Monthly Archives: January 2023

Bohemund, son of the Norman who conquered Sicily, was described as a tiger by Anna Comnena, Emperor Alexios’s daughter. His ferocious assault on Albania in past years had advertised Norman strength, and when he set out as a leader in … Continue reading →

Raymond of Toulouse had taken a vow not to return home. He had missed out on the prizes of Antioch and Jerusalem, but his army had taken some towns and forts in the vicinity of Tripoli. Among these early captures … Continue reading →

In 1101, the new Pope Paschal called for another wave of pilgrim fighters to go east. Some of them were fresh faces, including the Archbishop of Milan leading another disorganized crowd of poor men, but some were First Crusaders who … Continue reading →

The Crusaders did not yet have a good port, since Antioch was actually inland a bit on the Orontes River. The ports in this area had all been fortified by Greek or Roman founders, so they had serious walls and … Continue reading →

n 1100, Bohemund Prince of Antioch was called on to fulfill his feudal vows and help protect a northern part of Armenian Cilicia. A tribe of Turks called the Danishmends (after their leader, whose name “Danishmend” in Persian means “wise … Continue reading →

With Jerusalem conquered and slowly being cleaned up from the stench and disease of rotting body parts, the big question was who should become its ruler. The Princes’ Crusade set out with a number of ambitious aristocrats, but by three … Continue reading →

When the organized Princes’ Crusade armies set out, they had the best standard weaponry of the time. So what did the average soldier carry? The most important weapon of the era was the spear, whether it was a throwing lance … Continue reading →