Battles & Campaigns · 1097
Battle of Dorylaeum
Dorylaeum (Şarhöyük), near Eskişehir, Turkey
What happened
First Crusade armies under Bohemond of Taranto, Godfrey of Bouillon and Raymond of Toulouse fought the Seljuk Turks of Sultan Kilij Arslan I. As the crusader armies marched across Anatolia, the Turks attacked Bohemond's camp at dawn. Bohemond's knights formed a line to protect the foot soldiers and pilgrims, and held on through the day. When the other crusader armies arrived and struck the Turks from the side and rear, the Turks fled.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It opened the road across Anatolia for the First Crusade. The crusaders crossed with little opposition and reached Antioch by October.
What came next
The crusaders began the siege of Antioch in October 1097. The Byzantines regained several cities in western Anatolia.
Timeline
- 1 July 1097The crusaders win at Dorylaeum.
- October 1097The siege of Antioch begins.