"The Turks surrounded our men and shot such a great number of arrows that rain or hail never darkened the sky so much, and many of our men and horses were injured. When the first band of Turks had emptied their quivers and shot all their arrows, they withdrew and a second band immediately came from behind where there were yet more Turks... the Turks, seeing our men and horses were severely wounded and in great difficulties, hung their bows instantly on their left arms under their armpits and immediately fell upon them in a very cruel fashion with maces and swords." - William of Tyre
Having made good the recapture of Nicaea after a brief seige, the Crusaders and their Byzantine allies held counsel to determine the best route to Jerusalem. The Byzantines favored a coastal route that would allow them to provide naval support and supplies. The Crusaders, however, were leary of extensive seige operations against a succession of fortified cities. So they set out across Anatolia toward Antioch. Along their route lay the ruined town of Dorylaeum, captured and destroyed by the Turks in 1070 AD.
Whether due to scarcity of forage or disagreements between the Crusader leaders, the Crusading forces marched in two columns. The Italian-Norman Bohemond and his nephew Tancred, along with Roger of Normandy followed the route toward Dorylaeum, with approximately 10,000 milites and pedites, accompanied by large numbers of pilgrims and camp followers. The balance of the Crusader army under Raymond of St Giles, Godfrey of Bouillion, the Bishop Adhemar, followed in a second column some miles distant. Meanwhile, smarting over the loss of his capital at Nicaea, the Suljuk Sultan Kilij-Arslan made peace with the Emir of Danishmend and recruited a joint force of 25,000-30,000 to face the Crusader threat. He laid his ambush near Dorylaeum.
After a three day march, with much straggling, Bohemond noticed that his army was being shadowed by Turkish scounts. On the evening of 30 June 1097, he made camp in a grassy meadow on the north bank of the River Thymbres, not far from Dorylaeum. The river and a marsh gave some protection to his left flank and rear. The flat plateau, however, provided ideal terrain for the Turkish light horse. Contempary accounts disagree on the timing of the subsequent battle, Albert of Aachen reporting it began that evening, while the others (including the anonymous author of the Gesta Francorum) recording that the Turks attacked at dawn, hoping to surprise the Crusaders in their camp. This wargaming scenario assumes a morning battle.
The initial Turkish attack apparently caught the disorganized Crusaders somewhat by surprise. Small groups of Knights mounted and charged in piecemeal fashion, and were cut down by the Turkish archers. Bohemond rallied the remainder and launched more coordinated attacks, but his milites were driven back on the camp or retired after futilely chasing the Turkish horsemen. Outnumbered and unable to make headway against the nimble and persistent Turkish horse archers, Bohemond sent messengers for aid and dismounted his knights, forming a defensive line between the camp and the Turks. That gave the Turks free reign to gallop round, loosing volley after volley of arrows at the Crusaders as they stood exposed to a hot July sun.
Just after mid-day, Godfrey of Bouillion arrived with a company of 50 knights and cut his way through the Turkish masses to reinforce Bohemond. Godfrey's men dismounted and took their place with the Knights of Bohemond. During the afternoon, small groups of stragglers and reinforcements also arrived in turn, some of them cut down by the Turks, and others fighting through to Bohemond's camp. The Turks fought in relays, launching barrage after barrage of arrows and then retiring to draw new quivers. As Crusader losses mounted, the Turks became more aggressive, closing in on the camp. The unarmored foot and non-combatants suffered terribly, and as the battle pressed into the camp itself, Bohemond was forced to send them back to take what shelter they could find along the marshy bank of the river. Fulcher of Chartres wrote: "We were all indeed huddled together like sheep...trembling and frightened, surrounded on all sides by enemies so that we could not turn in any direction...we had no hope of surviving."
After approximately 7 hours of continous battle, the French Knights of Raymond St. Gilles arrived and launched a vicious attack across the flank of the Turkish force that threw them back in disarray. The Sultan Kilij-Arslan later wrote of the Crusaders that "when they draw close to their adversaries...they charge with great force like lions which, spurred on by hunger, thirst for blood. Then they shout and grind their teeth and fill the air with their cries. And they spare no one." The tired knights of Bohemond joined in the pursuit, but the apparent victory proved short-lived. After giving ground, the Turks regrouped and then renewed their attack. Having crossed the Crusader front, Raymond and his Knights dismounted and formed on the left of Bohemond's line. Another round of desperate fighting ensued that lasted several hours.
The last major contingent of Crusaders under Bishop Adhemar Le Puy approached the swirling field in mid-afternoon, possibly with Raymond in the van. Adhemar led his troops around the battle, through concealing hills and across the river Thymbres to fall on the Turkish camp, in which lay the Sultan's great wealth. The sight of their camp in flames (and possibly an attack launched by Adhemar in their rear) unnerved the Turks at last, and they retired precipiteously from the field, thus ending the first great field battle of the Crusades.
