of night to negotiate a peace settlement with the Byzantine commander. The envoy slipped out from the city by way of a water gate on the lake, returning the same way with an escort of imperial troops.
The next morning, when the crusaders rose to begin work on the siege towers, they saw the imperial banner flying above the gate. Raymond, furious over this betrayal, summoned Taticius to his tent and demanded an explanation.
'They wished to surrender,' he said simply. 'As the city formerly belonged to the Basileus, they sought imperial protection. Naturally, I have taken the precaution of manning the garrison and relieving the enemy of their weapons.'
'This is treachery!' Raymond charged, leaping from his chair.
'In what way?' the strategus asked.
'The surrender belongs to
The wily soldier regarded the tall, thin knight. I do not understand your anger,’ he replied. ‘I thought the object of our exercise was to obtain the surrender of the city, not it’s destruction. Diplomecy is better than bloodshed.’ Tacitus paused, eyeing Raymond with undisguised contempt. ‘Perhaps it was the bloodshed you wanted.’
‘Get out!’ shrieked Raymond, slamming his hand down hard on the board. ‘Get out!’
The strategus bowed stiffly, turned on his heel, and departed, leaving Raymond fuming at the ignominious way in which the surrender had been achieved and his glory had been stolen from him. His anger was quickly forgotten, however, once the assembled lords set about taking control of the city, and the problems began to multiply. For the noblemen could not agree how best to proceed, who should oversee the collection of the tribute, nor even how much the payment should be. Nor did they know what to do with Nicaea itself now that they had conquered it.
Clearly, the city would have to be protected from now on, lest it fall back into the hands of the Sultan Arslan; since it had been his capital, he would certainly attempt to recover such a valuable and strategic asset. Also, one of his favourite wives and some of his children were now captives of the crusaders, and the sultan would no doubt try to free them and revenge himself against those who had embarrassed and humiliated him.
Duke Godfrey argued for leaving a contingent of soldiers behind to man the garrison. ‘For the sake of those travelling on, the city must remain secure,’ he argued. ‘We cannot allow the enemy to cut off our communication with Constantinople. Nor would I care to have these Saracen devils on our tails all the way to Jerusalem.’
Bishop Adhemar agreed. ‘God has granted us the first of many great victories as a sign of his favour, and the high esteem in which he holds our holy enterprise. It would be disrespectful to throw away that which God has so freely given. The city must be claimed for the Pope and the church.’
Bohemond and Tancred had other concerns. ‘The reconquest of the Holy Land is only begun,’ Bohemond pointed out. ‘We will need every soldier in the days to come. The protection of this city would take far too many men, and I am loath to give up a single one.’
'Prince Bohemond is right,' declared Hugh of Vermandois. 'It would be foolish to divide our forces now, so far away from Jerusalem.' The lords of Flanders and Normandy, along with various other noblemen, agreed, adding their voices to Hugh's.
There the thing rested. Clearly, the city required their continued presence to ensure that it remained securely in the crusader's possession. Just as clearly, no one wanted to remove able-bodied fighting men from the campaign when the main objective was still to be accomplished. Also, no one was willing to remain behind in any event, thereby allowing the others all the glory and plunder to be won in the battles to come. The stalemate persisted for a day and a night-until Count Stephen offered the suggestion that a messenger might be sent back to Constantinople informing the emperor that Nicaea had been recaptured and returned to the empire.
'It might be,' Stephen proposed, 'that the Byzantines can spare the troops to secure the city. If they agreed to occupy it, we could continue on our way.'
The idea was instantly accepted by one and all, and messengers were hastening back to Constantinople before the ink had dried on the parchment. The Latin lords then set about installing themselves in the city. Since the siege camps were already established, the troops remained outside the walls. The lords, however, desired better accommodation for their wives and families, so proceeded to confiscate the best houses in the city for themselves.
The emperor did not wait for the couriers to arrive, however, but set out the moment his spies assured him the city was on the point of surrender. Sailing swiftly south to a bay on the nearby coast, Alexius rode the short distance inland with two divisions of Opsikion and Anatolian troops to oversee the city's surrender. To the utter surprise of the crusaders, the emperor arrived while they were still trying to decide which of Nicaea's palaces they should plunder first.
As the Latin lords squabbled over who should take control of Nicaea's wealth, Taticius led his regiment of Immortals to the abandoned garrison and placed it under their authority. They then secured the gate, and welcomed the emperor's bodyguard. The soldiers took up positions along the city's central street to greet the emperor while the crusaders stood in flat-footed amazement as Alexius rode in triumph through the gates of the city.
The emperor assembled the pilgrims to commend them on their victory. 'You have done well, my friends,' he said, his voice ringing expansively. 'In capturing Nicaea, you have returned a prized property to the empire, and removed Sultan Arslan's capital. Long has the Seljuq sultan plagued Constantinople, making his incessant attacks beneath the very gates of the empire. But no more. From this day the sultan has no home but his tent, and with God's help that, too, shall soon be taken from him.'
So there should be no confusion over his intentions, Alexius continued, adding, 'We would have each nobleman here bear witness to our gratitude in accepting the return of this city to the empire. So that you may speedily continue on your way, we will reassume its administration and relieve you of its protection.'
He then granted the sultana and her servants and children safe conduct to Constantinople until word could be taken to Qilij Arslan, asking the sultan where he wished his wife to join him. The western lords were aghast at this extraordinary charity to an enemy. Lest the pilgrims harbour hard feelings over this settlement, Alexius promptly gave orders for the sultan's treasury to be opened and the entire contents shared out in equal measure among the crusade leaders; and further, that all the grain and produce of the markets to be distributed to the troops. The emperor took nothing for himself, save Nicaea.
While the emperor concerned himself with restoring the much valued city, the crusaders resumed their journey to the Holy Land in good spirits. Following the council in Raymond's tent, they departed Nicaea the next morning with highest hopes for a swift completion of the crusade – despite repeated warnings from Taticius and his guides that they had not seen the last of Sultan Arslan.
In the days to follow, they passed through deserted villages and abandoned towns-places that had once been flourishing market towns and important centres of local trade. The empty hills were strewn with ruined farms, and all along the road the habitations had been burned to their foundations. Wells and vineyards, fields and forests, had all been destroyed; bridges had been broken, and cisterns and dams smashed, left to bleed out their life- giving contents to the desert-parched land. The few stream beds they encountered were dust-dry, rock-filled ditches. The further they journeyed inland, the more arid the ground became.
After only five days the water supply began to dwindle, and it was decided that the army must be split into two divisions in order to lessen the burden on the foraging parties which were having to range ever greater distances to find fodder and water. One division-consisting of the combined troops of Godfrey and Baldwin, Hugh, and all the Franks, under the leadership of Count Raymond-would range north of the road; the other-comprised of the armies of Robert of Flanders, and Robert of Normandy, Tancred and Stephen, along with the rest of the Normans and English, under the leadership of Prince Bohemond – would assume a parallel course seven miles to the south of the road.
This they did, and advanced through the low Bythinian mountains, encountering nothing more fierce than a few Seljuq raiding parties, which they promptly chased away without incident. Once through the mountains, Prince Bohemond's division found itself on a broad upland plain of low, rolling hills in sight of the Thymbres River, and a short distance from the ancient and now-ruined city of Dorylaeum.
Almost delirious with thirst, the parched pilgrims flocked in droves to the riverside. They threw themselves headlong down the banks and stumbled into the water, sinking to their knees in the cool mud. They jostled one
