CHAP. horfes were fresh and the quivers full, Soliman

LVIII.

March through the Leffer

Afia, July -September.

maintained the advantage of the day; and four
thousand Chriftians were pierced by the Turkish
arrows. In the evening, fwiftnefs yielded to
ftrength; on either fide, the numbers were equal,
or at least as great as any ground could hold, or
any generals could manage; but in turning the
hills, the last divifion of Raymond and his provin-
cials was led, perhaps without defign, on the
rear of an exhausted enemy; and the long con-
test was determined. Befides a nameless and
unaccounted multitude, three thousand Pagan
knights were flain in the battle and purfuit; the
camp of Soliman was pillaged; and in the variety
of precious spoil, the curiofity of the Latins was
amufed with foreign arms and apparel, and the
new afpect of dromedaries and camels. The
importance of the victory was proved by the
hafty retreat of the fultan: referving ten thou-
fand guards of the relics of his army, Soliman
evacuated the kingdom of Roum, and hastened
to implore the aid, and kindle the resentment, of
his Eastern brethren. In a march of five hun-
dred miles, the crufaders traverfed the Leffer
Afia, through a wasted land and deserted towns,
without either finding a friend or an enemy. The
geographer "7
may trace the position of Dory-
læum, Antioch of Pifidia, Iconium, Archelais,

87

87 The curious reader may compare the claffic learning of Cellarius, and the geographical fcience of d'Anville. William of Tyre is the only hiftorian of the crufades who has any know'ledge of antiquity; and M. Otter trod almost in the footsteps of the Franks from Conftantinople to Antioch (Voyage en Turquie et en Perfe, tom. i. p. 35-88.).

and

LVIII.

and Germanicia, and may compare thofe claffic CHAP.
appellations with the modern names of Efkifhehr
the old city, Akfhehr the white city, Cogni,
Erekli, and Marafh. As the pilgrims paffed over
a defert, where a draught of water is exchanged
for filver, they were tormented by intolerable
thirst; and on the banks of the first rivulet, their
haste and intemperance were still more pernicious
to the disorderly throng. They climbed with toil
and danger the steep and flippery sides of mount
Taurus: many of the foldiers caft away their
arms to fecure their footsteps; and had not ter-
ror preceded their van, the long and trembling
file might have been driven down the precipice
by a handful of refolute enemies. Two of their
moft refpectable chiefs, the duke of Lorraine and
the count of Tholoufe, were carried in litters:
Raymond was raifed, as it is faid by miracle,
from an hopeless malady; and Godfrey had been
torn by a bear, as he pursued that rough and pe-
rilous chace in the mountains of Pifidia.

deifa,

To improve the general confternation, the cou- Baldwin fin of Bohemond and the brother of Godfrey founds the principawere detached from the main army with their lity of Erespective fquadrons of five, and of seven, hun- A. D. dred knights. They over-ran in a rapid career 1097the hills and fea-coaft of Cilicia, from Cogni to the Syrian gates: the Norman ftandard was first planted on the walls of Tarfus and Malmiftra; but the proud injuftice of Baldwin at length provoked the patient and generous Italian; and they turned their confecrated fwords against each other in a private and profane quarrel. Honour

1

CHAP. was the motive, and fame the reward, of Tancred; but fortune fmiled on the more selfish en

LVIII.

Siege of
Antioch,
A. D.

tober 21

-A. D.

3.

88

terprise of his rival 9. He was called to the affiftance of a Greek or Armenian tyrant, who had been fuffered under the Turkish yoke to reign over the Christians of Edeffa. Baldwin accepted the character of his fon and champion; but no fooner was he introduced into the city, than he inflamed the people to the maffacre of his father, occupied the throne and treasure, extended his conquests over the hills of Armenia and the plain of Mefopotamia, and founded the first principality of the Franks or Latins, which fubfifted fiftyfour years beyond the Euphrates 9.

