This week in Christian history: Crusaders take Antioch, Baptism of Kievan Rus

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, June 04, 2023

Crusaders take Antioch – June 3, 1098

The siege of Antioch (1097-1098) occurred during the First Crusade. | Public Domain

This week marks the anniversary of when Christian forces belonging to the First Crusade successfully took Antioch following an eight-month siege against a Muslim garrison.

A heavily fortified city in Northern Syria credited with being the place where the term "Christian" was invented, the Crusaders eventually took the city thanks to help from the inside by an Armenian named Firouz.

"Boheumnd now shared the plan with his fellow leaders and all agreed to feign a move away from the city to meet the oncoming Muslim army but then, under darkness, return back and attack the western wall of Antioch where Firouz awaited them," states the World History Encyclopedia.

"The plan worked perfectly, and 60 of Bohemund's knights scaled the walls and took the north-west towers without resistance. Opening several of the city's gates, the rest of the Crusader army was allowed into the city."

While they took the city, the struggle for its control did not truly end until June 28 of that year, when the Christian army repulsed a Muslim army that attempted to retake Antioch.