Baldwin of Antioch


Baldwin of Antioch was a Frankish knight and general in service of the Byzantine Empire during the Byzantine–Seljuk Wars. His paternal lineage is contested, being identified by various historians either as the son of Raymond of Poitiers or Raynald of Châtillon and Constance of Antioch, and brother-in-law of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. An ally of the Emperor in his battles against the Seljuk Turks, Baldwin was one of his most trusted advisors and the only one of Manuel's senior commanders "of Western origin".
He commanded the right wing of the Byzantine forces guarding the siege and baggage train, largely composed of Latin mercenaries, at the Battle of Myriokephalon on September 17, 1176. Upon approaching narrow Tzibritze Pass, the Seljuks launched an attack on Manuel's marching troops. Baldwin led a cavalry charge attempting to drive the Turks from the hills in a counterattack but was surrounded and killed together with all his men.
In Byzantium: The Decline and Fall, English historian John Julius Norwich described the aftermath of Baldwin's death ;