The Battle of Dorylaeum
Dr. Helena Schrader
Two
weeks ago, in his first guest post, Rand Brown looked at the start of
the First Crusade. Today he examines the first important battle of that
military campaign.
For reasons not
entirely clear from the sources, the Crusader lords decided to divide the army
into two columns – a smaller vanguard and a larger main body – as they marched
through the inhospitable Anatolian plateau.
This plan may have been determined according to sound contemporary
military practice in Europe where dividing one’s force allowed for more
efficient foraging. Although the
vanguard was the smaller, it benefited from the military experience of Bohemond
who commanded overall as well as the reinforcement of his highly competent
Italio-Norman forces. Accompanying him
were the equally competent Duke Robert Curthose
of Bohemond’s ancestral Normandy, the son of the famous William the Conqueror,
and Duke Robert of Flanders along with their forces and thousands of pilgrims,
including women and children. Also
joining them was the Byzantine advisor, Tatikios, and his nominal force which
really amounted to a glorified bodyguard.
The main body contained the rest of the army and was led by Count
Raymond, Duke Godfrey, and Bishop Adhemar.
Although the two columns were separated by about a half-day’s march
distance (about 5km according to John France’s estimates), almost all the
chroniclers attest to vast amounts of pilgrim stragglers strung out between
them, perhaps thinking that they could retreat to the safety of either if
attacked.
The Anatolian Plateau
is still characterized by a labyrinthine network of ridges and valleys that
considerably impact the passage of large forces. In the late 11th Century, army
movement through this region would have been tortuously slow. Additionally, the chroniclers attest to the
harsh conditions of the dry and barren climate, noting that the suffering among
the many non-combatant pilgrims was already taking its toll and perhaps weighed
heavily on the Crusader lords’ minds.
While there is still room for debate about the actual location of the
first epic engagement of the First Crusade, Dr. France has made a very
convincing argument for a patch of ridge-flanked valley about 4km north of the
modern Turkish city of Bozüyük and 45km northeast of
the site of the Dorylaeum outpost. At
this particular site, the west-to-east valley takes a decided turn southwards
after passing through a thin passage that forms an excellent choke-point. It is not hard for one to imagine that this
choke-point would serve as an excellent place for Kilij Arslan to spring an
ambush.
On 1 July, 1097, the sun rose over the makeshift camp of Bohemond’s vanguard
column that had just spent the night somewhere near the Bozüyük
choke-point. It is not unreasonable to
assume that a commander of Bohemond’s considerable experience would have chosen
a site that at least took advantage of whatever defensible terrain features
existed at the time – which, according to the chroniclers, included a slight
hillock on the site itself and a marsh on one flank. Surrounding them were tiny ravines and trails
that led down from the surrounding ridges, impossible for large armies to
traverse, but perfect for small parties.
It was still early when word of first contact came back from Crusader
scouts who reported brief skirmishes with Seljuk counterparts in the valley
leading south. The intensity of these
skirmishes probably alerted Bohemond that these were more than mere local
raiders and that Kilij was lurking somewhere nearby, waiting for the right
moment to spring his trap. Realizing the
precarious nature of their position, Bohemond halted the many knights from
impetuously chasing after the small parties of Turkish harassers with the help
of Robert of Normandy. Maintaining
strict command and control over his isolated column would be essential to
surviving this engagement as the Seljuks triumphed when they could divide and
scatter their more heavily armored foes.
Bohemond quickly
ordered all knights in the camp to dismount and form a solid rank facing
southwards, reinforced by the thousands of common infantry behind them. At about the same time, the first elements of
Kilij Arslan’s mounted horde began streaming down from the many paths and
ravines from the surrounding hills.
Fulcher of Chartres and the anonymous author the Gesta Francorum offer vivid descriptions of the engagement and may have been personally present for
it. They both recount the terror and
chaos in the vanguard camp as the first clouds of Seljuk arrows crashed among
them, wounding both soldier and non-combatant alike. However, the ranks of the dismounted knights
stood firm, bolstered by the iron discipline imposed by Bohemond and his fellow
lords along with the superiority of their armor. Ralph of Caen, a Norman chronicler of the
First Crusade, bore explicit testimony to this when he wrote, “The enemy were
helped by their numbers – we by our armor.”
Although many unarmored pilgrims suffered grievously from the Turkish
attack, the real priority of the Crusade – the armored knightly professionals
upon whom the entire effort relied – weathered the storm well and stood as a
wall against the chaotic Seljuk maneuvering.
According to all the
chroniclers, this initial phase of the fight lasted for an extremely long time
– at least a six hour stretch from dawn until sometime around 12 noon. This would be consistent for an action where
the Western forces entrenched into an almost “wagon fort” stance while the
Turks raced about, loosing arrow after arrow and probing for weaknesses to
exploit. While they still possessed
ammunition, the Seljuks had little reason to engage in close quarters
fighting. However, this rapidly changed
as arrow reserves began to run low with no real impact on the solid ranks of
knights and footmen. Steadily, bands of
Turks attempted to charge through into the Western camp. Many of the chroniclers describe this moment
as their most desperate, with a few Turks making it inside the camp to strike
terror into the women, priests, and wounded within. However, wherever the Turks got close the
initiative then swung in favor of the heavier armored Latin knights and
infantry who were far more skilled at melee combat than their foe. Also, the terrain benefited Bohemond’s force,
as the elevated ground forced the Turks to charge upwards and the marsh on the
west flank bogged down the Turkish riders who ventured into it and become easy
targets for Crusader infantry. Kilij
must have begun to sense that these Latins were a vastly different breed than
the disordered mob Peter the Hermit had led to the slaughter a mere year ago. As more and more Turks were forced to charge
in for close combat, the situation began to embarrass Seljuk
overconfidence. Around the noon hour,
horns were heard in the hills to the west and announced that the Turkish
situation was now hopeless.
