In May 1097, the armies of the First Crusade reached Nicaea, the fortified capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm. With towering walls, an open route across Lake Ascanius and Sultan Kilij Arslan returning with a relief army, capturing the city would require close cooperation between the crusaders and Byzantine Emperor Alexios I. In this episode of Compact Warfare, we examine the fighting outside Nicaea, the siege engines and mining operations used against its defences, the extraordinary transport of Byzantine ships overland and the disputed surrender that exposed tensions within the Christian alliance.
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