77 Chapter 9: The Siege of Nicaea

“Thus, when Nicaea was surrounded, attacked and finally forced to surrender by the attackers, it was Gaul that assured it, Greece that helped and God who brought it about.”

-The Gesta Tancredi

“It was not possible to serve two lords, namely the common good and the king of the Greeks.”

-The Gesta Tancredi (Quotes read by Deep into History)

A year and a half after Pope Urban II called France to war in a faraway land, its sons had arrived. Forty thousand soldiers and nearly 6,000 mounted knights assembled at the imperial storehouses at Kibotos on the northwestern fringe of Anatolia. The last time that so many Christian soldiers had assembled for battle was 26 years earlier at Manzikert. There the Turks won a stunning victory, one which broke the back of the Byzantine Empire, if not from the battle itself, than from the political chaos that ensued. As the Eastern Romans’ strength collapsed it was upon the men of the West to reverse their catastrophic losses.

The First Crusade was not just marching in the shadow of Byzantine failure. As the French and their allies gathered the last remnants of the People’s Crusade shambled to meet them. What had once been over 100,000 devout souls that had rampaged across Europe, had dwindled to mere thousands of impoverished peasants. They brought with them stories of the ferocious Turks of Rûm and their leader, Kilij Arslan, ‘The Sword Lion.’ Chief among the defeated was Pierre the Hermit, the man who had led so many to their death. Not that he took any responsibility for it. Pierre preached that his followers had brought about their own doom by marching against his orders.

Thus, the seven armies of the West marched in the footsteps of two great disasters. To make matters worse, the Turks were well-informed about the incoming attack. While Christian and Muslim peoples were increasingly in conflict during this time, trade still occurred. With trade, comes news. The Muslims of the Middle East had learned about the pope’s call to war not long after its declaration. Furthermore, the huge numbers of the People’s Crusade demonstrated to them that holy war was enormously popular in the West. Far from a few thousand mercenaries heading east, as the pope had originally planned, they expected tens of thousands to take up the call.

While the Turks held numerous advantages there was one thing the Westerners had in their favor. The Turks underestimated their opponents, thinking them little more than the rabble that had assaulted them seven months earlier. Kilij Arslan was so confident in his position that he led an army east to fight against the Danishmends, another Turkish group. The Sword Lion would soon learn that the new masses that arrived were not peasants but trained soldiers, among the finest in all of Europe. French infantry were renowned for their resilience even in the face of a mobile foe. The French heavy cavalry, particularly the Normans, were peerless in Europe. Finally, the French were expert in siege warfare since their homeland was filled with castles, necessitating creative ways to breach stone walls.

One final advantage that the French and their allies had was that they were highly motivated. They marched with the pope’s own banner, blessed by his chosen bishop Adhémar, with a divine mission to liberate the Holy Land. To ensure the men’s spirits remained high, Emperor Alexios I further promised that the Latins would receive gold, silver and horses should they take Nicaea. With hearts pounding at the thought of God, gold and glory, 40,000 Western soldiers set out, alongside 2,000 Byzantines.

In early May 1097, five Crusader armies at arrived at Nicaea, with Duke Robert and Étienne’s forces trailing behind them. Once one of the greatest cities in the Greek world, it was at that moment the capital of the Sultanate of Rûm. Its high walls had made it impossible for the Byzantines to retake. Its western side was on Lake Askania, leaving less surface area that the defenders had to secure. Additionally, the lake permitted the Turks to send out ships to resupply. Nicaea was both a great medieval metropolis and a fortress, which is why the Greeks argued that it could only be taken with a long siege.

The Westerners would have none of it. On 14 May the five armies assaulted the city before the Normans and Flemish could even show up. Each of the great leaders wanted the glory of being the first to breach the walls, none moreso than Bohemond, who wanted to impress his martial skills to his fellows so he might lead the holy war and to the Emperor to earn a better place in his postwar settlement.

