Battle of Antioch (1098)

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Battle of Antioch (1098)
Part of the First Crusade

Map of the siege and the battle of Antioch in 1097 and 1098 (1898)
Date28 June 1098
Location
Antioch (present-day Antakya, Turkey)
Result Crusader victory
Belligerents
Crusaders

Seljuk Empire

Commanders and leaders
Robert II of Flanders
Hugh of Vermandois
Eustace III of Boulogne
Baldwin II of Hainaut
Tancred of Hauteville
Rainald III of Toul
Gaston IV of Béarn
Guglielmo Embriaco

Anselm of Ribemont
Samosata
Soqman ibn Ortoq
Ahmad ibn-Marwan Surrendered
Strength
~20,000 ~35,000-40,000[2][3]
Casualties and losses
unknown Heavy

The Battle of Antioch (1098) was a military engagement fought between the Christian forces of the First Crusade and a Muslim coalition led by Kerbogha, atabeg of Mosul. Kerbogha's goal was to reclaim Antioch from the Crusaders and affirm his position as a regional power.

The conflict begins

An illustration of Kerbogha besieging Antioch, from a 14th-century manuscript in the care of the Bibliothèque nationale de France

As the starving and outnumbered Crusaders emerged from the gates of the city and divided into six regiments, Kerbogha's commander, Watthab ibn Mahmud, urged him to immediately strike their advancing line.[4] However, Kerbogha was concerned a preemptive strike might only destroy the Crusader's front line and may also significantly weaken his own forces disproportionately.[5] However, as the French continued to advance against the Turks, Kerbogha began to grasp the severity of the situation (he previously underestimated the size of the Crusading army), and attempted to establish an embassy between him and the Crusaders in order to broker a truce.[6] However, it was too late for him, and the leaders of the Crusade ignored his emissary.

Battle maneuvers

Kerbogha, now backed against a corner by the advancing French, opted to adopt a more traditional Turkish battle tactic. He would attempt to back his army up slightly in order to drag the French into unsteady land, while continuously pelting the line with horse archers, meanwhile making attempts to outflank the French. However,

Sökmen and the emir of Homs, Janah ad-Dawla, were the last loyal to Kerbogha, but they too soon deserted after realizing the battle was lost.[7]
The whole Turkish army was now in complete disarray, all fleeing in different directions; the Crusaders chased them as far as the Iron Bridge, slaying many of them. Kerbogha would go on to return to Mosul, defeated and stripped of his prestige.

References

  1. ^ France 1996, p. 261
  2. ^ Asbridge 2004, p. 204
  3. ^ Rubenstein 2011, p. 206
  4. ISBN 978-0-8264-6726-3
    .
  5. ISSN 0950-3110
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0-141-98550-3
    .
  7. ISSN 0950-3110
    .

Bibliography

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