Bohemond of Taranto
Bohemond I of Canosa, also called Bohemond I of Taranto or Bohemond I of Antioquia, (San Marco Argentano, 1058-Canosa, March 3, 1111), was Prince of Taranto and later Prince of Antioch. Together with his father, Roberto Guiscardo, he fought fiercely against the Byzantine Empire. He was one of the most important leaders of the First Crusade, where he became prince of the recently conquered territories of Antioch. After being captured by the Muslims and escaping to France, he managed to marry the daughter of King Philip I of France in 1106. After being defeated in his last attempt to attack the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, he was forced to sign the Treaty of Diabolis, a humiliating pact that destroyed his military and political career.
The fight against the Byzantines
He was the eldest son of Roberto Guiscardo, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, who had him in his first marriage to Alberada de Buonalbergo, daughter of Baron Girard de Buonalbergo (marriage that would later be annulled). His given name was “Marcos”, in honor of the patron saint of San Marco Argentano, but over time he became known by all as Bohemondo, after the name of a legendary giant, as he himself was a giant.[citation needed]
He was his father's right hand when he attacked the Byzantine Empire (1080-1085) and was the commander of the Norman forces during his father's absence (1082-1084) penetrating Thessaly and reaching the city of Larissa, however in the end he was defeated by Alexios I Komnenos. These hostilities with the Byzantine emperor would mark the policy to be followed by King Robert and Bohemond himself, since he had destined him for the throne of Constantinople.
Crisis in the succession to Roberto Guiscardo
In the midst of all this came the news that Roberto Guiscardo had died (in 1085), and that the Norman domains in Italy that he owned were now in the hands of Roger I of Sicily, Roberto's brother, and therefore both Bohemond's uncle. He abandoned the campaign in the Balkans, and hastily returned to Italy, but was unable to seize what he considered to be his legitimate inheritance. However, Bohemond inherited his father's possessions on the Adriatic, possessions which he quickly lost to the Greeks or Byzantines; on the contrary, his stepbrother Rogelio Borsa inherited Apulia and the Italian possessions. The war between them became inevitable, until it ended with the intervention of Pope Urban II, compensating Bohemond with the city of Taranto in exchange for his resignation to the Duchy of Apulia. Compensation with which he was never satisfied, which is why he always sought a higher status for himself. The chronicler Romoal de Salerno said of Bohemond that he was always looking for the impossible .
In 1096 Bohemond, together with his uncle Roger I of Sicily, Count of Sicily, attacked the city of Amalfi, which had rebelled against Duke Roger, at which time a group of crusaders passed through the area on their road to Constantinople. The aims of this group seem to have deeply penetrated Bohemond who decided to join the Crusade, however, it is possible that Bohemond did not see in the Crusade anything more than a means to carve out a principality in the East. Godofredo Malaterra clearly states that Bohemond took the Cross for the sole purpose of conquering and pillaging Byzantine lands.
The First Crusade and the conquest of Antioch
Bohemond assembled a Norman army under his command (possibly the best division of the crusader army), surely his contingent was not particularly large, reaching about 500 men out of a total of around 35,000 crusaders. He crossed the Adriatic Sea and reached Constantinople by the same route that he had followed in 1082-1084. He was very careful in his new relationship with Alexios I, to whom he paid homage upon his arrival in the city in 1097. It is possible that he negotiated with Alexios I over the principality of Antioch; if he did, he must not have found much support from the emperor. From Constantinople to Antioch, Bohemond was the true leader of the First Crusade; and his success in traversing Asia Minor shows his great leadership, for the Crusade of 1101, the Second Crusade in 1147, and the Third Crusade in 1189 were unable to cross this region.
Ana Komnenos, daughter of Alexios I, left a marvelous portrait of Bohemond in her book “La Alexiada”; she met him for the first time when she was 14 years old and she was really fascinated by his presence. She did not leave another similar portrait of any other Crusader prince. Verbatim:
Bohemundo, was, frankly, a being like no one has ever seen before, both on our earth and also on the barbarians, for it was a wonder to look at it and at the same time preceded it a terrifying reputation. Allow me to describe in detail the appearance of this barbarian. It was so high that it exceeded the highest by a elbow, narrow waist and hips, wide shoulders, deep chest and powerful arms. His body in general could not be described as too thin or as fat, on the contrary was perfectly provided, built according to the Policleto canons... His skin was immaculate white, and on his face there were small red dyes. His hair, blond, did not fall to the waist like in the case of most of the barbarians; it was noticed that he was very careful with his hair, as he carried him cut to the ears. The color of her beard could not be known, as she wore it perfectly shaved, leaving her skin as soft as the chalk... His blue eyes were indicators of his high spirit and dignity; his nose breathed calmly, in perfect correspondence with the breath of his chest. His breath was a faithful indicator of the high spirit that was in his heart. This man emanated a certain charm, charm that remained, partly tarnished by a certain horrible air... It was made in such a way in mind and body that both the courage and passion embarked upon it in such a way that they bent it to war. His wit helped him get angry in almost every emergency. Talking with him proved to be well informed, with irrefutable answers. This man, of such size and character, was, however, inferior to the emperor, not only in fortune and eloquence, but in other gifts of nature.