Before the Franks could enter Syria, the fum. mer, and even the autumn, were compleatly 1097, Oc- wafted: the fiege of Antioch, or the feparation and repose of the army during the winter season, 1098, June was strongly debated in their council: the love of arms and the holy fepulchre urged them to advance; and reafon perhaps was on the fide of refolution, fince every hour of delay abates the fame and force of the invader, and multiplies the refources of defenfive war. The capital of Syria was protected by the river Orontes; and the iron bridge, of nine arches, derives its name from the

88 This detached conqueft of Edeffa is beft represented by Fulcherius Carnotenfis, or of Chartres (in the collections of Bongarfius, Duchesne, and Martenne), the valiant chaplain of count Baldwin (Esprit des Croifades, tom. i. p. 13, 14.). In the dis. putes of that prince with Tancred, his partiality is encountered by the partiality of Radulphus Cadomenfis, the soldier and hiftorian of the gallant marquis.

89 See de Guignes, Hift. des Huns, tom. i. p. 456.

LVIII.

maffy gates of the two towers which are con- CHA P. ftructed at either end. They were opened by the fword of the duke of Normandy: his victory gave

entrance to three hundred thousand crufaders, an account which may allow fome fcope for loffes and desertion, but which clearly detects much exaggeration in the review of Nice. In the defcription of Antioch, it is not eafy to define a middle term between her ancient magnificence, under the fucceffors of Alexander and Auguftus, and the modern aspect of Turkish desolation. The Tetrapolis, or four cities, if they retained their name and position, must have left a large vacuity in a circumference of twelve miles; and that meafure, as well as the number of four hundred towers, are not perfectly confiftent with the five gates, fo often mentioned in the hiftory of the fiege. Yet Antioch must have still flourished as a great and populous capital. At the head of the Turkish emirs, Baghifian, a veteran chief, commanded in the place: his garrifon was compofed of fix or seven thousand horse, and fifteen or twenty thoufand foot: one hundred thoufand Moflems are faid to have fallen by the fword; and their numbers were probably inferior to the Greeks, Armenians, and Syrians, who had been no more than fourteen years the flaves of the houfe of Seljuk. From the remains of a folid and stately wall, it appears to have arifen to

90 For Antioch, fee Pococke (Defcription of the Eaft, vol. ii. p. i. p. 188—193.), Otter (Voyage en Turquie, &c. tom. i. p. 81, &c.), the Turkish geographer (in Otter's notes), the Index Geographicus of Schultens (ad calcem Bohadin. Vit. Saladin.), and Abulfeda (Tabula Syriæ, p. 115, 116. verf. Reiske).

VOL. XI.

LVIII:

CHAP. the height of threescore feet in the valliës; and wherever lefs art and labour had been applied, the ground was fuppofed to be defended by the river, the morafs, and the mountains. Notwithstanding these fortifications, the city had been repeatedly taken by the Perfians, the Arabs, the Greeks, and the Turks; fo large a circuit must have yielded many pervious points of attack; and in a fiege that was formed about the middle of October, the vigour of the execution could alone justify the boldness of the attempt. Whatever strength and valour could perform in the field was abundantly discharged by the champions of the cross in the frequent occafions of fallies, of forage, of the attack and defence of convoys, they were often victorious; and we can only complain, that their exploits are fometimes enlarged beyond the scale of probability and truth. The fword of Godfrey 91 divided a Turk from the fhoulder to the haunch; and one half of the infidel fell to the ground, while the other was transported by his horse to the city gate. As Robert of Normandy rode against his antagonist, "I devote thy head," he pioufly exclaimed, "to

* Enfem elevat, eumque a finistrâ parte scapularum, tanta virtute intorfit ut quòd pectus medium disjunxit fpinam et vitalia interrupit, et fic lubricus enfis fuper crus dextrum integer exivit ; ficque caput integrum cum dextrâ parte corporis immerit gur gite, partemque quæ equo præfidebat remifit civitati (Robert. Mon. p. 50.). Cujus enfe trajectus, Turcus duo factus eft Turci; ut inferior alter in urbem equitaret, alter arcitenens in Alumine nataret (Radulph. Cadom. c. 53. p. 304.). Yet he juftifies the deed by the ftupendis viribus of Godfrey; and William of Tyre covers it by obftupuit populus facti novitate. ... mirabilis (1. v. c. 6. p. 701.). Yet it must not have appeared incredible to the knights of that age.

the