Having made good the recapture of Nicaea after a brief seige, the Crusaders and their Byzantine allies held counsel to determine the best route to Jerusalem. The Byzantines favored a coastal route that would allow them to provide naval support and supplies. The Crusaders, however, were leary of extensive seige operations against a succession of fortified cities. So they set out across Anatolia toward Antioch. Along their route lay the ruined town of Dorylaeum, captured and destroyed by the Turks in 1070 AD.
Whether due to scarcity of forage or disagreements between the Crusader leaders, the Crusading forces marched in two columns. The Italian-Norman Bohemond and his nephew Tancred, along with Roger of Normandy followed the route toward Dorylaeum, with approximately 10,000 milites and pedites, accompanied by large numbers of pilgrims and camp followers. The balance of the Crusader army under Raymond of St Giles, Godfrey of Bouillion, the Bishop Adhemar, followed in a second column some miles distant. Meanwhile, smarting over the loss of his capital at Nicaea, the Suljuk Sultan Kilij-Arslan made peace with the Emir of Danishmend and recruited a joint force of 25,000-30,000 to face the Crusader threat. He laid his ambush near Dorylaeum.
After a three day march, with much straggling, Bohemond noticed that his army was being shadowed by Turkish scounts. On the evening of 30 June 1097, he made camp in a grassy meadow on the north bank of the River Thymbres, not far from Dorylaeum. The river and a marsh gave some protection to his left flank and rear. The flat plateau, however, provided ideal terrain for the Turkish light horse. Contempary accounts disagree on the timing of the subsequent battle, Albert of Aachen reporting it began that evening, while the others (including the anonymous author of the Gesta Francorum) recording that the Turks attacked at dawn, hoping to surprise the Crusaders in their camp. This wargaming scenario assumes a morning battle.
The initial Turkish attack apparently caught the disorganized Crusaders somewhat by surprise. Small groups of Knights mounted and charged in piecemeal fashion, and were cut down by the Turkish archers. Bohemond rallied the remainder and launched more coordinated attacks, but his milites were driven back on the camp or retired after futilely chasing the Turkish horsemen. Outnumbered and unable to make headway against the nimble and persistent Turkish horse archers, Bohemond sent messengers for aid and dismounted his knights, forming a defensive line between the camp and the Turks. That gave the Turks free reign to gallop round, loosing volley after volley of arrows at the Crusaders as they stood exposed to a hot July sun.
Just after mid-day, Godfrey of Bouillion arrived with a company of 50 knights and cut his way through the Turkish masses to reinforce Bohemond. Godfrey's men dismounted and took their place with the Knights of Bohemond. During the afternoon, small groups of stragglers and reinforcements also arrived in turn, some of them cut down by the Turks, and others fighting through to Bohemond's camp. The Turks fought in relays, launching barrage after barrage of arrows and then retiring to draw new quivers. As Crusader losses mounted, the Turks became more aggressive, closing in on the camp. The unarmored foot and non-combatants suffered terribly, and as the battle pressed into the camp itself, Bohemond was forced to send them back to take what shelter they could find along the marshy bank of the river. Fulcher of Chartres wrote: "We were all indeed huddled together like sheep...trembling and frightened, surrounded on all sides by enemies so that we could not turn in any direction...we had no hope of surviving."
After approximately 7 hours of continous battle, the French Knights of Raymond St. Gilles arrived and launched a vicious attack across the flank of the Turkish force that threw them back in disarray. The Sultan Kilij-Arslan later wrote of the Crusaders that "when they draw close to their adversaries...they charge with great force like lions which, spurred on by hunger, thirst for blood. Then they shout and grind their teeth and fill the air with their cries. And they spare no one." The tired knights of Bohemond joined in the pursuit, but the apparent victory proved short-lived. After giving ground, the Turks regrouped and then renewed their attack. Having crossed the Crusader front, Raymond and his Knights dismounted and formed on the left of Bohemond's line. Another round of desperate fighting ensued that lasted several hours.
The last major contingent of Crusaders under Bishop Adhemar Le Puy approached the swirling field in mid-afternoon, possibly with Raymond in the van. Adhemar led his troops around the battle, through concealing hills and across the river Thymbres to fall on the Turkish camp, in which lay the Sultan's great wealth. The sight of their camp in flames (and possibly an attack launched by Adhemar in their rear) unnerved the Turks at last, and they retired precipiteously from the field, thus ending the first great field battle of the Crusades.
