Editing First Crusade (section)

==Siege of Nicaea==
{{Main|Siege of Nicaea}}
[[File:Siege de Nicée (1097).jpg|thumb|left|[[Siege of Nicaea]] (1097). Miniature from {{lang|fr|[[:Commons:Category:Roman de Godefroy de Bouillon - BNF Fr22495|Roman de Godefroy de Bouillon et de Saladin]]}}]]
The Crusader armies crossed over into Asia Minor during the first half of 1097, where they were joined by Peter the Hermit and the remainder of his relatively small army. In addition, Alexios also sent two of his generals, [[Manuel Boutoumites]] and [[Tatikios]], to assist the crusaders. The first objective of their campaign was [[Nicaea]], a city once under Byzantine rule, but which had become the capital of the Seljuk [[Sultanate of Rum|Sultanate of Rûm]] under [[Kilij Arslan I|Kilij Arslan]].<ref>Savvides, Alexios G. C. (2006). "Qilij Arslān of Rûm (d. 1107)". In ''The Crusades – An Encyclopedia''. p. 998.</ref> Arslan was away campaigning against the [[Danishmends]] in central Anatolia at the time, and had left behind his treasury and his family, underestimating the strength of these new crusaders.{{sfn|Asbridge|2004|pp=117–120|loc=The First Storm of War}}

Upon the Crusaders' arrival on 14 May 1097, the city was subjected to siege, and when Arslan had word of it he rushed back to Nicaea and attacked the crusader army on 16 May. He was driven back by the unexpectedly large crusader force, with heavy losses being suffered on both sides in the ensuing battle. The siege continued, but the crusaders had little success as they found they could not blockade [[Lake İznik]], which the city was situated on, and from which it could be provisioned. To break the city, Alexios had the Crusaders' ships rolled over land on logs, and at the sight of them, the Turkish garrison finally surrendered on 18 June.{{sfn|Asbridge|2004|pp=126–130|loc=The Siege of Nicaea}}

There was some discontent amongst the Franks who were forbidden from looting the city. This was ameliorated by Alexius financially rewarding the crusaders. Later chronicles exaggerate tension between the Greeks and Franks but Stephen of Blois, in a letter to his wife [[Adela of Normandy|Adela of Blois]] confirms goodwill and cooperation continued at this point.<ref name="Munro-1992">The First Crusade. [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007135585/Home Letters of the Crusaders]. By Dana Carleton Munro (1902. Philadelphia, Pa. pp. 2–11.</ref> The fall of Nicaea is viewed as a rare product of close cooperation between the Crusaders and the Byzantines.{{sfn|Asbridge|2004|p=130|loc=Closing In}}