Battle of Ager Sanguinis In the Battle of " Ager Sanguinis " , also known as the Battle of the Field of Blood , the Battle of Sarmada , or the Battle of Balat , Roger of Salerno ' s Crusader army of the Principality of Antioch was annihilated by the army of Ilghazi of Mardin , the Artuqid ruler of Aleppo on June 28 , 1119 . Background . Antioch and the other Crusader States were constantly at war with the Muslim states of Northern Syria and the Jazeerah , principally Aleppo and Mosul . When Ridwan of Aleppo died in 1113 , there was a period of peace , at least for a few years . However , Roger of Salerno , who was ruling Antioch as regent for Bohemond II , did not take advantage of Ridwan ' s death ; likewise , Baldwin II , count of Edessa , and Pons , count of Tripoli , looked after their own interests and did not ally with Roger against Aleppo . In 1115 , Roger defeated a Seljuk Turkish invasion force led by Bursuq bin Bursuq at the Battle of Sarmin . In 1117 Aleppo came under the rule of the Artuqid atabeg Ilghazi . In 1118 Roger captured Azaz , which left Aleppo open to attack from the Crusaders ; in response , Ilghazi invaded the Principality in 1119 . Roger marched out from Artah with Bernard of Valence , the Latin Patriarch of Antioch . Bernard suggested they remain there , as Artah was a well - defended fortress only a short distance away from Antioch , and Ilghazi would not be able to pass if they were stationed there . The Patriarch also advised Roger to call for help from Baldwin , now king of Jerusalem , and Pons , but Roger felt he could not wait for them to arrive . Roger camped in the pass of Sarmada , while Ilghazi besieged the fort of al - Atharib . A force under Robert of Vieux - Pont set out to break the siege , and Ilghazi feigned a retreat , Robert ' s men were drawn out from the fort and ambushed . The battle . Ilghazi was also waiting for reinforcements from Toghtekin , the Burid emir of Damascus , but he too was tired of waiting . Using little - used paths , his army quickly surrounded Roger ' s camp during the night of June 27 . The prince had recklessly chosen a campsite in a wooded valley with steep sides and few avenues of escape . Roger ' s army of 700 knights and 3 , 000 foot soldiers , including turcopoles , hastily formed into five divisions . These drew up in a V - shaped line with the tip farthest from the Muslim battle array . From left to right , the divisions were commanded by Robert of St . Lo , Prince Roger , Guy de Frenelle , Geoffrey the Monk and Peter . Meanwhile , Roger told off a sixth division under Renaud Mansoer to protect the Antiochene rear . As the Muslim army waited , the " qadi " Abu al - Fadl ibn al - Khashshab , wearing his lawyer ' s turban but brandishing a lance , rode out in front of the troopers . At first they were incredulous at being harangued by a scholar but at the end of his passionate evocation of the duties and merits of the jihad warrior , according to Kamal ad - Din , the contemporary historian of Aleppo , these hardened professionals wept with emotion and rode into battle . That morning , June 28 , the battle was begun by an archery duel between the Antiochene infantry , posted in front of the knights , and the Turkish bowmen . The crusader army was at first successful when the right - hand divisions of Peter and Geoffrey the Monk attacked and defeated the Artuqids opposed to them . Guy de Frenelle ' s center division had some success also , but the battle was soon decided on the left flank . Robert of St . Lo and the Turcopoles were driven back into Roger ' s division , disrupting it . A north wind blew dust in the faces of the Antioch knights and footmen , confusing them further . Soon , Artuqid flanking forces enveloped the crusaders . During the fighting , Roger was killed by a sword in the face at the foot of the great jewelled cross which had served as his standard . The rest of the army was killed or captured ; only two knights survived . Renaud Mansoer , took refuge in the fort of Sarmada to wait for King Baldwin , but was later taken captive by Ilghazi . Among the other prisoners was likely Walter the Chancellor , who later wrote an account of the battle . The massacre led to the name of the battle , " ager sanguinis " , Latin for " the field of blood . " Aftermath . The battle proved that the Muslims could defeat a Crusader army without the help of the Seljuks . However , Ilghazi soon went on an alcoholic binge and did not advance to Antioch , where Patriarch Bernard was organizing whatever defense he could . Even so , because of the loss of the Antiochene field army , Atharib , Zerdana , Sarmin , Ma ' arrat al - Numan and Kafr Tab rapidly fell into Muslim hands . Ilghazi was defeated by Baldwin II of Jerusalem and Count Pons at the Battle of Hab on August 14 , and Baldwin took over the regency of Antioch . Subsequently , Baldwin recovered some of the lost towns . Even so , the defeat at the Field of Blood left Antioch severely weakened , and subject to repeated attacks by the Muslims in the following decade . Eventually , the Principality came under the influence of a resurgent Byzantine Empire . The Crusaders regained some of their influence in Syria at the Battle of Azaz six years later in 1125 . The description " ager sanguinis " is possibly a Biblical reference to the field purchased by Judas with the money he had been given to betray Christ . The Acts of the Apostles records that Judas killed himself in the field , and it was thus known as " acheldemach " in Aramaic , and " ager sanguinis " in the Vulgate .