been united to those of the crusaders, or had he aided them by that knowledge of the country and its resources which the Greeks possessed and the Latins did not, one-half of the misfortunes which attended the crusade would have been obviated, and the dominions the eastern empire had lost might have been so completely reconquered as to place a formidable barrier against any renewed efforts of the infidels.

At the end of the first day's journey from Nicea, the crusaders encamped on the banks of a fine river, and waited for the daylight of the following morning to cross the bridge which lay before them. Somewhat before the dawn on the thirtieth of June, the army recommenced its march; but, as it would appear, by accident,* a separation took place, which led to very disastrous consequences. Boemond, Tancred, Robert of Normandy, Stephen Count of

* Some doubt exists as to the fact of the separation having been accidental. Mills says that it took place by mutual consent; Fulcher of Chartres who was present, and Guibert who was not present, but who had the best information of everything that occurred, declare precisely that the separation was accidental and by a mistake in the road. Oderic Vital follows the same opinion; Raymond de Agiles says that Boemond separated from the other princes imprudently; and Radulphus, who was with Tancred, though he alludes to a rumour of the separation having been concerted, in order not to exhaust the country of provisions, shows that such could not have been the case, as the baggage of the Norman and Italian troops had been left with the other division, in consequence of the error that separated them.

Blois, and Hugh Count of St. Paul, with several other princes, followed a road to the left; while Godfrey, Hugh of Vermandois, Raymond of St. Giles, the Bishop of Puy, and the Count of Flanders, with by far the larger division of the army, pursued the beaten way to the right. This separation did not escape the keen eyes of the Seljukian sultan ; and, although the two paths which the different crusading princes had taken ran at no great distance from each other, he instantly determined to attack the smaller division. For that purpose he followed the army of Boemond step by step, watching all his proceedings from the heights of the neighbouring mountains. The objects of his keen attention, however, marched on in tranquillity; warned from time to time, by the appearance of small bodies of Turks, that a hostile force was not far off, but probably ignorant that the levies of Soliman had placed him at the head of so formidable an army. It would appear that Boemond was well aware, however, that he could not be far distant from the main body of the crusade. The country into which they had entered was rich in water and in pasture, and amidst the delicious freshness of the valley of Gorgon, the Norman crusaders pitched their tents. The night passed over without attack. Early on the following morning, the march was recommenced, and ere they had proceeded many miles, the immense forces of Soliman were seen descending from the neighbouring hills. The num

bers which the Turkish sultan had collected have been differently estimated; but the two eye-witnesses, Robert the Monk and Fulcher of Chartres, declare that the attacking army amounted to between three and four hundred thousand Turks.* Besides these, it would appear that there were a number of wandering Arabs; and the whole of this immense force consisted entirely of cavalry.

Though thus tremendously outnumbered, Boemond and his companions did not lose their presence of mind; the ground was not altogether unfavourable to the Christians; messengers were immediately sent off across the hills to warn Godfrey and the rest of the crusading princes of the peril which menaced their brethren; the old men, the women, and the sick, were removed to the most secure point of the position, where a piece of marshy ground offered protection on one side; around this defenceless crowd the baggage and the waggons which contained it were formed into a rampart; and at some little distance in advance Boemond drew up his army to oppose the Turkish cavalry, mingling horse and foot together. The infidels came on at rapid pace, with shouts and cries and the clangour of drums and trumpets; and the

*Raymond de Agiles reduces the number to a hundred and fifty thousand, but Raymond was not present, having accompanied the other body of the army. William of Tyre estimates at two hundred thousand the forces of Soliman, and elsewhere calls them innumerable.

crusaders prepared to resist them as they would have resisted other Frankish combatants; but while yet afar each Turkish horseman raised a bow of horn above his head, a thick cloud seemed to darken the sky, and in a moment a dense shower of arrows dropped amongst the ranks of the Christians. Many of the pilgrims who filled up the ranks of Boemond were but half armed; and of the chargers which bore the men-at-arms a great number were unprotected by defensive armour, so that thousands of men and horses were instantly stretched upon the plain, either slain or wounded by the Turkish arrows. A second flight followed the first, with barely a moment's interval; and such great confusion ensued, that, it would appear, it was with difficulty that the leaders rallied their troops.

Tancred, however, Robert of Paris, and William, brother of the prince of Otranto, displaying the same daring courage which always distinguished the knights of old, led forward their men to attack the Turkish myriads; but the infidels, according to their own particular mode of warfare, at first scattered on every side before the charge of the crusaders, discharging, like the Parthians of old, their fatal shafts as they fled. William of Otranto was slain by an arrow, Robert of Paris was likewise killed early in the day, a multitude of inferior soldiers fell, and Tancred himself was nearly made a prisoner. Gradually, as more and more bands rushed down from the hills, the Turks pressed forward upon

every side; the bow was used no longer, the scimitar and the sword drank the blood of the adversary; and, hemmed in by the overpowering multitude that swept round him, Boemond saw his troops stricken down like corn before the arm of the reaper. He himself, however, made the most gallant and skilful efforts, both as a soldier and a general, still presenting a firm front to the enemy, and never breaking his ranks or quitting his post till he saw the banner of Otranto go down, and judged by that sign of the peril of his chivalrous cousin. By a determined charge at that moment he saved Tancred, and dragged him from amidst the enemy; but about the same time a large body of Turkish horse, which Soliman seems to have detached on purpose in the early part of the day, crossed the river and traversing the marshy ground, which partly concealed their approach by the tall reeds that covered it, forced their way into the enclosure, where the women, the children, and the infirm, had been placed for security. The infidels spared neither age nor sex, and a terrible slaughter had commenced, when Boemond, perceiving what had occurred, left the. command of the principal body of the army to Robert of Normandy, and with a small band, hurried to meet the Turks who had penetrated into his camp. This movement was mistaken by many for flight, and the troops under Robert had fallen into confusion and were beginning to retreat, when the Duke of Normandy,