Battle of Dorylaeum
The Battle of Dorylaeum took place on July 1, 1097, during the First Crusade, as the crusader army advanced through Asia Minor. Following their earlier victory in Nicaea, a smaller column of approximately 10,000 troops led by Prince Bohemund was ambushed by a much larger force of 30,000 horse archers from the Turkish Sultan Kilij Arslan. Outnumbered and under heavy fire, Bohemund’s forces formed a defensive position and called for reinforcements from a trailing column. After about six hours of intense fighting, 15,000 knights from the trailing column arrived and launched a surprise counterattack against the Turkish forces, leading to a chaotic retreat of the Sultan's army. The battle resulted in significant casualties on both sides, with around 4,000 crusaders and 3,000 Turks lost. Despite its high cost, the crusaders' tactical victory at Dorylaeum was strategically important, as it allowed them to cross the harsh terrain of Asia Minor without further Turkish opposition, thereby advancing their campaign in the Holy Land.
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Battle of Dorylaeum
Type of action: Cavalry battle in the First Crusade
Date: July 1, 1097
Location: Dorylaeum (Eskishehir) in northern Asia Minor, seventy miles southeast of Nicaea
Combatants: 25,000 crusaders vs. 30,000 Turks
Principal commanders:Crusader, Prince Bohemund (c. 1050/1058–1111); Turkish, Sultan Kilij Arslan (d. 1192)
Result: Conquest of western Asia Minor formerly under Turkish control
On June 26, 1097, the crusader army resumed its march south after the successful conquest of Nicaea, the capital city of Sultan Kilij Arslan. The army marched in two columns, with the smaller column of about 10,000 under the command of Prince Bohemund in the lead.
On July 1, the sultan’s army of 30,000 horse archers ambushed this lead column in a valley near Dorylaeum. Outnumbered and assailed by relentless volleys of arrows, Bohemund’s troops desperately formed a defensive perimeter and sent messengers back to the trail column. After nearly six hours of battle, 15,000 knights of the trail column finally arrived at the scene. Seeing the plight of their comrades, they immediately charged down from the surrounding hills into the flank and rear of the Turkish army. The surprise and shock of this unanticipated charge sent the sultan’s army into flight. The day’s death toll amounted to 4,000 crusaders and 3,000 Turks.
Significance
The small tactical victory at Dorylaeum had great strategic significance for the success of the First Crusade. It allowed the crusader army, weakened by the summer heat and lack of supplies, to cross the remainder of the barren, dry lands of Asia Minor uncontested by the Turks.
Bibliography
The Crusades. Documentary. A&E Home Video, 1995.
France, John. Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
Gore, Terry L. Neglected Heroes: Leadership and War in the Early Medieval Period. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995.
Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986.