Antioch held great importance in Medieval History and it was a crucial city for Crusaders, and this blog discusses how Latins and Greek had different mottos for conquering Antioch City. How did the Jerusalem conquest stop to siege Antioch City?
At A Glance of the Antioch City
It was 1097 when Crusaders crossed into the northern regions of Syria. It was very sensible to go from the way of Antioch to the Northern Syrian borders while reaching towards Jerusalem because the Crusaders were unable to afford the loss of Supplies, they had.
Crusaders already faced the tragic consequence of long walking and lack of food. More days of walking means more supplies they will need, and neither the Franks and nor the Latins could have afforded this.
But before reaching Antioch, many died because of Hunger and water intoxication. But in the early autumn, they crossed the Syrian sides of the North, and their final Prize ‘Jerusalem’ was just three weeks away from them.
The question was related to Strategy and techniques rather than a religious campaign. You must be wondering why am I saying this? But wait, let me explain this to you.
The Antioch dilemma
Turkish Muslim garrison was there in Antioch. The Crusaders could go through there just by making a Peace treaty with the small garrison of Muslims. Still, the Latins had a different motive for Antioch, and Greeks have some other ambitions for conquering Antioch.
So, the remaining were the Franks, and they had no other way than to help the Greeks and Latins conquer Antioch city.
Alexander the Great used the Antioch for the trade-in Mediterranean regions, which was the crossroad between the East and West.
At first, Franks had no intentions of Conquering Antioch. Still, as their allies were sharing the ambitions for the city but later on when they realized the importance of Antioch, they started helped Greeks and Latins.
The city wall of Antioch was heavily fortified and almost impregnable because of its incredible strength. This reference we get from the Frankish letters in the years of 1100.
Alexios, The Byzantine Emperor, wanted to get back his forgotten dominant glory of Asia Minor back in his hands. Once, this city was part of the Byzantine empire. Still, this city was captured by Muslims who were motivated for Islamic expansion. The Romans lost this City to Arabs and Turkish Muslims.
Recapturing this will open the Crossroads of East and west of Mediterranean regions. Greeks knew this, and they urged to attack Muslim garrison.
Ambitions of Latins
Latins were religiously very sensitive than Greeks, and they thought according to their faiths and beliefs. Still, from the beginning, the Byzantine King Alexios never had religious intentions with this Crusade.
Latins were very devoted Christians, and they wanted to capture Antioch because the First church of Christendom was settled by Saint Paul, the Apostles Chief.
This was the leading powerhouse of Christian people. Latins started this campaign of Crusade for the sole motto of expanding the Christian empire. After getting motivated by Pope Urban II, they wanted to win this war of Jerusalem for the name of Jesus Christ.
Although Bohemond and Raymond were the secular kings, securing Antioch before entering Jerusalem was geopolitically necessary. That is why they also agreed to Antioch’s attack.
Gains of Antioch attacks
With the collaboration of Greek-Latin relations, they have settled up the Naval aid and Logistical supply at the Antioch. Although conquering Antioch was difficult, this encouraged and developed the good between all the allies who called themselves the crusaders.
In the First Crusade, Bohemond of Taranto, Raymond of Toulouse, Godfrey of Bouillon, Tancred of Hauteville, Baldwin of Boulogne, and Peter the Hermit were the key figures from the Western Roman Empire.
The First Crusade was a costly activity, and there were no visible rewards at the starting of the war. When Warfare is about to happen, the Kings and Armies involving it always look for the reward after winning the war. But this wasn’t the case for the First Crusade because there was no material award and not even Physical wealth. Still, the armies involved in it because of Spirituality.
Even for the crusader’s army, it was not possible to directly infiltrate Jerusalem. It was the motto of Crusade – To take back the holy land. But the threats Byzantine empire were also real, and for that purpose, one common target was necessary. That common target was Nicaea.
Nicaea was large and massive, A prosperous city located in the Bosporus. Nicaea was essential geographically. It was perfect to rule because it cannot be perfectly sieged. It had no land from the Westside, and it is challenging to hold the siege from Seawater. Kilij Arslan declared this City as the capital of his kingdom.
Crusaders now have tasted the first joy of victory. It was essential for them to move forward and claim their ultimate reward. After all, Nicaea was just one city they won. They had to clear many more hurdles before conquering Jerusalem and establish their claim on the Holy Land.
After defeating Kilij Arslan and winning the battle of Dorylaeum, it really cheered the spirit of Crusaders, and that motivated them for their further endeavor.
We already know that the Crusaders wanted to conquer their Holy land Jerusalem, but if you look closely at the map, you will find that Way towards the Jerusalem was gone through Syria, and for this, they had to reach the Antioch first, and this was three months of marching from Dorylaeum to Antioch.
Crusaders already faced the tragic consequence of long walking and lack of food. More days of walking means more supplies they will need, and neither the Franks and nor the Latins could have afforded this.
Syria was an important Middle East country for the Byzantine Rulers and Islamic Rule under Seljuk Turks. This Blog discusses how Armenian Empire and Romans took Syria under their Rule and how Alexander the Great influenced the Rulership in Syria.
