Siege of Antioch

Siege of Antioch
Part of the Byzantine-Seljuk wars
Date 1084 Location Antioch Result Seljuk capture Antioch
Combatants
Byzantine Empire	Seljuk Turks
Commanders
Byzantine garrison Commander	Leader of the Seljuk Turks
Strength
unknown	unknown
Casualties
unknown	unknown

In 1071 the Seljuk Turks, originating from central Asia, had dealt a crushing defeat to the Byzantine Empire at Manzikert. Following the battle, the Turks invaded Asia Minor capturing Nicaea in 1078 as well as the Byzantine lands in Syria. This led to conflicts with the Arab faction that also had interests in Syria, namely the Fatimid dinasty of Egypt.

Antioch

Antioch had been part of the Byzantine Empire ever since it was captured in 969 by the Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas. It had been in the frontline between the Arabs and Byzantines in their wars and, though the Byzantines may have repaired the city, was in a state of decline under Arab rule for more than 200 years. Despite this, whilst Jerusalem had fallen in 1071 and Nicaea in 1078, Antioch was not taken until 1084.

Legacy

The city was important to the Christian world, being the see of one of the 5 Christian Patriarchates (the others being Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem and Alexandria) and was the Byzantine Empire's strong point in Syria, from which more conquests could have been implemented.

However, the Seljuk Turks held Antioch and Western Syria for only fourteen years before the Crusaders arrived. They took the city after a nine months siege during the First Crusade. Antioch remained the capital of the Latin Principality of Antioch for nearly two centuries and during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel Comnenus the principality was a Byzantine vassal.

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