemund saw that the Turks were fighting very bravely, he sent to fetch the Frankish troops. They came up with all speed, and after that a serious and terrible battle took place. And the Roman and Frankish armies carried off the victory. 

4 As they travelled onwards, drawn up in ranks, the Sultan Tanisman and Asan, who alone commanded eighty thousand armed men, met them near Hebraica. A fierce contest ensued as there were such numbers of troops, and neither side would yield to the other; when Bohemund who commanded the right wing saw with what courage the Turks were fighting their opponents he withdrew from the rest of the army and made a headlong descent upon the Sultan himself, 'like a lion rejoicing in his strength,' as the poet says. This so terrified the Turks that it made them turn their backs. Remembering the Emperor's advice, they did not pursue them far, but reached the Turks' lines and, after resting there a little, overtook them again near Augustopolis, and attacked and routed them utterly. After that the barbarian power collapsed; the survivors dispersed, one here, one there, leaving their wives and children behind them, as for the future they did not dare meet the Latins face to face, but tried to find safety for themselves in flight.

Book 11, Chapter 4

1 What happened next? The Latins in company with the Roman army reached Antioch by the so-called Oxys Dromos* and paid no attention to the country on either side but drew their lines close to the walls, deposited their baggage and proceeded to besiege this city during three revolutions of the moon.† The Turks alarmed at the straits which had overtaken them, sent word to the Sultan of Chorosan begging him to send sufficient troops to their assistance, in order to succour the Antiochians themselves, and also to drive off the Latins who were besieging them from outside.

*Quick March
†For three months

2 Now there happened to be an Armenian on the tower above guarding the portion of the wall assigned to Bohemund. As he often bent over from above Bohemund plied him with honeyed words, tempting him with many promises and thus persuaded him to betray the city to him. The Armenian said to him, "Whenever you like and as soon as you give me a signal from outside, I will at once hand over this tower to you. Only be quite ready yourself and have all the people with you ready too and equipped with ladders. And not only you yourself must be ready but the whole army must be under arms so that directly the Turks see you after you have come up and hear your war-cry, they will be terrified and turn in flight. And this arrangement Bohemund kept secret. 

3 While these matters were in contemplation, a messenger came saying that an immense crowd of Hagarenes sent from Chorosan against them was close at hand, under the conduct of the man called Curpagan. When he heard this, as he did not wish to cede Antioch to Taticius according to the oath he had previously sworn to the Emperor, but rather longed for it for himself, Bohemund planned a wicked plan which would force Taticius to remove himself from the city against his will. Accordingly he went to him and said, "I want to reveal a secret to you, as I am concerned for your safety. A report which has reached the ears of the Counts has much disturbed their minds-it is, that the Emperor has persuaded the Sultan to send these men from Chorosan against us. As the Counts firmly believe this they are plotting against your life. And now, I have done my duty by warning you beforehand of the danger that threatens you. And the rest is your concern, to take measures for your own safety, and that of the troops under you." Then considering the severe famine (for an ox-head was being sold for three gold staters) and also because he despaired of taking Antioch, Taticius departed, embarked on the Roman fleet which was in the harbour of Sudi, and made for Cyprus. After his departure Bohemund, who still kept the Armenian's promise secret, and was buoyed up by the great hope of gaining possession of Antioch for himself, said to the Counts, "You see how long we have already persevered in this siege, and yet have accomplished nothing useful up to the present, and now we are within an ace of perishing by starvation unless we can devise something better for our salvation." On their enquiring what that could be, he replied, " God does not always give victory to the leaders by means of the sword, nor are such things always accomplished by fighting. But what toil has not procured, words have often affected, and the greatest trophies have been erected by friendly and propitiatory intercourse. Let us therefore not spend our time here uselessly, but endeavour to accomplish something sensible and courageous for our own safety before Curpagan arrives. Let each one of us studiously try to win over the barbarian who guards our respective section. And if you like, let there be set as prize for the one who first succeeds in this work, the sovereignty of this city until such time as the man who is to take it over from us arrives from the Emperor. Even in this way perhaps we may not be able to accomplish anything worthwhile." 

4 All these things that artful and ambitious Bohemund did, not so much for the sake of the Latins, and the common weal, as for his own advancement, and by this planning and speaking and deceiving he did not fail to gain his object as my history will show further on. All the Counts agreed to his proposition and set to work. And at dawn of day Bohemund at once made for the tower, and the Armenian according to agreement opened the gate to him; he immediately rushed up with his followers more quickly than can be told and was seen by the people within and without standing on the battlements of the tower and ordering the trumpeters to sound the call to battle.

