The Battle of Ager Sanguinis, also known as the Battle of the Field of Blood or the Battle of Sarmada, took place between the Crusader Principality of Antioch and the Ortoqid ruler of Aleppo in 1119. This article is about the medieval Crusades . ... (Some entries on this page have been duplicated on August 1. ... Events February 2 - Callixtus II becomes Pope August 20 - Henry I of England routes Louis VI at the Battle of Bremule. ... The Ortoqid dynasty was an Oghuz Turk dynasty that ruled in the Jezirah (northern Iraq) in the 11th and 12th centuries. ... The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade. ... Old Town Aleppo viewed from the Citadel Aleppo is also the name of two townships in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ... Roger of Salerno or Roger of the Principate (died June 28, 1119) was regent of the Principality of Antioch from 1112 to 1119. ... Ilghazi (died 1122) was the Ortoqid ruler of Mardin from 1107 to 1122. ... The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade. ... The Ortoqid dynasty was an Oghuz Turk dynasty that ruled in the Jezirah (northern Iraq) in the 11th and 12th centuries. ... Old Town Aleppo viewed from the Citadel Aleppo is also the name of two townships in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ... Events February 2 - Callixtus II becomes Pope August 20 - Henry I of England routes Louis VI at the Battle of Bremule. ...

Antioch and the other Crusader States were constantly at war with the Muslim states of Northern Syria and the Jazeerah, principally Aleppo and Mosul. When Ridwan of Aleppo died in 1113, there was a period of peace, at least for a few years. However, Roger of Salerno, who was ruling Antioch as regent for Bohemund II, did not take advantage of Ridwan's death; likewise, Baldwin II, count of Edessa, and Pons, count of Tripoli, looked after their own interests and did not ally with Roger against Aleppo. The city of Antioch-on-the-Orontes (modern Antakya; Greek Αντιόχεια) is located in what is now Turkey. ... The Crusader states, c. ... Al Jazira (Arabic, الجزيرة) is the traditional Arabic name for the region of northeastern modern-day Syria and northwestern modern-day Iraq. ... MosÅ«l (36°22′ N 43°07′ E Arabic: al-Mawsil), Kurdish: Mûsil, or Nineveh (Assyrian: ܢܝܢܘܐ) is a city in northern Iraq/Central Assyria. ... Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan (also Ridwan; probably died in 1113) was a Seljuk ruler of Syria from 1095 to 1113 and the son in law of Yaghi-Siyan, the Atabeg of Antioch. ... Events Pierre Abélard opens his school in Paris End of Kyanzitthas reign in Myanmar Alaungsithus reign begins in Myanmar Suryavarman Is reign begins in the Khmer Empire Bridlington Priory founded Births August 24 - Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou (died 1151) Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona... Roger of Salerno or Roger of the Principate (died June 28, 1119) was regent of the Principality of Antioch from 1112 to 1119. ... Bohemund II Guiscard (1108-1131) was the Prince of Antioch between 1111 and 1131. ... Baldwin of Bourcq was the cousin of Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne. ... The County of Edessa was one of the Crusader states in the 12th century, based around a city with an ancient history and an early tradition of Christianity (see Edessa). ... Pons of Tripoli (c. ... Armenian Cilicia and Crusader States The County of Tripoli was the last of the four major Crusader states in the Levant to be created. ...

In 1117 Aleppo came under the rule of the Ortoqid atabeg Ilghazi. In 1118 Roger captured Azaz, which left Aleppo open to attack from the Crusaders; in response, Ilghazi invaded the Principality in 1119. Roger marched out from Artah with Bernard of Valence, the Latin Patriarch of Antioch. Bernard suggested they remain there, as Artah was a well-defended fortress only a short distance away from Antioch, and Ilghazi would not be able to pass if they were stationed there. The Patriarch also advised Roger to call for help from Baldwin, now king of Jerusalem, and Pons, but Roger felt he could not wait for them to arrive. Events May 3 - Merton Priory (Thomas Becket school) consecrated. ... Atabeg is a title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a king or Emperor but senior to a Khan. ... Ilghazi (died 1122) was the Ortoqid ruler of Mardin from 1107 to 1122. ... Events Knights Templar founded Baldwin of Le Bourg succeeds his cousin Baldwin I as king of Jerusalem John II Comnenus succeeds Alexius I as Byzantine emperor Gelasius II succeeds Paschal II as pope Births December 21 - Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury Taira no Kiyomori, Japanese general Deaths January 21 - Pope... The Latin Patriarch of Antioch was an office established in the aftermath of the First Crusade by Bohemund, the first Prince of Antioch. ... Official language Latin, French, Italian, and other western languages; Greek and Arabic also widely spoken Capital Jerusalem, later Acre Constitution Various laws, so-called Assizes of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a French kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 by the First Crusade. ...

