Artah ( ar, أرتاح; modern-day

Reyhanlı Reyhanlı (; ar, الريحانية, ''ar-Rayḥānīyah'') is a town and district of Hatay Province, on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, near the country's border with Syria. History Formerly known as İrtah (Artah) and Reyhaniye, Reyhanl ...

) was a medieval town and castle located 25 miles east-northeast of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

, to the east of the Iron Bridge on the

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

from Antioch to

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

History

After the reconquest of Antioch by the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

in the late 10th century, Artah became the last Byzantine castle before the

emirate of Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

. Nevertheless, the city changed possession several times during the 1060s and by the time of

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ...

, it was in the hand of local Turkmen rulers and was one of the keys to the success in the Crusaders'

siege of Antioch The siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098, on the crusaders' way to Jerusalem through Syria. Two sieges took place in succession. The first siege, by the crusaders against the city held by the Seljuk Empire, ...

Ralph of Caen Ralph of Caen (also known as Radulphus Cadomensis) (c. 1080 – c. 1120) was a Norman chaplain and author of the '' Gesta Tancredi in expeditione Hierosolymitana'' (The Deeds of Tancred in the Crusade). Biography Ralph was born before 1080 to an ...

, in his '' Gesta Tancredi'', described Artah as the "shield of Antioch" and

Albert of Aachen Albert of Aix(-la-Chapelle) or Albert of Aachen; la, Albericus Aquensis; ''fl.'' c. 1100) was a historian of the First Crusade and the early Kingdom of Jerusalem. He was born during the later part of the 11th century, and afterwards became canon (p ...

describes it as "very well fortified with a wall and ramparts and a turreted fortress". From Marash, a detachment under Robert of Flanders went in October 1098 to the southwest to capture Artah. Robert's force numbered 1000 armed men. Their mission was aided by the

Armenian Christian , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

population that had defeated the Islamic

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mili ...

housed there and supplied the crusaders with food. The town was then briefly besieged by a force from Antioch but this force retreated upon arrival of the main crusader forces. After this, the crusaders moved via the Iron Bridge to Antioch and the town was most likely left to its inhabitants. After the capture of Antioch, Bohemond of Tarento, who had contributed significantly to the fall of the city, founded the

principality of Antioch The Principality of Antioch was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of Edessa or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It exte ...

and thus broke with the Byzantine Empire which had backed the crusaders. The new principality included next to Antioch the port St Simeon, Alexandretta and Artah. Artah became a bishopric in 1099 and in 1100 Bohemond decided to replace the

Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch The patriarch of Antioch is one of the Eastern Orthodox patriarchs, the leader of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. The term "Greek" does not refer to ethnic origin; the majority of these patriarchs were not ethnic Greeks. It ...

, John IV, due to his connection to the Byzantine Empire, with the newly appointed bishop of Artah,

Bernard of Valence Bernard of Valence (died 1135) was the Latin Patriarch of Antioch from 1100 to 1135. Originally from Valence, Bernard was part of the army of Raymond of Saint-Gilles and attended the Battle of Harran, and Battle of Sarmada with Roger of Salerno ...

. Two other major battles occurred at Artah during the Crusades. The first took place in 1105 between the forces of

Tancred, Prince of Galilee Tancred (1075 – December 5 or December 12, 1112) was an Italo- Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch. Tancred came from the house of Hauteville and was the great-grands ...

, who was acting as regent for Bohemond, and Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan, the emir of Aleppo, in which the Crusaders were victorious. The second, or

Battle of Harim The Battle of Harim (Harenc) was fought on 12 August 1164 at Harim, Syria, between the forces of Nur ad-Din, and a combined army from the County of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch, the Byzantine Empire, and Armenia. Nur ad-Din won a cr ...

, was fought in 1164 in which a force of Latins were crushingly defeated by

Nur ad-Din Zangi Nūr al-Dīn Maḥmūd Zengī (; February 1118 – 15 May 1174), commonly known as Nur ad-Din (lit. "Light of the Faith" in Arabic), was a member of the Zengid dynasty, which ruled the Syrian province (''Shām'') of the Seljuk Empire. He reig ...

References

;Citations ;Sources * Runciman, Steven, ''A History of the Crusades, Volume I: The First Crusade and the Foundation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1951 * {{coord missing, Turkey Medieval Syria Former populated places in Syria Former populated places in Turkey Principality of Antioch