As a politician, Bohemond was able to inflame the Crusaders to his own advantage; Thus, when his nephew Tancredo left the main army in Heracleia, in order to settle in Cilicia, possibly what they wanted was to lay the foundations of the future principality in the East. Bohemond was the first to take position opposite Antioch in October 1097, taking an active part in the siege of the city, repelling Muslim attempts to break through from the east, and establishing a link with the western allies through the port of San Simeon. where were the Genoese ships.
The conquest of Antioch was only possible thanks to a plot hatched by Bohemond with one of the city's captains named Firuz; However, he could not get the city granted to him until the Crusaders were besieged inside, terrified of the arrival of troops allied with the Muslims, led by Kerbogha, with the proviso that the right to the city would have priority. Emperor Alexios I, as long as he kept his promise to send an army to the aid of the Crusaders. Alexios did not arrive with his army and yet the crusaders managed to defeat the fearsome army of Kerbogha. Even so, Bohemond did not see himself safe in his position, since Raymond of Tolosa (also known as Raymond of Saint-Gilles), set himself up as Alexios' representative and claimed the city for him. Finally, in January 1099, he achieved full control of Antioch, remaining in its surroundings in order to secure his position, the rest of the crusaders continued on their way to Jerusalem.
Bohemond's wars against Muslims and Byzantines
Bohemond arrived in Jerusalem at Christmas 1099, and succeeded in having Dagobert of Pisa chosen as patriarch, possibly in order to counteract the enormous power wielded by the Lorraine nobles in the city. It seems that Bohemond was destined to found a great principality in Antioch, which would prevail over Jerusalem, given its excellent geographical position and its excellent army. But, he had to face two forces, on the one hand the Byzantine Empire, which claimed those cities as its property, an empire that was supported by Raymond of Toulouse and secondly the powerful Muslim states of northwestern Syria. He could not with these two forces. In 1100 he was seized by the Danismendids of Sivas, and languished in prison until 1103. In his place remained his nephew Tancred; but meanwhile Raymond of Toulouse established himself south of his principality in the city of Tripoli, putting Bohemond's southward expansion in check.
Rescued in 1103 thanks to the generosity of the Armenian king Kogh Vasil, Bohemond set out as his main purpose the attack on his Muslim neighbors in order to have the supplies assured. However, in his attack on Harran he received a terrible defeat at the Balikh River, near Rakka, on the Euphrates. The battle was decisive; the great principality in the East that he so longed for was aborted. This attack was followed by another, by the Byzantines on Cilicia and seeing how his resources dwindled incessantly, he traveled to Europe in order to get reinforcements. His attractive personality earned him the hand of Constance, the daughter of King Philip I of France, thereby obtaining a large army. Regarding his wedding, Abbe Suger recounts:
Bohemundo came to France with the only idea of getting the hand of Constance, the sister of Our Lord Luis, a young man of high alcurnia, of irreproachable appearance and very beautiful. So great was the reputation of the courage of the French king and his son Louis that even the Saracens were terrified of the wedding. She was not engaged as she had broken up with Hugo, count of Troyes, and she wanted to avoid another unsuccessful pairing. The prince of Antioch was an expert and rich person both in qualities and in promises; he really deserved this wedding that was celebrated with great pomp by the Bishop of Chartres with the assistance of the king, our lord Louis, as well as many archbishops, bishops and nobles of the kingdom.
Dazzled by such success, Bohemond decided to use his army, not to defend his principality against Byzantine appeals, but to directly attack Alexios I. He did so, but Alexios proved to be stronger, aided by the Venetians he defeated Bohemond subjecting him to a humiliating agreement (Treaty of Diabolis, in 1108), through said treaty Bohemond became a vassal of Alexios I in exchange for being named "sebastos" (a Byzantine title), he promised to cede the territories in dispute and had to admit that there was an orthodox Patriarch in Antioch. From that date Bohemond was a finished man.
He then returned to Italy hoping to find the means and men that would enable him to continue his policy in the Holy Land with efficiency and determination, but he died in 1111 in Bari and was buried in Canosa di Puglia.
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