The Latin soldiers approached the walls to probe its defenses. These initial forays were ineffective. Then the French constructed catapults. Nicaea’s walls held against the hurled stones, but these were just a distraction. While the Crusaders fired projectiles, teams of sappers under the command of Raymond, dug underneath the walls. The Provençal diggers opened up enough ground that the foundations began to sag. A sudden shuddering was the only warning before a section of the walls collapsed, shocking the defenders. However, the Turks were not done for yet, as the rubble remained largely impassable. The Turks worked through the night to repair the wall as best they could before the attackers could clear it.

As shocking as the sudden assault was, Nicaea would not fall easily. While the Turks were horrendously outnumbered they had been aware that the armies would soon arrive and had stockpiled months’ worth of provisions, allowing them to hold out during a long siege. They also had an ample supply of projectiles, including arrows, stones and burning oil, which they used liberally against the overeager besiegers.

Death came brutally to the Westerners. Peter Frankopen writes, “One leading knight, Baldwin of Calderun, had his neck broken by the blow of a stone hurled from the parapets as he led a charge against the town’s gates. Other prominent figures were also struck, including Baldwin of Ghent, who was mortally wounded by a fine shot from the battlements. Disease also began to take its toll: the young and courageous Guy of Possesse came down with fever and died soon after.”

Weeks passed and the defenders grew increasingly confident in their position. After repelling one of the attacks by the Normans, the Turks took one of the enemy corpses, stripped it and hung it from the walls as a trophy. The Westerners responded with even more brutality when they captured a Turkish relief force, decapitated them, placed their heads on spears and paraded them before the walls.

Unfortunately for the Turks, the Westerners’ bag of tricks was deep. If the East excelled in astronomy, medicine and a number of other sciences, the West had rapidly developed siege warfare. The soldiers chopped down the tallest, sturdiest trees from a nearby forest and constructed siege towers. These were hulking towers that moved on wheels. From top to bottom they were covered with leather to protect from arrows, burning oil and fire. Their ultimate purpose was to approach the walls where the tops of the siege towers would drop open and the soldiers inside would burst onto the walls.

The Provençals led the assault. Archers fired on the walls, preventing as many defenders from assaulting the massive behemoth that approached. This tower was not tall enough to reach the wall’s top, but that was not its intention. With the siege tower providing cover, sappers at the base began to chip away at one of the towers’ foundation. The Provençals removed stones and replaced them with logs which they set on fire. Despite their efforts, the tower did not collapse, though it sustained clear damage. Nicaea’s walls held for the moment, but the defenders knew that their integrity was compromised. Any further damage could open up a breach, allowing the Westerners to enter and slaughter them wholesale.

Greek messengers communicated every detail to Emperor Alexios I, who managed the Byzantine forces from a camp further north. When Alexios I learned what was happening he sensed opportunity. The Turks were afraid of the Westerners. The French were a foreign enemy, one with little to no understanding of their foe, nor care for their well-being. Their parade of heads had demonstrated as much. In contrast, the Eastern Romans were an old enemy. Whenever two peoples live beside each other they develop an understanding. The Byzantines valued Turkish soldiers, regularly employing them in their armies. Moreover, as a heterogenous empire, the Eastern Romans did not want to extinguish the Turks; far from it, they wanted to incorporate them! Alexios I guessed that the Turks would rather keep their heads and sent a message to Nicaea. Ranking general Manuel Boutoumites personally entered the city and offered protection to the defenders from the Latins if they surrendered the city to Byzantium.

Alexios I was left disappointed. The city’s defenders retained their faith in the walls, they continued to resupply via the lake, and word filtered through to them that Kilij Arslan would soon return. The Westerners were aware that the Sword Lion was coming. French soldiers had captured Turkish spies who had infiltrated the camp while pretending to be Christian pilgrims and tortured them. Through these the armed pilgrims learned that an enemy army was on its way to meet them. If the crusaders failed to take the city soon they would be caught between the fortress and a heavily mobile force. The opportunity for an easy first victory was slipping.

