Atlas of Battles

siege, major, medieval

Siege of Antioch

Siege of Antioch was a siege conducted on 20 October 1097 at Antioch, in what is now Turkey; it lasted 8 months. It was part of First Crusade, which ran from 1096 to 1099. The recorded result: Crusader victory.

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Detail of a medieval miniature of the Siege of Antioch from Sébastien Mamerot's Les Passages d'Outremer
Detail of a medieval miniature of the Siege of Antioch from Sébastien Mamerot's Les Passages d'Outremer. Jean Colombe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought20 October 1097lasted 8 months
WhereAntioch, Turkey36.202N, 36.161E
OutcomeCrusader victory
BelligerentsCrusaders; Byzantine EmpireagainstSeljuk Empire; Emirate of Antioch; Emirate of Damascus; Emirate of Homs; Sultanate of Aleppo; Emirate of Mosul; Various other Arab or Turkish Emirates
Casualties and lossesVery Reducedand10,000 killed
Part ofFirst Crusade1096 to 1099

Where it sits in First Crusade

Siege of Xerigordon, 1096Siege of Nicaea, 1097Battle of Dorylaeum, 1097Siege of Tarsus, 1097Siege of Antioch, 1097Battle of al-Barâ, 1098Battle of the Lake of Antioch, 1098Battle of the Bridge Gate, 1098Battle of Antioch, 1098Siege of Ma'arra, 1098Siege of Jerusalem, 1099Battle of Ascalon, 109910961099Siege of Antioch, 1097
12 placed engagements of First Crusade in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date20 October 1097
to 28 June 1098
PlaceAntioch, Turkey
36.202N, 36.161E
KindSiege, medieval
Territorial changeAntioch captured by the Crusaders; Principality of Antioch is founded
StrengthCrusaders: ~40,000 total at the start of the siege (includes non-combatants); ~20,000 during the second siege against Kerbogha; Byzantines: 2,000 light infantry and naval supportAntiochene garrison: ~5,000; Duqaq's Damascene relief force: ~10,000; Radwan's Aleppine relief force: ~12,000; Kerbogha's Mosulian relief force: ~35,000–40,000; "No good estimates" (Western sources)
Casualties and lossesVery Reduced10,000 killed; Many civilians, including Armenian and Melkite Christians and Muslims
Commanders
  • Yağısıyan
  • Shams al-Muluk Duqaq
  • Toghtekin
  • Janah ad-Dawla
  • Fakhr al-Mulk Ridwan
  • Kerbogha
Siege of AntiochSiege of AntiochBattle of the OenoparusSiege of AntiochBattle of AntiochSiege of AntiochSiege of AntiochBattle of the OenoparusAdanaGaziantepTarsusHamahİskenderunKilisIcelLatakia100 km36.202N, 36.161E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Siege of Antioch
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Antioch today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-06-03. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 82 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 44 to 616 m, 572 m of relief, steep country and today it is 48% built-up, 32% tree cover, 8% grassland.

built-up: 48%tree cover: 32%grassland: 8%shrubland: 6%cropland: 3%bare ground: 2%built-up 48%tree cover 32%grassland 8%shrubland 6%cropland 3%
west to east, 10.0 km72 to 462 mnorth to south, 10.0 km72 to 350 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 9 times between 145 BC and 1268.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1097

Siege of Antioch is one of 318 engagements of the 11th century in the atlas and one of 622 in present-day Turkey.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q741098, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Antioch, revision 1384380390, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.