The significance and causes of the battle of the Field of Blood

Bibliographic Data

ID11891920
AuthorsThomas S Asbridge (Royal Holloway University of London, corresponding author), Thomas Asbridge (University of London)
Year1997
Volume23
Issue4
Pages301-316
Publication date1997-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Medieval History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0304-4181 • E-ISSN: 1873-1279
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1016/s0304-4181(97)00015-8
OpenAlexW2056846358
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited3

The Latin defeat in the battle of the Field of Blood in 1119 crippled the political and military strength of the principality of Antioch and raised questions about the continued security of all the Frankish settlements in Syria and Palestine. This paper seeks to delineate the exact effects of the battle in order to demonstrate that its real significance lay not only in the large territorial losses suffered by Antioch, but also in the succession crisis which followed the untimely death of its ruler, Roger of Salerno. It then goes on to question the accepted premise that the Muslim invasion which led to the battle lacked purpose and that the Islamic forces foolishly ignored the opportunity to conquer Antioch itself in the aftermath of their victory. It suggests, instead, that the events of 1119 were stimulated by a contest for control of the frontier zone between the cities of Antioch and Aleppo and that the Muslim leader Il-ghazi fulfilled the primary aim of his campaign by recapturing certain strategically important sites in this region

Ancient history · Archaeology · Battle · CONTEST · Frontier · Human settlement · Islam · Political science · Politics · Premise · Ruler · Victory · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Law · Medieval History and Crusades · Philosophy

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub