Battle of Dorylaeum ( 1097 ) The Battle of Dorylaeum took place during the First Crusade on July 1 , 1097 , between the crusade rs and the Seljuk Turks , near the city of Dorylaeum in Anatolia . Background . The crusaders had left Nicaea on June 26 , with a deep distrust of the Byzantine s , who had taken the city without their knowledge after a long siege . In order to simplify the problem of supplies , the Crusader army had split into two groups ; the weaker led by Bohemond of Taranto , his nephew Tancred , Robert Curthose , Robert of Flanders , and the Byzantine general Tatikios in the vanguard , and Godfrey of Bouillon , his brother Baldwin of Boulogne , Raymond IV of Toulouse , Stephen II , and Hugh of Vermandois in the rear . On June 29 , they learnt that the Turks were planning an ambush near Dorylaeum ( Bohemond noticed his army being shadowed by Turkish scouts ) . The Turkish force , consisting of Kilij Arslan I and his ally Hasan of Cappadocia , along with help from the Danishmendids , led by the Turkish prince Ghazi ibn Danishmend , the Persians , and the Caucasian Albania ns . Contemporary figures place this number between 25 , 000 - 30 , 000 , more recent estimates are between 6 , 000 to 8 , 000 men . Back then numbers were mentioned absurdly high in order to give it a heroic twist , 150 , 000 men according to Raymond of Aguilers , which was not possible due lack of logistic support , men and since Turks fought a hit and run guerrilla - tactic indicating a small army . Fulcher of Chartres gives the exaggerated number of 360 , 000 . In addition to large numbers of noncombatants , Bohemund ' s force probably numbered about 10 , 000 , the majority on foot . Military figures of the time often imply perhaps several men - at - arms per knight ( i . e . , a stated force of 500 knights is assumed to contain perhaps 1 , 500 men - at - arms in addition ) , so it seems reasonable that Bohemond had with him approximately 8 , 000 men - at - arms and 2 , 000 cavalry . On the evening of June 30 , after a three - day march , Bohemund ' s army made camp in a meadow on the north bank of the river Thymbres , near the ruined town of Dorylaeum ( Many scholars believe that this is the site of the modern city of Eskişehir ) . Battle . On July 1 , Bohemund ' s force was surrounded outside Dorylaeum by Kilij Arslan . Godfrey and Raymond had separated from the vanguard at Leuce , and the Turkish army attacked at dawn , taking Bohemund ' s army ( not expecting such a swift attack ) entirely by surprise , shooting arrows into the camp . Bohemund ' s knights had quickly mounted but their sporadic counterattacks were unable to deter the Turks . The Turks were riding into camp , cutting down noncombatants and unarmoured foot soldiers , who were unable to outrun the Turkish horses and were too disoriented and panic - stricken to form lines of battle . To protect the unarmoured foot and noncombatants , Bohemond ordered his knights to dismount and form a defensive line , and with some trouble gathered the foot soldiers and the noncombatants into the centre of the camp ; the women acted as water - carriers throughout the battle . While this formed a battle line and sheltered the more vulnerable men - at - arms and noncombatants , it also gave the Turks free rein to maneuver on the battlefield . The Turkish mounted archers attacked in their usual style - charging in , shooting their arrows , and quickly retreating before the crusaders could counterattack . The archers did little damage to the heavily armoured knight s , but they inflicted heavy casualties on the horses and unarmoured foot soldiers . Bohemond had sent messengers to the other Crusader army and now struggled to hold on until help arrived , and his army was being forced back to the bank of the Thymbris river . The marshy riverbanks protected the Crusaders from mounted charge , as the ground was too soft for horses , and the armoured knights formed a circle protecting the foot soldiers and noncombatants from arrows , but the Turks kept their archers constantly supplied and the sheer number of arrows was taking its toll , reportedly more than 2 , 000 falling to horse - archers . Bohemund ' s knights were impetuous - although ordered to stand ground , small groups of knights would periodically break ranks and charge , only to be slaughtered or forced back as the Turkish horses fell back beyond range of their swords and arrows , while still shooting at them with arrows , killing many of the knights ' horses out from under them . And although the knights ' armour protected them well ( the Turks called them ' men of iron ' ) the sheer number of arrows meant that some would find unprotected spots and eventually , after so many hits , a knight would collapse from his wounds . Just after mid - day , Godfrey arrived with a force of 50 knights , fighting through the Turkish lines to reinforce Bohemund . Through the day small groups of reinforcements ( also from Raymond , and Hugh , as well as Godfrey ) arrived , some killed by the Turks , others fighting to reach Bohemund ' s camp . As the Crusader losses mounted , the Turks became more aggressive and the Crusader army found itself forced from the marshy banks of the river into the shallows . But the Crusaders held on , and after approximately 7 hours of battle , Raymond ' s knights arrived ( it is unclear if Raymond was with them , or if they arrived ahead of Raymond ) , launching a vicious surprise attack across the Turkish flank that turned them back in disarray and allowed the Crusaders to rally . The Crusaders had formed a line of battle with Bohemund , Tancred , Robert of Normandy , and Stephen on the left wing , Raymond , Robert of Flanders in the centre and Godfrey , Robert of Flanders , and Hugh on the right , and they rallied against the Turks , proclaiming " " hodie omnes divites si Deo placet effecti eritis " " ( " today if it pleases God you will all become rich " ) . Although the ferocity of the Norman attack took the Turks by surprise , they were unable to dislodge the Turks until a force led by Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy , the Papal legate , arrived in mid - afternoon , perhaps with Raymond in the van , moving around the battle through concealing hills and across the river , outflanking the archers on the left and surprising the Turks from the rear . Adhemar ' s force fell on the Turkish camp , and attacked the Turks from the rear . The Turks were terrified by the sight of their camp in flames , and by the ferocity and endurance of the knights , since the knights ' armour protected them from arrows and even many sword cuts , and they promptly fled , abandoning their camp and forcing Kilij Arslan to withdraw from the battlefield . Aftermath . The crusaders did indeed become rich , at least for a short time , after capturing Kilij Arslan ' s treasury . The Turks fled and Arslan turned to other concerns in his eastern territory . They also took the male Greek children from the region extending from Doryleum to Ikonium , some of them were sent as slaves to Persia . On the other hand the crusaders were allowed to march virtually unopposed through Anatolia on their way to Antioch . It took almost three months to cross Anatolia in the heat of the summer , and in October they began the siege of Antioch . With the Crusader army moved onwards towards Antioch , the Emperor Alexios I achieved part of his original intent in inviting the Crusader in the first place : the recovery of Seljuk - held imperial territories in Asia minor . John Doukas re - established Byzantine rule in Chios , Rhodes , Smyrna , Ephesus , Sardis , and Philadelphia in 1097 – 1099 . This success is ascribed by Alexios ' daughter Anna to his policy and diplomacy , but by the Latin historians of the crusade to his treachery and falseness .