Battle of the Field of Blood

A battle fought near Sarmada in 1119 in which Ilghazi’s forces defeated the Principality of Antioch and killed its ruler, Roger of Salerno.

Ilghazi: Artuqid ruler of Mardin who led Muslim forces against the Principality of Antioch in 1119. His victory at Sarmada destroyed Roger of Salerno’s army.
First Crusade: A military expedition launched in 1096 that led to the capture of Jerusalem and the creation of Crusader states. Its conquest of Antioch created the principality whose army fought at Sarmada.
Battle of Hab: A battle fought in 1119 between Ilghazi’s forces and a coalition led by Baldwin II of Jerusalem. The Frankish counterattack checked Ilghazi after the victory at Sarmada.
Fulcher of Chartres: A Frankish priest and chronicler whose history covers the First Crusade and its aftermath. His chronicle provides a Latin account of the battle’s place in Crusader history.
Roger of Salerno: Norman ruler of the Principality of Antioch from 1112 until his death in 1119. He led Antioch’s forces and was killed in the battle.
Baldwin II of Jerusalem: King of Jerusalem from 1118 to 1131 and a leading Frankish ruler in the Levant. He responded to Antioch’s defeat and helped prevent Ilghazi from taking the city.
Patriarch Bernard of Valence: Latin patriarch of Antioch from 1100 until his death in 1135. He helped organize Antioch’s defense after Roger’s death.
Walter the Chancellor: A Latin cleric and historian associated with the Principality of Antioch in the early twelfth century. His Antiochene history is a major source for Roger’s defeat and its aftermath.
Sarmada: A settlement in northern Syria near the site of the 1119 battle. The battle was fought near this settlement, then within Antioch’s frontier zone.
Aleppo: A major Syrian city whose control was contested by Muslim and Crusader rulers in the early twelfth century. Ilghazi’s regional campaign grew from struggles for power around Aleppo.

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Treaty of DevolRelated: Antioch’s later military vulnerability formed part of the setting for renewed Byzantine pressure.