Crusades
3 total works
THEY WERE MEN BORN TO FIGHT. IF GOD WILLED THAT ANTIOCH WAS THE PLACE WHERE THEY GAVE UP LIFE, SO BE IT Thanks to the stratagems of Bohemund de Hauteville, leader of the Apulian Normans, the Crusade has taken the city of Antioch, and just in time. Once the besiegers, Bohemund and his men are about to become the besieged - a huge Turkish-led army, commanded by the fearsome General Kerbogha, is fast approaching. Provisions are needed to support not only the army, but also thousands of camp followers and pilgrims. But the surrounding countryside is near barren and the storerooms of Antioch much depleted. It soon becomes obvious that the Crusaders cannot hold out for long without falling prey to starvation. And for Bohemund and his nephew Tancred there is another difficulty: the dissent between the Crusade leaders has broken out into the open, with the wealthy Provencal magnate Raymond of Toulouse stirring up conflict. If the Christian host is fighting on two fronts, so is Bohemund himself. With the enemy Turks at his front and his warring peers at his back, can he gain the might city of Antioch once and for all? Only one of the greatest battles of the age will decide.
NO FIGHTING MAN CAN GO INTO THE BATTLE THINKING OF DEATH, FOR TO DO SO IS TO RISK BRINGING ON THAT VERY FATE 11th Century Italy. The domination of the Normans, the most feared warriors in Christendom, is causing trouble. At their head is the feared Robert de Hauteville, the 'Guiscard', who has colonised much of Italy and now commands the triple Dukedom of the extended Norman family, but Robert has made many enemies including the ever-powerful papacy in Rome. The newly elected Pope Gregory excercises his vendetta against the Normans by encouraging them to sail to Byzantium and fight the Turks. But first he must deal with the Guiscard - As Robert successfully suppresses a Lombard revolt, punishing the traitors with unrestrained brutality, his first-born Bohemund, now seventeen, and blessed with the strength, height and military prowess of his father, has come to fight in his army. Already recognised as a formidable warrior, Bohemund seeks to assert his natural right as the heir of Robert's dukedom but it is not without difficultly and conflict as Robert's second son Borsa is now legally entitled to inherit...a battle between the sons is inevitable and loyalties and blood ties will count for nothing.
1096. The Pope has called for a crusade to free Jerusalem, and half the warriors of Europe have responded. Among them is the Norman, Count Bohemund, one-time enemy of Byzantium. In company with his warrior nephew, Tancred of Lecce, Bohemund must once more cross the Adriatic to the lands of the Byzantine Empire. His first task, pushing back the infidel Turks, calls for an uneasy alliance with old enemy Emperor Alexius. But can the Crusaders trust the wily Emperor?
With old tensions arising, and the violent battles of the People's Crusade bringing destruction upon middle Europe, the strength of this reluctant truce, and the de Hauteville dynasty itself, is truly put to the test. Bohemund is faced once again with the opportunity to gain power, land and riches for himself, but do the risks of doing so outweigh the rewards? The Crusaders must contend with sieges, open battles, hunger and want on their journey to mighty Antioch, where they face the stiffest test of their mettle.
With old tensions arising, and the violent battles of the People's Crusade bringing destruction upon middle Europe, the strength of this reluctant truce, and the de Hauteville dynasty itself, is truly put to the test. Bohemund is faced once again with the opportunity to gain power, land and riches for himself, but do the risks of doing so outweigh the rewards? The Crusaders must contend with sieges, open battles, hunger and want on their journey to mighty Antioch, where they face the stiffest test of their mettle.