Battle of the Lake of Antioch | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Siege of Antioch of the First Crusade | |||||||
Bohemond of Taranto in battle. 19th century impression by Gustave Doré. | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Crusaders |
Sultanate of Aleppo Artuqids of Amida Emirate of Hamah | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Bohemond of Taranto |
Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan Soqman ibn Ortoq | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
700 knights[1][2] | ~12,000[3] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Light | Heavy, entire army routed |
The Battle of the Lake of Antioch took place on 9 February 1098 during the First Crusade. As the Crusaders were besieging Antioch, word reached the Crusader camp that a large relief force led by Radwan, the Seljuq ruler of Aleppo, was on the way. Bohemond of Taranto gathered all remaining horses and marched in the night to ambush the Muslim army. After several successful cavalry charges, the Crusader knights routed the numerically superior Muslim army, forcing Radwan to retreat back to Aleppo.