Emperor John arrives at Antioch in August…
August 1137 CE
Emperor John arrives at Antioch in August 1137, having meanwhile reconquered all of Cilicia from Lesser Armenia.
Raymond of Poitiers, Prince of Antioch, and Joscelin II, Count of Edessa, faced with the approach of the formidable imperial army, have recognized themselves as the emperor's vassals.
John demands the unconditional surrender of Antioch and, after asking the permission of Fulk, King of Jerusalem, Raymond of Antioch agrees to surrender the city to John.
The agreement, by which Raymond swears homage to John, is explicitly based on the Treaty of Devol, but goes beyond it: Raymond, who is recognized as an imperial vassal for Antioch, promises the emperor free entry to Antioch, and undertakes to hand over the city in return for investiture with Aleppo, Shaizar, Homs, and Hama as soon as these are conquered from the Muslims.
Then, Raymond will rule the new conquests and Antioch will revert to direct imperial rule.