Antioch, the first large city captured by the Crusaders, has recently been involved in a turmoil after conquering the city.
The source of this turmoil lies in the ownership of the city. A great conflict broke out between the two Crusader lords on this matter.
On one side is Count Raymond of Toulouse. This count firmly believes that Antioch should belong to the Eastern Empire. According to their promise, the lost imperial territory of Anatolia should be returned to the empire, and Antioch as an empire
It was lost not long ago, and the city with a preponderance of Greeks outside the city - there used to be many Muslims but they are gone now - the city should belong to the empire anyway.
On the other side is Prince Bohemond of Taranto. Bohemond's attitude is that the city should belong to him. He played a great role in the attack on Antioch and also played a role in the battle against the Muslim army.
Optimus Prime-like role, and most importantly, his Norman army now also controls most of the city.
As for the Greeks, bah, no matter what those guys did, the Greek emperor provided them with so little food this year, causing the Crusaders to lose so many men, and he also promised to lead an army, and now he is victorious in the north
Instead, he returned to his capital with his army. The Greeks had broken their promise, and they were shameless and had no right to ask for Antioch from the Crusaders.
Bohemond also cited the example of Edessa. Since the young man Baldwin established himself as a lord there, why couldn't he.
What Bohemond mentioned here is something that cannot be brought up within the Crusaders. When the Crusaders took the oath, everyone promised not to divide the land before taking Jerusalem, but Baldwin has essentially violated this point.
.
Although he could talk about the Armenian request, the city lord of Edessa who made the request at that time was killed by the mob. This is really unconvincing. A violation is a violation.
So Bohemond wants to follow the same pattern. He came to the east just for wealth and land. Now that wealth and land are right in front of him, if he doesn't take them now, when will he take them?
The current situation in the city is that Bohemond controls three-quarters of the city, while Raymond controls a quarter. Since both parties actually control the city, either party can follow their own rules in this matter.
It comes from the will, and the ownership of the city must be completed with the consensus of both parties.
So the matter has continued to quarrel, and the two sides are in a stalemate here, neither one is convinced by the other.
At first, the other Crusader lords did not participate much in this matter. The church leaders planned to take a look first. As for the lower-level people, they thought it would be good to rest, so everyone let them go and quarrel.
But then, as the Crusaders were almost in repair and supplies were in place, and when everyone was planning to continue on their way to the Holy Land, they suddenly discovered that the two men had not finished arguing.
Every Crusader Lord is part of the Crusade, so the Crusaders cannot advance while there are serious conflicts among their members; they must wait for this issue to be resolved.
This was irritating to the lower-class Crusaders. They set out on the journey for the Holy Land, not for the nobles to compete for land, and not to watch them quarrel.
The Crusaders became more and more restless, and even threatened that if their lord did not continue to advance, they would go to Jerusalem on their own, but even under such pressure, the two men did not flinch at all.
If this continues, it is very likely that the Crusaders will fall apart, but under such a scene, one person stood up and changed the situation.
The man who stepped forward was Vasilko Rostislavich, who announced that the emperor had agreed to allow Bohemond to establish a kingdom in Antioch.
As the representative of the Eastern Empire among the Crusaders, Vasiliko's speech was naturally of great weight. Needless to say, after his speech, the internal conflicts of the Crusaders were quickly resolved, and Raymond gave in.
, Bohemond then acquired the land, and he was now Duke of Antioch.
Bohemond finally accomplished his goal of coming to this land, which made him extremely excited. Then Volorida signed a trade agreement with him on behalf of Ross. The Ross people did not ask for anything excessive.
Only the Russian merchant ships will enjoy low tariffs.
After the Crusaders resolved their internal conflicts, the army was able to mobilize, but there were only 60,000 people at the time of deployment. Duke Bohemond kept him and his army on the grounds of guarding the Crusaders' retreat.
After the battle, some civilians who were frightened by the hard battle were left behind, and they decided to settle in the city of Antioch.
Antioch is now in dire straits, but it is also synonymous with opportunities. As long as they are willing to work hard in this city, these poor people in the West may be able to become rich and even nobles in one fell swoop - in the Principality of Antioch and
In the County of Edessa, there have been many examples of promoting common people to nobles, which undoubtedly made the common people excited. There are indeed endless possibilities in the East, where common people can become nobles.
Bohemond's departure did not cause much disturbance. These Crusader lords who obtained land did have the responsibility to defend the rear of the Crusaders, just like Baldwin, Count of Edessa. He did not come to join the main force of the Crusades. He was busy
Watching the Seljuk Turks in the east.
In this way, the Crusaders embarked on their dream journey, but on their way to the Holy Land, the captain of the Varangian Guard Vasiliko, who represented the emperor, recognized that Antioch belonged to Bohemond.
Left the Crusaders.
"Varangi has everything arranged?"
"It has been arranged. About 1,200 people are willing to be Varangians and receive commissions from the emperor. The rest will join our Russian Crusade and go home after this battle."
"Then I'll arrange for them to go back. Alexios has to continue this effect anyway."
"Ah, I really didn't expect that I would leave the Crusaders like this. I might even have to miss the siege of the Holy City." Vasiliko was wearing a cloak and riding an Arabian horse. He had removed all the symbols representing the empire, and his tone
It was full of sighs, "This time I tricked the emperor a little bit, and I really feel a little sorry for him. I hope he won't be angry when he sees my letter."
"If you ask me, that cold ice cellar won't be angry. It's just another political exchange. At most, he is a little annoyed that his father is playing first and then showing off." Volorida was still as nonchalant as ever. He still remembered that Alexios was a
What kind of person?
"We completely eliminate our influence in the Varangian Guard, and the reward is to admit that Bohemond settled in Antioch. This is also a fair deal. Anyway, in the situation in Antioch, Bohemond will definitely take power.
, we might have saved Alexios’ face. Also, if you hurry up, you might be able to catch up with the siege of the Holy City when you come back after meeting Monomach.”
"I hope, God bless." Vasiliko made the sign of the cross, "Besides, I am still a little regretful that I will not be able to go to the library in Constantinople for several years. I have to wait for the emperor to calm down."
"I don't think so. I can bet that the political machine won't even be angry."
"Well... maybe," recalling the impression of the emperor, well, he was indeed such a person. This time the Russians only slightly cheated him, and it would not make Alexios fall out, "Then
I went to see Monomakh and heard that he was facing off against the Seljuk Sultan’s army in Tabriz.”
"I remember meeting Monomach and telling me who he was. I was quite curious about this legendary relative of ours. It would be best to let him talk about his legendary experience. I want to know how he achieved all this."
As a person who loves adventure, legendary adventurers like Monomach are naturally his idols.
And Volorida's only response was, "If you want to see it, go and see it by yourself. I'm too lazy. I'll come back after talking to him."
"Tsk, kid, forget it, I'd better focus on my crusade."
Vasiliko watched his brother disappear and returned to the Crusader camp. After entering the camp, his expressions immediately became serious. The next task was still very heavy, and the number of battles would not be small. He had to