The field of battle was strewed with dead. The inhabitants of
Antioch, finding themselves without resource, capitulated; to avoid
being pillaged, they paid the conqueror three hundred thousand pieces
of gold, amounting to about one hundred and seventy thousand pounds
sterling,--a sum which seems to us incredibly small from such a city so
circumstanced. Abou-Obéidah entered Antioch on the 21st of August. As
he dreaded for his soldiers the pleasures of this voluptuous city more
than he feared the Roman armies, he only allowed them to remain there
three days.
THIRD SIEGE, A.D. 1097.
After a disastrous march, in which they had met with many unexpected
accidents and reverses, as well as triumphs, the great army of the
Crusaders, under Godfrey of Bouillon and his chivalrous companions,
advanced towards Antioch.
As we have seen in a former siege, the approach to this great city of
the East was guarded by a bridge over the Orontes, on which were placed
two towers covered with iron. But nothing could resist the van led
by the duke of Normandy: the Normans soon took the bridge and passed
the river. Terror was spread amongst the Mussulmans, who all flocked
to the city as a place of refuge. The whole Christian army drew up
in battle-array, with trumpets sounding and ensigns flying, and then
encamped within a mile of Antioch.
The aspect of this city, so celebrated in the annals of Christianity,
revived the religious enthusiasm of the Crusaders. It was within the
walls of Antioch that the disciples of Christ had first assumed the
name of Christians, and that the apostle Peter was named the first
pastor of the nascent church. Antioch was as much celebrated in the
annals of the Roman empire as in those of the church. The magnificence
of its buildings, and its having been the abode of several emperors,
had acquired for it the name of the Queen of the East. Its situation
in a pleasant and fertile country was, in all ages, attractive to
foreigners. Within two leagues, on the west, was a lake abounding
in fish, which communicated with the Orontes; on the south were the
faubourg and the fountain of Daphne, so celebrated in pagan poetry. Not
far from it arose the mountain of Orontes, covered with gardens and
houses of pleasure; and on the north was another mountain, sometimes
called the Black Mountain, on account of its forests, and sometimes the
Water Mountain, on account of its numerous springs. The river Orontes
flowed at the foot of the ramparts of Antioch, on the western side, and
paid its tribute to the sea three or four leagues from the city.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account