June 28th, 1098 - The Battle of Orontes

Conflict: First Crusade

Combatants: Crusaders vs. Turks

Location: Syria

Outcome: Crusader victory

Just two days after capturing the Muslim city of Antioch following a long siege, the emaciated Crusaders were confronted by the approach of 75,000 Turks under the command of Emir Kerboga. The Norman Bohemund of Tarranto and French Count Raymond of Toulouse assembled their 15,000 men outside the walls of Antioch to confront the approaching army. Buoyed by the discovery of the alleged Holy Lance and reported visions of Christ, the Crusaders stormed across the Orontes River under the eyes of their enemy, repulsed a Turkish attack, and counterattacked. Trapped between the Crusaders and the mountains behind, the Turks took severe casualties before retreating.

Battle in front of Antioch by an unknown artist

Robert de Normandie at the Siege of Antioch 1097-1098 by Jean-Joseph Dassy

Points of Interest:

• Despite two months of disease, the Crusaders held Antioch and established a principality under Bohemund I.

• In January of 1099, 12,000 Crusaders left Antioch to march on Jerusalem.

Bohemund I of Antioch by an unknown artist

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sources:

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

Riley-Smith, Jonathan (2005). The Crusades. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.