The Stance of Sultan Kilij Arslan I towards the 1st. Crusade Expedition: A Study on the Relation of The Rum Seljuk Sultanate and the First Expedition (487-500 H./1094-1107 A.D) 1097 ADE)

Abstract

This study focuses on the stance of the sultan Kilij Arslan I towards the 1st. crusade expedition, especially his cautious and worried reaction from the very beginning when he was acquainted with the news concerning the crusader orientation towards his country. Since  his sources informed him with a very important and specific information about the crusaders’ moves.  This research deals also with the Sultan’s efforts to protect the sultanate from the crusade threat. Thus the work disclosed the elements of his defense plan.  He proposed to protect his capital from defeat by the crusaders.  The study dealt with the analysis of the attacks; that done by Arslan against the Byzantine crusaders, which besieged Nicaea. It sheds light on the fighting operations done by the crusaders against Nicaea.

Moreover, the study highlighted the efforts of Arslan to conpensate his defeat in Nicaea and the confrontation of Byzantine crusaders in Dorolium. His defeat there oriented him to change his strategy from the military option to the policy of the burned land, to deprive the crusader’s troops from the recourses of the territories they pass by. That may weaken and cost them massive losses in their man power. Finally the study highlights the factors of defeat through the analytic approach.