Siege of Nicaea

Siege of Nicaea
	Part of the First Crusade and Byzantine-Seljuk wars
	; 13th-century miniature (BNF Fr. 779)
Date	14 May – 19 June 1097
Location	Nicaea (present-day İznik, Turkey)
Result	Christian victory
Territorial; changes	Nicaea restored to the Byzantine Empire
Belligerents
Crusaders; Byzantine	Sultanate of Rûm
Commanders and leaders
Bohemond of Taranto; Raymond IV of Toulouse; Adhemar of Le Puy; Godfrey of Bouillon; Robert II of Normandy; Robert II of Flanders; Stephen of Blois; Tancred of Hauteville; Hugh of Vermandois; Eustace III of Boulogne; Baldwin of Boulogne; Manuel Boutoumites; Tatikios	Kilij Arslan
Strength
Crusaders:; ~30,000 infantry; ~4,200–4,500 cavalry ; Byzantines:; 2,000 light infantry and naval support	Nicaean garrison:; Unknown, but sizeable Kilij Arslan's relief force:; ~10,000, mostly mounted archers
Casualties and losses
Unknown	~4,000

The siege of Nicaea was the first major battle of the First Crusade, taking place from 14 May to 19 June 1097. The city was under the control of the Seljuk Turks who opted to surrender to the Byzantines in fear of the crusaders breaking into the city. The siege was followed by the Battle of Dorylaeum and the Siege of Antioch, all taking place in modern Turkey.^[4]^[5]

^ Nicolle, The First Crusade 1096-1099: Conquest of the Holy Land, p. 32 "Eventually the Crusader forces outside Nicaea numbered around 4,200–4,500 cavalry and 30,000 infantry, excluding non-combattants."
^ Crusades: The Illustrated History, by Thomas F. Madden
^ Pryor, Logistics of Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, pp. 49–50 "In addition, the besiegers made several efforts to storm the walls and they won a victory in pitched battle over the relieving army of Qilij Arslan, a force some 10,000 troops, mostly mounted archers."
^ Runciman, Steven (1969). "Chapter IX. The First Crusade: Constantinople to Antioch." In Setton, Kenneth M.; Baldwin, Marshall W. (eds.). A History of the Crusades: I. The First Hundred Years. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 288–290.
^ The Siege of Nicene. In Asbridge, Thomas (2004). The First Crusade: A New History. Oxford University Press. pp. 118–131.

[Nicolle-1] Nicolle, The First Crusade 1096-1099: Conquest of the Holy Land, p. 32 "Eventually the Crusader forces outside Nicaea numbered around 4,200–4,500 cavalry and 30,000 infantry, excluding non-combattants."

[2] Crusades: The Illustrated History, by Thomas F. Madden

[Pryor-3] Pryor, Logistics of Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, pp. 49–50 "In addition, the besiegers made several efforts to storm the walls and they won a victory in pitched battle over the relieving army of Qilij Arslan, a force some 10,000 troops, mostly mounted archers."

[:58-4] Runciman, Steven (1969). "Chapter IX. The First Crusade: Constantinople to Antioch." In Setton, Kenneth M.; Baldwin, Marshall W. (eds.). A History of the Crusades: I. The First Hundred Years. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 288–290.

[5] The Siege of Nicene. In Asbridge, Thomas (2004). The First Crusade: A New History. Oxford University Press. pp. 118–131.

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