Bohemond I of Antioch (1058-3 March 1111) was the Prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111, preceding Bohemond II of Antioch. Bohemond was a Norman noble from Apulia before taking part in the First Crusade, and he became the ruler of Antioch after the success of the crusade. Bohemond was later forced to become a vassal of the Byzantine Empire, and he died in 1111.
Biography[]
Bohemond as Count of Taranto
Bohemond was from the House of Hauteville, and he was the eldest son of Robert Guiscard. From 1080 to 1085 Bohemond served as a general of the Duchy of Apulia under his father during his campaigns against the Byzantine Empire, penetrating into Thessaly as far as Larissa before being repulsed by Alexius I of Byzantium. In 1082 he besieged Ioannina, defeating the Byzantines, but he was defeated in a six-month siege of Larissa and his base of Kastoria fell in October 1083. Bohemond returned to Italy when he fell ill while his father landed in Greece with a new army. In 1085, after his father's death, Bohemond inherited his Adriatic Sea possessions, which were soon lost to the Byzantines. Later, he rebelled against his brother Roger Borsa and took Taranto for himself. He became known as "Bohemond of Taranto" after this battle in 1087.
In 1097, the First Crusade army passed through Italy, so Bohemond took up the cross with the intention of plundering and conquering Greek lands as well as carving out an eastern principality for himself. In October 1097 he took part in the siege of Antioch, and he conquered the city. Bohemond remained in Antioch while Godfrey de Bouillon and other leaders continued south towards Jerusalem, and Bohemond became the first Prince of the new Principality of Antioch. In 1100 he was defeated by the Danishmends at the Battle of Melitene and languished in prison until 1103. That year, the future Baldwin I of Jerusalem ransomed him, but in 1104 he was defeated at the Battle of Harran by the Turks, halting his expansion. He also fought the Byzantines, but Byzantium allied with the Republic of Venice and forced him to sign the Treaty of Devol in 1108, making him a vassal of the Byzantines. He died in 1111.