Bohemond’s
great
gamble had been to hold just long enough with his vanguard for the much
larger main force (at least two to three times the van’s size) to link
back up with him. By brilliantly executing superb command and
control over his forces, he had been able to do just that despite nearly being
surrounded by Seljuk attackers. As the
mounted forces of Godfrey, Raymond, and the rest of the Crusader host crested
the ridge to the west, the Turks had nearly run out of ammunition and were
hopelessly pinned against Bohemond’s dismounted lines.
What followed was a mass charge that smashed into the confused Seljuk ranks and scattered them, while Bishop Adhemar held high the white banner of St. Peter he had received from Pope Urban. What must have begun as a confident ambush turned into a complete disaster for the Seljuk warlords and, with the arrival of the main body, the situation for Kilij Arslan was unrecoverable. The surviving Turks vanished back into the surrounding hills, individual chieftains undoubtedly giving into self-interest at the expense of any unified effort for Kilij’s sake. Almost as quickly as it had begun, the first true battle of the First Crusade was over.
What followed was a mass charge that smashed into the confused Seljuk ranks and scattered them, while Bishop Adhemar held high the white banner of St. Peter he had received from Pope Urban. What must have begun as a confident ambush turned into a complete disaster for the Seljuk warlords and, with the arrival of the main body, the situation for Kilij Arslan was unrecoverable. The surviving Turks vanished back into the surrounding hills, individual chieftains undoubtedly giving into self-interest at the expense of any unified effort for Kilij’s sake. Almost as quickly as it had begun, the first true battle of the First Crusade was over.
Aftermath:
Although the Crusaders
held the field on that July day, they did so at a frightful cost. Even though there had been few casualties
from among the knights and professional soldiers, thousands of unarmored
pilgrims had fallen to Turkish arrowfire and skirmishing. Some of the largest numbers came from those
pilgrims who had been straggling in between the two columns and who were
virtually defenseless against bands of Seljuk riders. Also, while many of the chroniclers attest
otherwise with figures that beggar belief, the Crusaders are thought to have
actually outnumbered the Seljuks in this fight.
Somewhere about 200,000 is thought to be the total head count for the
Latin host, with around 50,000 of that number being actual knights and
professional fighters. Kilij Arslan
would have been lucky to raise even 20,000 fighters in his hasty rush to
intercept the Latin host. However, they
knew the land far better and, with the division of the Crusader columns, had
possessed a golden opportunity to destroy them piecemeal – an opportunity they
utterly failed to seize.
Kilij Arslan fled back
into the depths of Anatolia with the shattered remnants of his forces and his
reputation. According to the Anonymous,
the would-be sultan had to lie to the remaining garrisons of Anatolia, telling
them of a “great victory” just so they would open their gates and let him pass
through. Never again would Kilij Arslan
pose a threat to the movement of the First Crusade. As the Latin host proceeded, city after city
would submit and return to Byzantine control.
However, the reconquest of Asia Minor was not the goal of the great
Western effort – much to Byzantine frustration.
After recovering from their desperate first engagement, the united
Crusader army rapidly made their way southwards towards the friendlier
territory of Armenian Christian Cilicia, where they could conserve their
strength before pushing towards the great city of Antioch – where Asia Minor
and Syria met and where the Latin host would need to pass in order to gain access
to the Levant and, ultimately, Jerusalem.
Dorylaeum represented
the first real clash of arms between the Western forces of the First Crusade,
teaching them lessons of warfare in the Near East that would prove invaluable
as they drove ever closer to their ultimate goal in Palestine. It also allowed the various Crusader lords –
formerly only experienced in European warfare – to see just what exactly they
would be facing and how to defeat it. If
any credit is given for the Latin victory there, it would be rightly bestowed
upon the superior armor and melee skills of the Western knights. Later on in the Crusades, Islamic chroniclers
would refer to the Latin knights as “the men of steel” whose far superior armor
could almost negate the impact of their mounted archers. However, this capability was only effective
if Latin commanders could keep their troops in strictly ordered ranks and
refused to let them become scattered chasing after bands of mounted archers
feigning retreat. Here is where
Bohemond’s skill as a military leader paid off in dividends for the
Crusade. With his experience fighting in
the East, he knew how imperative strict command and control was when facing the
rapid fluidity of the Seljuk fighting style.
Had he not been in command of the vanguard, it is very probable that it
would have met the same fate as the pitiful People’s Crusade and the First
Crusade as a whole might have ended in bitter disappointment. The victory at Dorylaeum allowed the Crusade
to continue with enhanced momentum toward their final objective and even tipped
the scales within Asia Minor back in favor of the beleaguered Byzantines for at
least a time.
Sources Referenced:
John France. Victory in the East
– A Military History of the First Crusade.
Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
_______. Western Warfare in the
Age of the Crusades 1000-1300. Ithaca
NY: Cornell University Press, 1999.
Fulcher of Chartres, et al. The
Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and Other Source Materials. Ed. Edward Peters. Philadelphia PA: University of Pennsylvania
Press, 1971.
Rand L.
Brown II is a co-founder of Real Crusades History. He possesses a MA in
Military History from Norwich University and currently serves as a
commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps.
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