5 And then indeed a strange sight was to be seen, the Turks, panic-stricken fled without delay through the opposite gate, and the only ones of them who stayed behind were a few brave men who defended the Cula.* The Franks from outside ascended the ladders on the heels of Bohemund, and straightway took possession of the city of Antioch. Tancred with a small body of men pursued the fugitives, many of whom were killed and many wounded. When Curpagan arrived with his countless thousands for the succour of the city of Antioch and found it already taken, he planted his palisades, made a trench, deposited the baggage in it and decided to blockade the city. But before he could start on this work, the Franks rushed out and attacked him. A fierce battle then took place between them in which the Turks gained the victory. Now the Latins were shut up in the city and were hard pressed on both sides, on the one by the garrison of the Cula (for the barbarians were still in possession of this) and on the other, by the Turks encamped outside. 

*The inner citadel of Antioch

6 That artful man Bohemund who hoped to win the sovereignty of Antioch for himself once again spoke to the Counts, pretending to give them advice, saying, "We ought not all to fight simultaneously both against the enemy outside and the one inside, but rather split up into two portions in proportion to the number of the enemy fighting us on one side or the other, and then carry on the war in that way. And if you all approve, let my duty be to fight with the defenders of the Citadel and your business will be to fight vigorously against the foes outside." They all assented to Bohemund's suggestion. He at once set to work to cut off the Citadel from the rest of Antioch by building a transverse wall opposite, which would be a very strong defence in case of a long war. And then he constituted himself the watchful guardian of this wall fighting very bravely on every possible occasion with the garrison within. And the other Counts bestowed the greatest attention to their respective sections, guarding the city continuously and keeping the parapets and battlements of the walls under observation, firstly to prevent the barbarians ascending by ladders at night and capturing the city, and secondly to prevent any of the men inside going up to the wall and from there talking about treachery to the barbarians and betraying the city.

Book 11, Chapter 5

1 That is how matters stood at Antioch up till then. But the Emperor, who was very anxious to go to the assistance of the Franks, was in spite of his longing deterred from so doing by the state of devastation and utter ruination of the maritime towns and districts.* For Tzachas† held Smyrna as if it were his own and a man, called Tangripermes, held the town of Ephesus situated on the coast in which a church was built long ago to the apostle and theologian John. Similarly other satraps held other towns, treated the Christian inhabitants as slaves and spread desolation around. Moreover, they held Chios, Rhodes and some other islands as well and built pirate-vessels in them. Consequently he deemed it wiser first to attend to maritime matters and Tzachas, and to leave strong garrisons on the mainland and a large enough fleet to restrain the Turks' sallies and repel them, and then afterwards with the rest of the army take the road to Antioch and fight with the barbarians on his way to the best of his ability. Accordingly he sent for John Ducas his brother-in-law and handed over to him troops recruited from various countries and a fleet large enough for besieging the maritime towns. He also entrusted to him Tzachas' daughter, who had lately been taken captive at Nicaea with others, and ordered him to proclaim the capture of Nicaea everywhere, and, if it were not believed, to show Tzachas' daughter to the Turkish satraps and barbarians in the sea-coast towns, so that the men, who held the towns we have just mentioned, on seeing her and being assured of the capture of Nicaea would in despair give up the cities without striking a blow. After supplying John fully with all necessaries he sent him forth.

*Alexius had been clearing the Turks out of the coastal regions of Asia Minor while the Crusaders were besieging Antioch
†A Byzantine renegade

2 And now I will proceed to set forth how many trophies he erected over Tzachas and how he drove him out of Smyrna. This Duke, my maternal uncle, took leave of the Emperor, then quitted the capital and crossed to Abydus; there he summoned a man called Caspax and entrusted him with the command of the fleet and the whole conduct of the naval expedition. He promised him that if he fought well then, when they succeeded in taking Smyrna, he would appoint him Governor of Smyrna itself and of all the towns on its borders. So he sent him away by sea, as ruler of the fleet, and he remained on land in command of the troops. Soon the inhabitants of Smyrna saw both Caspax approaching with the fleet and Ducas over land, and then Ducas pitching his camp at a short distance from the walls, and Caspax anchoring in the harbour. Since they had already heard of the fall of Nicaea, they had not the slightest wish to resist Ducas, but preferred to confer about making peace. On condition that John Ducas was willing to swear that he would allow them all to depart to their own homes without suffering any harm, they promised to surrender Smyrna to him without shedding blood and without striking a blow. Ducas thereupon agreed to Tzachas' proposal, and promised to carry out everything to the letter. After having driven them out thus peaceably he invested Caspax with absolute authority over Smyrna. 

