A History of the Crusades-Vol 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

established in a camp close to Nicomedia,
where they awaited newcomers from the West.
    Stephen, Count of Blois, had never been allowed
to forget his flight from Antioch. He had not fulfilled his Crusading vows and
he had shown cowardice in the face of the enemy. His wife, the Countess Adela,
daughter of William the Conqueror, was deeply ashamed of him. Even in the
private intimacy of their bed-chamber she would nag at him to go and redeem his
reputation. He could not claim that he was needed at home; for his wife had
always been the real ruler of the county. So, wearily and with foreboding, he
set out again for the Holy Land in the spring of 1101.
     
    1101: Lombards
and French at Constantinople
    On the news of his expedition many other French
knights prepared to join him, under the leadership of Stephen, Count of
Burgundy, Hugh of Broyes, Baldwin of Grandpre and the Bishop of Soissons, Hugh
of Pierrefonds. They travelled down through Italy and across the Adriatic, and
reached Constantinople about the beginning of May. At some point on their
journey they were overtaken by a small German contingent, under Conrad,
Constable to the Emperor Henry IV.
    The French Crusaders were delighted to find
Raymond at Constantinople, and were well satisfied by their reception by the
Emperor. Probably on the suggestion of Alexius, they decided that Raymond
should command the whole expedition; and the Lombards acquiesced. During the
last days of May the whole army, Frenchmen, Germans, Lombards, some Byzantines
under the General Tsitas, with whom were five hundred Turkish mercenaries,
probably Petcheneg, marched out from Nicomedia on the road to Dorylaeum.
    The object of the Crusade was to reach the Holy
Land and on the way to reopen the route across Asia Minor, a secondary aim that
had the Emperor’s full support. Stephen of Blois therefore recommended that the
army should follow the road taken by the First Crusade, through Dorylaeum and
Konya. Raymond, in conformity with the instructions given him by Alexius,
agreed with him. But the Lombards, who formed the vast majority of the army,
held other views. Bohemond was their hero, the one warrior that they trusted to
carry them to victory. And Bohemond lay captive in the Danishmend Emir’s castle
of Niksar, far away to the north-east of Anatolia. They insisted that their
first task must be to rescue Bohemond. Raymond and Stephen protested in vain.
Raymond’s jealousy of Bohemond was too well known and, for all his qualities,
he had never shown himself to be a forceful leader; whilst Stephen’s influence
was damaged by memories of his past cowardice. The Count of Biandrate and the
Archbishop of Milan supported the Lombards, who had their way. On leaving
Nicomedia the army turned east and took the road to Ankara. The country was
largely held by the Byzantines; and the Crusaders were able to find food as
they went. Ankara itself now belonged to the Seldjuk Sultan, Kilij Arslan; but
when they arrived there on 23 June they found it poorly defended and took it by
assault. Very correctly they handed it over to representatives of the Emperor.
    On leaving Ankara the Crusaders took a track
that led north-eastward to Gangra, in southern Paphlagonia, to join the main
road to Amasea and to Niksar. On the way to Gangra their troubles began. Kilij
Arslan retreated before them, devastating the country as he went, so that they
could find little to eat. Meanwhile Malik Ghazi the Danishmend had been
thoroughly alarmed. He hastened to renew his alliance with Kilij Arslan and induced
Ridwan of Aleppo to send reinforcements up from the south. Early in July the
Crusaders reached Gangra; but the Seldjuks were there in force. The fortress
proved to be impregnable. After ravaging the countryside and taking what food
they could find, the Crusaders were forced to move on. They were weary and
hungry; and on the Anatolian tableland the July heat was hard to bear. In their
disappointment they listened to Count Raymond, who