A History of the Crusades-Vol 2 by Steven Runciman Read Free Book Online Page B

out of the town with heavy losses. The inhabitants
that had had dealings with the Ortoqids were massacred; and many prisoners were
made, whose ransom enriched Baldwin’s exchequer.
    Soon afterwards Baldwin acquired a useful
lieutenant in the person of his cousin, Joscelin of Courtenay. Joscelin, whose mother
was Baldwin’s aunt, was the younger and penniless son of the lord of Courtenay
and had probably come to the East with his close neighbour, the Count of
Nevers. On his arrival Baldwin enfeoffed him with all the land of the county
that lay to the west of the Euphrates, with his headquarters at Turbessel. He
proved to be a valiant friend; but his loyalty was later to be questioned.
    As time went on, Baldwin seems to have grown
suspicious of Tancred’s ambitions, and desired Bohemond’s restoration to
Antioch. Together with the Patriarch Bernard he began negotiations with the
Danishmend emir to secure his release. Tancred took no part in the transaction.
The emir had already been offered the large sum of 260,000 besants from the
Emperor Alexius in return for Bohemond’s person, and would have accepted, had
not the Seldjuk Sultan, Kilij Arslan, come to hear of it. Kilij Arslan, as
official overlord of the Anatolian Turks, demanded half of any ransom that the
Danishmend might receive. The resultant quarrel between the two Turkish princes
prevented the immediate acceptance of the Emperor’s offer, but it served the
useful purpose of breaking their alliance. Bohemond, in his captivity, was
aware of these negotiations. He was still a handsome and glamorous man; and the
ladies of the emir’s household took an interest in him. Perhaps with their
assistance, he was able to persuade his captor that a private arrangement with
the Franks of Syria and the promise of their alliance was preferable to a deal
with the Emperor, in which the Seldjuks intended to interfere. The emir agreed
to release Bohemond for the sum of 100,000 besants.
     
    1103: Bohemond’s
Release
    While the negotiations were continuing, the
Danishmend army attacked Melitene. Its ruler, Gabriel, must have appealed to
his son-in-law, Baldwin, for help; but Baldwin did nothing, probably because he
was unwilling at this juncture to offend the emir. Gabriel’s subjects disliked
him for his Orthodox faith. The Syrians, in particular, had never forgiven him
for having once put one of their bishops to death for treason. He and his
capital were captured; but one of his castles held out. Gabriel was told by his
captors to order it to capitulate. When the garrison disobeyed him, he was
executed before its walls.
    It was at Melitene, a few months later, in the
spring of 1103, that Bohemond was handed over to the Franks. His ransom money
had been raised by Baldwin and by the Patriarch Bernard, with the help of the
Armenian princeling, Kogh Vasil, and of Bohemond’s relatives in Italy. Tancred
did not contribute to it. Bohemond at once went to Antioch, where he was
reinstated in his authority. He publicly thanked Tancred for having
administered the principality during his absence, but privately there was some
friction between the uncle and the nephew, as Tancred did not see why he should
hand over to Bohemond the conquests that he himself had made as regent. Public
opinion forced him to give way; and he was rewarded by a small fief within the
principality. He could legally have demanded the return of Galilee from Baldwin
I, but he did not think it worth his while.
    The Franks celebrated Bohemond’s return by a
general offensive against their neighbours. In the summer of 1103 Bohemond,
with Joscelin of Courtenay, raided the territory of Aleppo. They captured the
town of Muslimiye, to the north of Aleppo itself, and extracted a large tribute
from the Moslems of the district, which was used to repay the Franks who had
lent money to Baldwin and the Patriarch for Bohemond’s ransom. Next, they
turned against the Byzantines. Alexius, after writing to Bohemond to require
him to