Roger camped in the pass of Sarmada, while Ilghazi besieged the fort of al-Atharib. A small force under Robert of Vieux-Pont set out to break the siege, and Ilghazi feigned a retreat, a typical Turkish tactic that worked once again – Robert's men were drawn out from the fort and ambushed.

Ilghazi was also waiting for reinforcements from Toghtekin, the Burid emir of Damascus, but he too was tired or waiting, and he surrounded Roger's camp during the night of June 27. Roger's army of about 3700 troops (700 knights and 3000 foot soldiers, including Turcopoles) formed into three divisions, led by Roger, Geoffrey the Monk, and Guy Fresnel. The next morning, June 28, the crusader army was at first successful, but the Turks soon took the upper hand. Robert of St. Lo and the Turcopoles were driven back into Roger's line, which was forced to scatter. During the fighting, Roger was struck in the face by a sword. The rest of the army was completely destroyed; only two knights survived. One of them, Raynald Mazoir, took refuge in the fort of Sarmada to wait for King Baldwin, but was later taken captive by Ilghazi. Among the other prisoners was likely Walter the Chancellor, who later wrote an account of the battle. The massacre led to the name of the battle, ager sanguinis, Latin for "the field of blood." The Burid Dynasty was a Turkish dynasty which ruled over Damascus in the early 12th century. ... Damascus by night, pictured from Jabal Qasioun; the green spots are minarets Damascus (Arabic officially دمشق Dimashq, colloquially ash-Sham الشام) is the capital city of Syria and is the oldest inhabited city in the world. ... June 27 is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 187 days remaining. ... During the Crusades, turcopoles or turcopoliers (Greek: sons of Turks) were mounted archers. ... (Some entries on this page have been duplicated on August 1. ... Walter the Chancellor (also known as Galterius cancellarius, the Latinized form of his French name, Gautier) was a French crusader and author of the 12th century. ... Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

The battle proved that the Muslims could defeat a Crusader army without the help of the Seljuks. However, Ilghazi did not advance to Antioch, where Patriarch Bernard was organizing whatever defense he could. Ilghazi was pushed back by Baldwin II and Pons on August 14, and Baldwin took over the regency of Antioch. The defeat at the Field of Blood left Antioch severely weakened, and subject to repeated attacks by the Muslims in the following decade. As a result the Principality eventually came under the influence of the Byzantine Empire. The Seljuk Turks (Turkish: Selçuk; Arabic: سلجوق Saljūq, السلاجقة al-Salājiqa; Persian: سلجوقيان Saljūqiyān; also Seldjuk, Seldjuq, Seljuq) were a major branch of the Oghuz Turks and a dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centred at its capital in Constantinople. ...

The Crusaders regained some of their influence in Syria at the Battle of Azaz six years later in 1125. The Battle of Azaz took place between the Crusader States and the Seljuk Turks on June 11, 1125. ... Events May 23 - Lothair of Saxony becomes Holy Roman Emperor on the death of Henry V. War ends between Toulouse and Provence. ...

The description ager sanguinis is possibly a Biblical reference to the field purchased by Judas with the money he had been given to betray Christ. The Acts of the Apostles records that Judas killed himself in the field, and it was thus known as acheldemach in Aramaic, and ager sanguinis in the Vulgate. Parts of this article contradict each other. ... Judas (יהודה Praise, Standard Hebrew Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhûḏāh) is the name of several men in late Jewish and New Testament history. ... Christ, is the English representation of the Greek word Χριστός (transliterated as Khristós), which means anointed. ... The Acts of the Apostles, (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ... The Vulgate Bible is an early 5th century translation of the Bible into Latin made by St. ...

Sources

• Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades, vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge, 1952.
• Walter the Chancellor's The Antiochene Wars: A Translation and Commentary. Thomas S. Asbridge and Susan B. Edgington. Ashgate, 1999. (Appendices also contain the accounts of Fulcher of Chartres, Albert of Aix, Matthew of Edessa, Orderic Vitalis, and William of Tyre.)