Battle of Philomelion
| date | May 7, 1190 |
|---|---|
| place | Philomelium ( Central Anatolia ) |
| output | Victory of the Crusaders |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
unknown |
|
| Troop strength | |
| unknown | unknown |
| losses | |
|
low |
4.174 |
1189–1192
Philomelion - Iconium - Acre - Arsuf - Jaffa
The Battle of Philomelion was fought on May 7, 1190 during the Third Crusade (1189-1192) between the advance guard of the German army of Frederick I (called Barbarossa) and the army of the Rum Seljuks .
prehistory
On the Third Crusade, Barbarossa's crusader army had crossed the Hellespont to Asia Minor in Byzantine ships near Gallipoli in March 1190 . On April 28th, the crusade army passed the city of Laodicea and entered the area of the Sultan of Iconium .
Actually, the local sultan, Kılıç Arslan II , had already assured the crusade army free passage as early as 1188 and the right to buy food in Turkish markets. In the meantime, however, Kılıç Arslan had transferred the business of government to his sons, and the eldest of them, Qutd-ad-Din (also Rutbeddin ), had agreed with a son of Saladin on an alliance against the Crusaders. In the mountainous area there were constant attacks and ambushes by smaller gangs of Seljuk horsemen and archers. In addition, the heat and soon a lack of food and water claimed many human and animal victims.
Barbarossa feared being ambushed by the Rum-Seljuk main army on the mountain pass of Myriokephalon, as had happened to the Byzantines in 1176 at the battle of Myriokephalon . So he decided to bypass the pass via steep mountain trails. In single file in the mountainous landscape, the crusade army drew several kilometers apart and was therefore easily vulnerable to rapid attacks. Transporting material with pack animals was particularly difficult.
The head of the crusader army reached the level of Philomelion (Turkish: Akşehir , Latin: Philiomelium ) on May 7, 1190 . When they encountered an orderly Seljuk army there, the crusaders knew for sure that the previous raids had not been abandoned robbers.
A large part of the crusader army was still many kilometers away - including Friedrich Barbarossa. The following battle was therefore of his son, Duke Friedrich VI. of Swabia , as well as Duke Berthold of Dalmatia and Merania , Margrave of Istria .
The battle
The crusader army was completely exhausted due to the grueling and hardship of the march and most of the horses had been killed on the way. However, the weather conditions were favorable for the crusaders. Because they had the wind and thus the sand behind them, while the Seljuks were partially blinded.
The crusaders wore heavy armor and were in close formation. Thus they showed themselves to be almost immune to the Seljuk ranged fighters. The crusaders also fought in a disciplined manner and were hardly lured out of their dense formation by the usual sham attacks by the Seljuks, which would have made them easier prey for the Seljuk light cavalry. The Seljuks nevertheless ran unsuccessfully against the crusade army several times, but had to recognize their unfavorable situation and finally withdrew from the battlefield with heavy losses.
A German chronicler put the Seljuk dead at 4,174 men.
The Byzantine chronicler Niketas Choniates reports that the crusaders then occupied the city of Philomelion and burned it down on the same day, but its mention is isolated, as neither Western nor Oriental authors report anything similar. Presumably the city was already destroyed under Manuel I Komnenus , the Christian population was resettled to Bithynia and the city has been in ruins since then.
consequences
The victory of the Crusaders inflicted the first heavy losses on the Seljuks. These avoided it again to face the crusaders for hand-to-hand combat and continued to decimate the starving crusader army on its march to Iconium, with constant smaller lightning attacks and ambushes.
On May 18, the crusaders finally reached the Rum-Seljuk capital and captured it during the Battle of Iconium . This victory brought them back a sufficient supply of food and safe passage into Christian Little Armenia .
literature
- Kenneth M. Setton, Robert L. Wolff, Harry W. Hazard: A History of the Crusades. The later Crusades, 1189-1311. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison 1969, p. 111 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
- Ekkehard Eickhoff: Friedrich Barbarossa in the Orient. Crusade and death of Friedrich I. Wasmuth, Tübingen 1977, ISBN 3-8030-1716-5 , p. 119 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cf. Norbert Mersch: Tzibritze. To the site of the Battle of Myriokephalon. In: Herbert Hunger, Wolfram Hörandner (Ed.): ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΟΣ. Festschrift for Herbert Hunger on his 70th birthday. Becvar, Vienna 1984, ISBN 3-900538-04-2 , pp. 241–246, here p. 246 ( limited preview in the Google book search).