The entire Crusader army, under the threats…
August 1101 CE
The entire Crusader army, under the threats of the Lombards, turns away from the possible safety of the Black Sea coast and again moves east, toward Danishmend territory and the rescue of Bohemond.
However, the Seljuqs, under Kilij Arslan I, realizing that disunity had been the cause of their inability to stop the First Crusade, have now allied with both the Danishmends and Ridwan of Aleppo.
In early August, the crusaders meet this combined Muslim army at Mersivan.
The crusaders organized into five divisions: the Burgundians, Raymond and the imperial troops, the Germans, the French, and the Lombards.
The Turks nearly destroy the crusaders’ army near the mountains of Paphlagonia at Mersivan.
The land is well-suited to the Turks—dry and inhospitable for their enemy, it is open, with plenty of space for their cavalry units.
The Turks have been troublesome to the Latins for some days, at last making certain that they go where Kilij Arslan I wants them to be and making sure that they only find a small amount of supplies.
The battle takes place over several days.
On the first day, the Turks cut off the crusading armies’ advances and surround them.
The next day, Duke Conrad leads his Germans in a raid that fails miserably.
Not only do they fail to open the Turkish lines, they are unable to return to the main crusader army and have to take refuge in a nearby stronghold.
This means that they are cut off from supplies, aid, and communication for an attack that might have taken place were the Germans able to provide their own military strength.
The third day is quiet, with little or no serious fighting taking place, but on the fourth day, the crusaders make an intensive effort to free themselves from the trap that they are in.
The crusaders inflict heavy losses on the Turks, but the attack is a failure by the end of the day.
Kilij Arslan is joined by Ridwan of Aleppo and other powerful Danishmend princes.
The Lombards, in the vanguard, are defeated, the Pechenegs desert, and the French and Germans are also forced to fall back.
Raymond is trapped on a rock and is rescued by Stephen and Conrad.
The battle continues into the next day, when the crusader camp is captured and the knights flee, leaving women, children, and priests behind to be killed or enslaved.
Most of the Lombards, who have no horses, are soon found and killed or enslaved by the Turks.
Raymond, Stephen of Blois, and Stephen of Burgundy flee north to Sinope, and return to Constantinople by ship.