Timeline October 1097

Events in October 1097 1

• 1097 – 1098 Siege of Antioch -- the hardest test The siege of Antioch (October 1097 - June 1098) is the most difficult operation of the First Crusade. Antioch is one of the great cities of the ancient world, massively fortified; the Crusaders besiege it through a winter of famine (horses are eaten; cannibalism is reported). A traitor inside the walls (the Armenian officer Firouz) opens a tower to Bohemond on the night of 2-3 June 1098; the Crusaders take the city. Hours later, a massive Muslim relief army under Kerbogha arrives and besieges the besiegers inside the city. A miraculous find -- the Holy Lance (supposedly the spear that pierced Christ's side) -- revives Crusader morale; a sortie destroys Kerbogha's army.