Asia+Minor

This page should aim to deal with the Crusaders journey through Asia Minor. This should include the key battles which they faced at Nicaea and Dorylaeum, as well as the split which was experienced as one group moved south into Cilicia. It should include all the difficulties and threats which they faced, as well as how they overcame them. It should also deal with the mission undertaken by Baldwin to capture Edessa.

Into: General intro, March to Nicaea and Kilij Arslan The Battle of Nicaea: Ins and outs of battle, Emperors interference, Divion of forces:why, how Dorylaeum: ins and outs of battle (part played by Ademar le Puy) Planning of next stages of March: Difficulties and threats, Discussions at Heraclea of route taken to Antioch, The Norman decission to split from main army into cilicia. Cilicia: Conquests by Baldwin + Tancred, Tarsus, Mamistra Baldwins Mission to capture Edessa

The campaign through Asia minor was the crusaders' first major military objective they were to face on route to the Holy Land. This vast, formidable region, of what is now Turkey, had previously been part of the Byzantine empire but was now in the hands of the Arab invaders. A successful journey through the region was not a foregone conclusion for the Christian forces, as the area consisted of numerous obstacles for instance its arid deserts, the great taurus mountains not to mention Kilij Aslan the key muslim leader of the area. If the crusaders were to reach Jerusalem and be able to launch a succesful seige on the city the roads across Asia Minor must be cleared.(EC)

After the departing from Constantinople at the end of April 1097, the Crusaders travelled down the road to the Seljuk capital Nicaea. This was the road on which the People's Crusade had been wiped out some months before. The skeletons still lay in the valley where they fell, having been preserved by the heat. The Crusaders, whether by luck or skill, had chosen their moment well. Sultan Kilij Arslan, the Seljuk ruler of the region was away fighting in the East and his easy defeat of the People's Crusade had given him a foolish contempt for Crusaders. As such he had left his wife and children, and vast amounts of treasure in Nicaea. Godfrey was the first of the princes to arrive there on May 6th. It had mighty walls and lay on the eastern end of the Ascanian lake. NH

The crusading army arrived at Nicea on the 6th May 1097. Godfrey set up camp outside the North wall, Tancred agaisnt the East and Raymond of Toulouse agaisnt the South. A river ran along the West side of the city. Although the crusaders did see supplies rapidly dissappear, the arrival of Bohemund and the generous abundance of supplies from Alexius was able to relieve the army. Turkish reinforcements were sent up to Nicea, however, these were easily driven away away by raymond. The inhabitants of the city had a large Christian population and Manuel Butimites was authorised to negotiate secretly with the defenders. However, these negotiations ended when news reached the city that kilij Arslan was on his way to Nicea with a large relieving force. On the 21st May, he attacked, focusing most of his troops on Raymond. However, inspired by Adhemar, the crusaders fought bravely and niether side could gain an advantage. Both Bohemund and Raymond did not dare to aid the battle in fear that they would be attacked from the rear by the other troops in the city. However, Robert of Flanders threw his troops into the battle and toppled the blance. At the end of the day, the Turks withdrew, tired, demoralised and defeated. Nicea was left to her fate. However, the city was still unpenetrable, strong walls and a sized garrison with supplies coming to the city through the river the inhabitants weren't about to give up. The Crusaders requested aid from Alexius to blockade the river. Delighted that this emphasised the dependance of the crusaders on him, he blockaded the port. The garrison realising there was no hope, surrendered the city. On the 19th June, Byzantine flags were flying from Nicea, the crusaders had been robbed from sacking this rich city. [JT]

The Crusade then split into two groups, one group led by the French and the other by the Normans,this meant that Bohemond was the leader of the Norman group and Raymond and Godfrey as the leaders of the French group which travelled a day behind. The split allowed the crusade to be controlled as discipline was easier to maintain in smaller groups this discipline was hard to control with the full army due to its sheer size and mix of nationalities.The original plan was for the two groups to meet again at Dorylaeum. Although the split was probably not intended as a military tactic it became a hugely important factor in the battle of Dorylaeum.As when the first army was ambushed by Kilij Arslan, he believed that it was the full crusading force.[SS]

The battle of Dorylaeum was basically an ambush set by Kilij Arslan and a collection of Danishmends led by the Turkish prince Ghazi ibn Danishmends, the ambush was set up to break up the major crusading force. However, after the battle of Nicea the crusaing force decieded to split into a Norman force led by Bohemond and a Frankish force led by Rayomond of Tolouse and Godfrey of Boullion. This split through luck was a great help to the crusaders as when the ambush began in July only the Norman section was struck, Kilij Arslan thought that he had attacked the entire crusading force and thought he was about to deal the killing blow to the Crusade. The Turks techique of delivering swift volleys of arrows in and around the crusaders' camp proved effective and sent the crusaders into a blind panic. The added moblity the Turks gained from been able to fire on horseback, gave them a huge advantage. Luckily for Bohemond the franks were able to relive the onslaught from the Turks. Raymond and Godfrey were able to out flank the archers whilst the papal legate Adhemar of le puy was able to take out the Turkish camp from the rear. [GB]

The Armenians surprisingly supported the Crusaders and the Crusade. The Armenians had formed pricipalities in Cilicia after the main country of Armenia had fallen into Seljuk hands after an onslaught When the crusaders arrived in thi area, they were pleasantly taken by surprise at the small but notable Christian principality; as previously stated, the Armenians were fully supportive of the Crusade and helped the Crusaders with whatever they could, to help the 'Soldiers of God' free the holy land from the grips of the 'vicious pagans.' Due to this alliance, the Crusaders crowned Leo the 2nd King of Armenia, susequently starting the Rubenid Legacy in that area. However, something that preceeded this, was Baldwin's excursion into the area during the time of the 1st Crusade before the capture of Jerusalem. He captured a region named Edessa; somewhere that had little fight against him. This reamined one of his main lands, and somewhere where the other crusaders did not dare bivker with him over. [JJEW]