The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 05: (From Charlemagne to Frederick Barbarossa)
History
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 05: (From Charlemagne to Frederick Barbarossa)
World history
The danger of conflict had throughout been imminent; and the danger
arose, not so much from the fact that the crusaders were armed men,
marching through the country of professed allies, but from the thorough
antagonism between Greeks and Latins in modes of thought and habits of
life. Nor must we forget the vast gulf which separated the Eastern from
the Western clergy. The clergy of the West despised their brethren of
the East for their cowardly submission to the secular arm. These, in
their turn, shrunk with horror from the sight of bishops, priests, and
monks riding with blood-stained weapons over fields of battle, and
exhibiting at other times an ignorance equal to their ferocity.
The strength and valor of the crusaders were soon to be tested. They
were now face to face with the Turks, on whose cowardice Urban II had
enlarged with so much complacency before the Council of Clermont. The
sultan David, or Kilidje Arslan, placed his family and treasures in his
capital city of Nice and retreated with fifty thousand horsemen to the
mountains, whence he swooped down from time to time on the outposts of
the Christians. By these his city was formally invested; and for seven
weeks it was assailed to little purpose by the old instruments of Roman
warfare, while some of the besiegers shot their weapons from the hill on
which were mouldering the bones of the fanatic followers of Peter. It
was protected to the west by the Askanian lake, and so long as the Turks
had command of this lake they felt themselves safe. But Alexius sent
thither on sledges a large number of boats, and the city, subjected to a
double blockade, submitted to the Emperor, who was in no way anxious to
see the crusaders masters of the place. The crusaders were making ready
for the last assault, when they saw the imperial banner floating on the
walls. Their disappointment at the escape of the miscreants, or
unbelievers, for so they delighted to speak of them, was vented in
threats which seemed to bode a renewal of the old troubles; but Alexius,
with gifts, which added force to his words, professed that his only
desire now, as it had been, was to forward them safely on their journey.
Nor had they to go many stages before they found themselves again
confronted with their adversary.
The conflict took place near the Phrygian Dorylaion, and seemed at first
to portend dire defeat to the crusaders. More than once the issue of the
day seemed to be turned by the indomitable personal bravery of the
Norman Robert, of Tancred, and of Bohemond; and when even those seemed
likely to be borne down, they received timely succors from Godfrey, and
Hugh of Vermandois, from Bishop Adhemar of Puy and from Raymond, Count
of Toulouse. Still the Turks held out, and it seemed likely that they
would long hold out, when the appearance of the last division of
Raymond's army filled them with the fear that a new host was upon them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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