Armies of Bohemond of Taranto

The armies of Bohemond of Taranto, formed in 1097, include a major component of the First Crusade. He is regarded as the real leader of the First Crusade. He formed a second army in 1107 to defend Antioch but instead used it to attack the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos, resulting in the Treaty of Devol, codifying Bohemond’s defeat. Runciman^[1] estimates that the first army included 500 cavalry and 3500 infantrymen (plus clergy and non-combatants) and other estimates that the second army was at 34,000 personnel strength are likely greatly exaggerated.

The known members of the army, mostly French, included the ones listed below, as reported in histories of the First Crusade. Unless otherwise noted, references are to the on-line database of Riley-Smith, et al,^[2] and the hyperlinks therein provide details including original sources. The names below are also referenced in the Riley-Smith tome, Appendix I: Preliminary List of Crusaders.^[3] Those references are not shown unless they appear elsewhere in the text of the book. Articles that are hyperlinked to a more detailed article in this encyclopædia rely on the latter for references. Participants are from the First Crusade unless otherwise noted.