3 The following incident occurred by chance. As Caspax was coming away from John Ducas, a Smyrniote came up to him, accusing a Saracen of having stolen five hundred gold staters from him. Caspax ordered them to be brought up for trial, but the Syrian who was being hauled along thought he was being led to execution and in despair of his own safety drew his knife and plunged it into Caspax' bowels; and turned round and also wounded Caspax' brother in the thigh. Hereupon a terrible commotion arose, the Saracen escaped, and all the men of the fleet, and the crews as well, rushed into the city pell-mell and killed everybody mercilessly. It was a pitiful sight, ten thousand killed in a moment of time. John Ducas was extremely grieved at Caspax' death and for some time took the whole administration of the fortress upon himself. In this capacity he went round and inspected the walls and ascertained the opinions of the inhabitants from men who knew; and as he felt that a brave man was needed, he appointed Hyaleas, whom he thought best of all, Duke of Smyrna. This man was a devotee of the War-God. Ducas left the whole navy to protect Smyrna, and then marched with his troops to the town of Ephesus which was held by the satraps Tangripermes and Maraces. When these barbarians saw him advancing towards them, they got under arms, and arranged their troops in order of battle on the plains outside the city. And the Duke without any delay and with his army skillfully disposed attacked them. 

4 The battle that then began lasted the greater part of the day; both sides fought well and the issue of the battle hung in the balance till at last the Turks turned their backs and were utterly routed. On this occasion many were killed and still larger numbers were captured, not only of the common soldiers, but of the satraps themselves, so that the total of the captives amounted to two thousand. When informed of this the Emperor ordered them to be dispersed among the islands. The Turks who escaped crossed the river Maeander and went to Polybotum and were contemptuous of Ducas, thinking him of no account whatever. But this was not so. For leaving Petzeas as Duke of Ephesus, he himself took the whole army and at once started after them according to the Emperor's behest, not in disorderly confusion, but in good order and in the manner that it befits an experienced general to march on the foe. Now the Turks, as already said, travelled to Polybotum by way of the Maeander and the towns along its banks. But the Duke did not follow in their steps, but journeying by the shorter road, took Sardis and Philadelphia and entrusted these to the guardianship of Michael Cecaumenos. When he reached Laodicea, all the inhabitants immediately came out to him, consequently he treated them kindly as they had joined him of their own accord, and allowed them to stay safely in their homes without even appointing a governor. From there he passed through Coma and reached Lampe and in this town he left Camytzes Eustathius governor. On arriving at Polybotum he fell in with a large crowd of Turks and falling upon them at once whilst they were depositing their baggage, he conquered them completely after a short encounter, and killed many, taking an amount of booty in proportion to their numbers.

Book 11, Chapter 6

1 Before Ducas had returned, while he was still fighting with the Turks, the Emperor prepared to go to the assistance of the Franks in Antioch, and reached Philomelium with all his forces after killing many barbarians on the way and destroying several towns hitherto held by them. Here he was found by men from Antioch, Gehelmus Grantemanes, Stephen, Count of France and Peter, son of Aliphas; these had been let down by ropes from the walls of Antioch, made their way through Tarsus and reported to him the terrible straits into which the Franks were driven and upon oath they told him of their utter fall. This news made the Emperor still more anxious to hasten to their assistance although everybody sought to restrain him from this enterprise. And then a report was spread abroad everywhere that an incredible host of barbarians was on its way to overtake him. (For the Sultan of Chorosan, hearing of the Emperor's departure to go to the assistance of the Franks, had collected innumerable men from Chorosan and the further provinces, equipped them all thoroughly and putting them under the command of his own son, Ishmael by name, had sent them forth with instructions to overtake the Emperor quickly before he reached Antioch.) 

2 And thus the Emperor's expedition, which he undertook for the sake of the Franks, and with the desire of wiping out the Turks who were fighting furiously with them, and above all their leader Curpagan - this expedition was stopped both by the report which the Franks had brought and by the news of Ishmael's advance against him. For he calculated what would probably happen in the future, namely, that it was an impossibility to save a city which had only just been taken by the Franks and while still in a state of disorder was immediately besieged from outside by the Hagarenes; and the Franks in despair of all help, were planning to leave only empty walls to the enemy and to save their own lives by flight. For the nation of the Franks in general is self-willed and independent and never employs military discipline or science, but when it is a question of war and fighting, anger barks in their hearts and they are not to be restrained; and this applies not only to the soldiers but to the leaders themselves for they dash into the middle of the enemies' ranks with irresistible force, especially if their opponents yield a little. But if the enemy with strategic skill often sets ambuscades for them and pursues them methodically, then all this courage evaporates. In short, the ranks cannot be resisted in their first attack, but afterwards they are exceedingly easy to master both because of the weight of their arms and from their passionate and irrational character. 

