Atlas of Battles

siege, major, medieval

Siege of Nicaea

Siege of Nicaea was a siege conducted on 19 June 1097 at İznik, in what is now Turkey. It was part of First Crusade, which ran from 1096 to 1099. The recorded result: Crusader-Byzantine victory.

See it on the globe Read the article

After the battle of Nicea
After the battle of Nicea. Gustave Doré, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought19 June 1097
Whereİznik, Turkey40.429N, 29.719E
OutcomeCrusader-Byzantine victory
BelligerentsCrusaders; Byzantine EmpireagainstSultanate of Rûm
Casualties and lossesUnknownand~4,000
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 Nicaea, 1097
12 placed engagements of First Crusade in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date19 June 1097
to 19 June 1097
Placeİznik, Turkey
40.429N, 29.719E
KindSiege, medieval
Territorial changeNicaea restored to the Byzantine Empire
StrengthCrusaders: ~30,000 infantry; ~4,200–4,500 cavalry; Byzantines: 2,000 light infantry and naval supportNicaean garrison: Unknown, but sizeable; Kilij Arslan's relief force: ~10,000, mostly mounted archers
Casualties and lossesUnknown~4,000
Commanders
Siege of NicaeaSiege of NicaeaSiege of NicaeaSiege of NicéeSiege of NicaeaSiege of NicaeaBattle of NicaeaSiege of NicaeaBursaEskişehirAdapazarıİzmitBalıkesirZonguldakBoluKütahya100 km40.429N, 29.719E
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 Nicaea
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 50 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Nicaea today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-06-17. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 97 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 82 to 715 m, 633 m of relief, steep country and today it is 37% tree cover, 30% water, 14% cropland.

tree cover: 37%water: 30%cropland: 14%built-up: 12%grassland: 3%shrubland: 2%tree cover 37%water 30%cropland 14%built-up 12%grassland 3%
west to east, 10.0 km83 to 182 mnorth to south, 10.0 km88 to 353 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 6 times between AD 193 and 1328.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1097

Siege of Nicaea 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 Q642117, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Nicaea, revision 1372939221, 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.