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Events on Wednesday 19 May 1097 1
1097Siege of Nicaea -- first successThe Crusaders besiege Nicaea -- the Seljuk capital in Anatolia and formerly the Byzantine city where the great councils of 325 and 787 were held -- in May 1097. Byzantine forces cooperate in the siege. Alexios I secretly negotiates the city's surrender directly with the Turkish garrison, to prevent the Crusaders from sacking it; the Byzantine flag appears on the walls instead of the Crusader banner. The Crusade leaders are furious at being denied the looting of a major city. The episode encapsulates the entire ambiguous Byzantine-Crusader relationship: cooperation in service of incompatible goals.