By Philip Daileader, Ph.D., The College of William and Mary
The Siege of Nicaea took place over a period of two months in 1097. The Byzantines and the Crusaders were both involved in this first important engagement of the First Crusade.
Alexius I and Secret Negotiations with the Nicaeans
The siege of Nicaea began in May 1097. The Byzantines and the Crusaders both participated. Very early on in the siege, however, the siege bogged down, and it became clear that the capture of Nicaea was going to be difficult to achieve. Nicaea was located on a lake, and all attempts to starve out Nicaea were useless, because inhabitants were finding ways to smuggle in supplies from across this lake.
Alexius I put the Byzantines’ remarkable skills of organization and logistics to good use. He had a fleet built rather far from the lake and had this fleet dragged overland. Once on this lake, Alexius I was able to cut off the re-supplying of the city.
Alexius I wanted Nicaea to be captured in a particular way, and returned to him. He did not trust the Crusaders to follow their oaths, and to return the city to him, as they were bound to do. He feared that if the Crusaders got into the city, they would pillage it, kill many inhabitants, and leave the city virtually worthless. He wanted the city to remain intact until it was captured.
Alexius I had one of his officials secretly establish contact with the Muslim defenders of Nicaea. He kept this a secret from the Crusaders.
The negotiations progressed, and Alexius convinced the Muslim defenders that it would be smart for them to surrender to him, rather than to the Westerners. He convinced them that he would treat them leniently, whereas there was no predicting the outcome if the Crusaders got into the city of Nicaea.
The Muslim defenders, with their food supplies cut off, saw the wisdom of Alexius I’s proposal. While the negotiations were taking place, Alexius I allowed the Crusaders to continue the attack on the city of Nicaea.
This is a transcript from the video series The High Middle Ages. Watch it now, Wondrium.
The Byzantine Takeover of Nicaea
It was a surprise to the Crusaders to awaken on the morning of June 19, 1097, and see the Byzantine flag waving over the walls of Nicaea, and Byzantine troops waving to them from the ramparts, having entered the city the night before.
The Crusaders felt cheated. They had wanted to capture and pillage Nicaea. When they asked for permission to come inside the city’s walls, Alexius I refused to allow them in, except in small groups, under armed Byzantine escort. He did not trust the Crusaders and they grew even more resentful because of this.
The greatest problem that the Crusaders had with Alexius was his treatment of the prisoners that he captured at Nicaea.
Learn more about the conquest of Jerusalem.
Alexius I’s Lenient Treatment of Prisoners
The Byzantines, the Turks and the Arabs shared a common frontier for centuries, because they had been fighting with each other on and off for centuries. Oddly enough, relations between the two groups were better than the relationship between Crusaders, and Turks and Arabs, on the other hand.
For the Crusaders, the Arabs and Turks were entirely unfamiliar, and more easily mistreated. The Byzantines and the Turks, however, had agreed to certain rules of conduct and behavior during the course of their wars. One of these rules was lenient treatment of prisoners.
Alexius I spared all those who had surrendered to him. He allowed those who had the means to ransom themselves, and he even treated certain very important captives very well.
Coincidently, the wife and children of an important Turkish military leader, were trapped in Nicaea during the siege, and had fallen into Alexius I’s hands. He refused to ask for a ransom from these individuals. Instead, as a sign of respect to the military leader, he had the prisoners brought back to Constantinople.
To the Crusaders, this was madness, but for the Byzantines, this was good policy as today’s victory could very easily have been tomorrow’s defeat.
Learn more about the People’s Crusade.
The End of the Siege of Nicaea
The very first victory within the Barons’ Crusade was, largely, a defeat for Crusader-Byzantine relations. The mistrust had grown even worse. Nonetheless, those who participated in the siege of Nicaea felt somewhat optimistic.
An even more important turning point in history of the First Crusade, more important than the siege of Nicaea, was the siege of Antioch. The siege of Antioch lasted for roughly eight months, and at Antioch, Crusader- Byzantine relations broke down almost entirely, and the Crusaders came very close to perishing as a group.
Common Questions about the Siege of Nicaea
Alexius I thought that the Crusaders would ruin the city, and wanted to gain the city without destruction. So, he conducted secret negotiations with Nicaea.
The negotiations progressed, and Alexius convinced the Muslim defenders that it would be smart for them to surrender to him, rather than to the Westerners. He convinced them that he would treat them leniently, whereas there was no predicting the outcome if the Crusaders got into the city of Nicaea.
Alexius I spared all those who had surrendered at Nicaea. He allowed those who had the means to ransom themselves, and he even treated certain very important captives very well.
The Crusaders began to mistrust the Byzantines, because they thought that being lenient to prisoners was madness.
