Richard was one of the commanders at the Battle of Dorylaeum in the summer of 1097. Richard and Tancred joined Bohemund at the siege of Antioch. Richard was among those captured with Bohemund in 1100 when ambushed by the Danishmends at the Battle of Melitene. From there Richard was sent to the emperor Alexius, who imprisoned him in Constantinople before he was finally released in 1103. His cousin Tancred then appointed him governor of Edessa in the winter of 1104, a city which he ruled until 1108. He was bitterly hated by the citizens of Edessa for being ruthless and greedy. During this time, Richard also acted as a diplomat, traveling to France and Italy and arranging the marriage of Bohemund to the princess Constance of France. He was a witness of the 1108 Treaty of Devol. He also participated in the ultimately disastrous campaigns Bohemund waged against the emperor Alexius, but may have been secretly plotting with Alexius against Bohemund. After Bohemund's death in 1111, Richard retired to Marash, where he died in the great earthquake of November 29, 1114.