Bohemond and The Byzantines The Political Career of Bohemond of Taranto, 1096-1108

Kate Weber

Date of Award

2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Benes, Carrie

Keywords

Bohemond, Byzantines, First Crusade

Area of Concentration

Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the southern Italian Norman Bohemond of Taranto and his relations with the Byzantines from 1096-1108. Scholars have tended to consign his career to failure, emphasizing his inability to conquer the Byzantine Empire in his final years; this thesis, however, attempts to reassess Bohemond�s relationship with the Byzantines in light of his unique sense of opportunism, and to show that negative judgments of his career are too simplistic. My argument relies heavily on primary sources, particularly the chronicles covering the period of the First Crusade: the Gesta Francorum, and the chronicles of Raymond of Aguilers, Fulcher of Chartres, Albert of Aachen, Ralph of Caen, Orderic Vitalis, and William of Tyre. I also make extensive use of Anna Comnena�s Alexiad. Using these sources, I analyze three episodes in Bohemond�s relations with the Byzantines: in chapter one, Bohemond�s interactions with the emperor Alexius at the start of the First Crusade; in chapter two, the siege of Antioch and the subsequent struggle for control of the city; in chapter three, Bohemond�s aggressive policy toward the Byzantines after the First Crusade. My analysis expands upon the idea, proposed by recent scholars, that Bohemond was operating out of opportunism rather than well-formed ambition.

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