3 For these reasons, as his forces were insufficient against such numbers, and he could not change the Franks' decision, nor by better advice convert them to their advantage, he considered he had better not proceed any further, lest by hastening to the assistance of Antioch he might cause the destruction of Constantinople. He was afraid, too, in case the countless Turkish tribes overtook him, that the inhabitants of the regions of Philomelium would fall victims to the barbarians' swords, so he arranged to have the approach of the Hagarenes announced throughout the country. The announcement was immediately made and the order given that each man and woman should leave their homes before the Turks arrived, and thus save their persons and as much property as each could carry. They all elected at once to accompany the Emperor, not only the men but the women too. Next he detached a part of the army, broke it up further into several sections and dispatched them against the Hagarenes, with orders that, if they met any Turks making advance movements, they were to engage them and fight fiercely, and thus retard their attack on the Emperor. He himself, with the whole crowd of barbarian prisoners and of the Christians who had joined him, returned to the capital. When the arch-satrap Ishmael heard of the Emperor's doings, namely, that he had left Constantinople and effected great slaughter, laid many small towns he passed through in ruins, collected a large quantity of spoil and captives, and was now returning to the capital and had left him nothing to do, Ishmael was at a loss for he despaired of capturing his prey. Consequently he turned in another direction and resolved to besiege Palpert which had been taken shortly before by the illustrious Theodore Gabras, and on reaching the river flowing past the town, he encamped his whole army there. When informed of this, Gabras thought of attacking him at night. But the result of Gabras' enterprise and his origin and character shall be reserved for a fitting moment in my history; for the present we must keep to our subject.

4 Now the Latins being terribly pressed by famine and the blockade, went to Peter, the man who had been conquered at Helenopolis, their Bishop, as has been already explained, and asked him for counsel. He said to them, "You promised to keep yourselves pure until you reached Jerusalem, and this promise, I think, you have broken, and for this reason God has not been helping you now, as He did formerly. Therefore you must now turn to the Lord and bewail your sins in sackcloth and ashes, and show your repentance by many tears and vigils spent in prayer. I myself too will spend my time in propitiating the Lord towards you." They obeyed the bishop's instructions. And after a few days the bishop, inspired by a divine voice, assembled the chief Counts and urged them to dig on the right side of the altar, and there they would find the Holy Lance.* They did as he bade and as they did not find it, they returned all discouraged and announced that they had failed in their quest. He accordingly prayed still more earnestly and bade them conduct their search for the object more carefully. They again did his bidding and when they had found what they sought, carried it headlong to Peter, overcome with joy and awe. And then they entrusted that holy and venerable Lance to St. Gilles to carry in battle as he was the holiest of them all. 

*The spear that was used to stab Christ at the crucifixion.

5 The following day, they sallied out upon the Turks from a secret door. On this occasion the man called Flanders begged the others to grant him just one request, namely, to allow him with three friends only to ride out first against the Turks. This request was granted him, and, when the armies stood drawn up in squadrons on either side and were preparing for the shock of battle, he dismounted and after prostrating himself on the ground three times he prayed to God and invoked His help. Then they all shouted. "God with us! " and at full gallop he rode straight at Curpagan himself who was standing on a hillock. Speedily they struck with their spears the Turks they encountered, and threw them to the ground. The Turks were so terrified by this, that, even before the battle had commenced, they turned to flight as God was evidently aiding the Christians. Most of the Turks in their flight were in their distraction caught in the eddies of the river and drowned, so that those who came after used the bodies of the drowned in place of a bridge. After pursuing the fugitives for a considerable distance they returned to the Turkish lines where they found the barbarian baggage and all the booty they carried with them, this latter they wanted to remove at once, but it was so much that they scarcely managed to convey it all to Antioch in thirty days.

6 They stayed on the spot for a little time to rest after the hardships of the war, and at the same time they took thought for Antioch and looked for a man to guard it. This man was Bohemund who had asked for this position even before the city was captured. So they conceded him full powers over Antioch and themselves set out on the road to Jerusalem. And on their way they took several of the maritime fortresses, but those, which were very strong and would have necessitated a lengthy siege, they passed by for the present as they were anxious to reach Jerusalem. They encircled its walls and made frequent attacks on them and besieged the town and within one lunar month they took it and killed many of the Saracenic and Jewish inhabitants. When they had brought all into subjection and no one resisted them, they invested Godfrey with supreme authority by unanimous consent, and called him 'king.'*

*Such is Anna's description of the siege and capture of Jerusalem, which lasted for six weeks in the summer of 1099.