Then the Greeks came up with a plan: they carried warships overland to the lake. There they set up a naval blockade. Next, the Byzantine land force attacked. The Eastern Romans fired furiously on the walls, blared war horns and waved imperial banners. Their ploy was to trick the defenders into thinking that reinforcements were arriving. The gambit worked. The demoralized Turks again met with Boutoumites. On 19 June, in exchange for the city, the Turks received ample gifts of gold and were accepted into imperial service, save the leaders, who Boutoumites did not trust. The Greek maneuver was so sudden that it caught the Westerners off-guard. Even as Boutoumites accepted the surrender the French rushed to assault the walls. Then the sight of Eastern Roman standards waving from the towers brought an end to the fighting.

When the Latins found out what had occurred many were outraged. They had wanted to plunder the city for themselves. Furthermore, the fact that the Turks, who had resisted them with such force, would be rewarded by the Greeks, was highly offensive to men who had come to kill infidels.

The Emperor was about to rub salt in the wound. Even as his servants distributed gifts to the grumbling Crusaders, he demanded that those who had not taken the oath swear to him. This was a step too far for the hot-headed Tancred. He and the more idealistic soldiers had joined the war for the cause of Christ. Yet, Alexios I was clearly more concerned with the earthly renewal of his empire, to the point of buying off the lords with gifts. When Alexios I asked Tancred to take the oath the Italo-Norman replied that he would only do so if he was given more wealth than his fellows had been given for doing the same. An outranged Eastern Roman senior officer lunged at Tancred and the two had to be physically separated. With tempers still high, Bohemond took his nephew aside and counseled him to agree to Alexios I’s demands. Out of loyalty to his uncle, Tancred acquiesced and took the oath.

The Siege of Nicaea was the first victory for the holy war, though in truth, it was more of Alexios I’s triumph. It was a necessary victory for the Emperor; Nicaea was as far as he dared to travel. From this point on the holy war was beyond direct imperial control. Boutoumites also remained behind as the duke of the freshly-conquered city. Taking up the imperial standard was Tatikios, the general to whom Alexios I allotted a small army and ordered to guide the Westerners through Anatolia and secure reconquered cities.

Given his importance to the story, it’s worth introducing the man who represented the Eastern Roman Empire during the holy war. Tatikios was likely the son of a Turk who had been captured by Alexios I’s father, Ioannes. The nameless Turk became a slave in the Komnenos household and Tatikios grew up serving Alexios I. Master and servant developed a friendship that would carry throughout their lives. Tatikios became a military commander for Alexios I when he seized the throne in 1081. As a high-ranking functionary and general he accompanied Alexios I everywhere he went. He notably served as a commander at the 1081 Battle of Dyrrachium, where Alexios I was first defeated by Robert Guiscard and his giant son Bohemond. For the next 15 years Tatikios fought a losing war against the Turks in Anatolia. It was likely during one of these battles that an enemy soldier sliced his nose off. Tatikios survived and for the rest of his life wore a golden prosthetic in its place. While Tatikios failed to save Alexios I’s domains, he did save his life by uncovering the 1094 plot to assassinate him. Despite being born a Turk, Tatikios was wholly Byzantine. He was also one of the few people that Alexios I could trust unreservedly. With his position in Constantinople more secure than it had been in years, Alexios I felt he could part with his lifelong friend and most loyal servant.

By the end of June the holy war decamped. Yet again, Bohemond was determined to be in the vanguard. The giant, his nephew Tancred, the adventurous Robert, Count of Flanders, and Tatikios first set off, while the larger armies followed behind. As they left Étienne wrote back to his wife Adèle that God was on their side and that they expected to reach Jerusalem in five weeks. As is usually the case, the war lasted much longer than the hopeful Count imagined, in part due to the actions of the Emperor.

As the armed pilgrims marched east, Alexios I sent his forces west and south to retake the western coast of Anatolia. Tatikios even led the holy war on a southern detour to ensure that the entire western coastline fell under Byzantine control. At every opportunity Alexios I prioritized the revival of Byzantium above the goals of the holy war, something which did not go unnoticed by the Turks. Yet, for the time, the western Turks were not ready to strike a bargain. Kilij Arslan was too late to save his capital, but the Sword Lion was determined to have his revenge.