Yaghi - Siyan Yaghi - Siyan ( died June 3 , 1098 ) was the governor of Antioch during the First Crusade . He was a Turkic slave of the Seljuk sultan Malik Shah I , who had captured Antioch in 1085 and appointed Yaghi - Siyan governor around 1090 . Malik Shah died in 1092 , and his successor Tutush I granted Yaghi - Siyan more territory around Manbij and Turbessel . When Tutush died in 1095 , his sons , Ridwan and Duqaq , fought for control of Syria , claiming Aleppo and Damascus respectively . Ridwan ' s claim to Aleppo was opposed by an alliance of Yaghi - Siyan , Ilghazi , and Duqaq . Yaghi - Siyan disliked Ridwan ' s tutor Janah ad - Dawla more than he disliked Ridwan himself , and thus allied with Duqaq instead . Ridwan and his allies attacked Yaghi - Siyan ' s territory , and then besieged Damascus when Duqaq and Ilghazi came to assist Antioch . In 1097 Ridwan quarrelled with Janah ad - Dawla , and Yaghi - Siyan became more amenable to an alliance . This was completed by marrying his daughter to Ridwan . The two were about to attack Shaizar when news of the crusade arrived , and all parties retreated to their own territories to prepare for the coming attacks . Siege of Antioch . Despite the alliance , Yaghi - Siyan was left alone to fight the crusaders with only his personal army in Antioch . To prepare for a siege , he exiled many of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox Christians , whom he considered untrustworthy . He imprisoned the Greek Patriarch , John the Oxite , and converted the Cathedral of St . Peter into a stable . The Syrian Orthodox Christians were generally left alone , as Yaghi - Siyan considered them to be more loyal to him , as enemies of the Greeks and Armenians . Over the winter of 1097 - 1098 , Antioch was besieged by the Crusaders , and Yaghi - Siyan and his son Shams ad - Dawla sought help from Duqaq . He frequently sent out sorties against the Christian camp , and attacked foraging parties further afield . Yaghi - Siyan knew from his informants that there were dissensions among the Christians ; both Raymond IV of Toulouse and Bohemund of Taranto wanted the city for themselves . While Bohemund was away foraging on December 29 , 1097 , Raymond attacked but was pushed back by Yaghi - Siyan ' s troops . On December 30 , reinforcements from Duqaq were defeated by Bohemund ' s foraging party , and retreated to Homs . Yaghi - Siyan then turned to Ridwan for assistance . In February Ridwan ' s army was also defeated ; while the crusader army was away from the city fighting Ridwan , Yaghi - Siyan marched out to attack the foot - soldiers left behind to defend the camp , but he too was pushed back when the victorious crusaders returned . In March Yaghi - Siyan ambushed the crusaders who were bringing wood and other material back from the port of St . Simeon ; when the crusader camp at Antioch heard that Raymond and Bohemund had been killed , there was mass confusion , and Yaghi - Siyan attacked the rest of the army under Godfrey of Bouillon . Bohemund and Raymond soon returned however , and Yaghi - Siyan was once more pushed back into the city . This time the governor turned to Kerbogha of Mosul for help . The crusaders knew they had to take the city before Kerbogha ' s reinforcements arrived . Bohemund secretly negotiated with one of Yaghi - Siyan ' s guards , an Armenia n named Firuz , who agreed to betray the city . Death . On the night of June 2 - June 3 , 1098 , the crusaders entered the city ; Yaghi - Siyan fled with his bodyguard , while his son stayed behind to defend the citadel . During his escape , Yaghi - Siyan fell from his horse , and as his guards found it impossible to bring the injured governor with them , they left him on the ground and rode away without him . He was found by an Armenian who cut off his head and sent it as a gift to Bohemund . Antioch was claimed by Bohemund and Raymond , with Raymond stationed in Yaghi - Siyan ' s residence and Bohemund in the citadel when it was captured from Shams ad - Dawla the next week . Their quarrel delayed the crusade for many months . The crusaders recorded Yaghi - Siyan ' s name in various forms in Latin , including Acxianus , Gratianus , and Cassianus ; the residence claimed by Raymond was known as the " palatium Cassiani " .