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#1 In 1096, the Turkish sultan Kilij Arslan learned that an enormous Franj army was en route to Constantinople. He feared the worst, and immediately began planning how to defend his city.

#2 The Byzantines had always recruited Western knights to help them fight the Muslims, and in 1096, they were joined by thousands of Franj, who were Christian refugees from the East. They had come to exterminate the Muslims, but they also sacked many Greek churches on their way.

#3 The sultan’s palace was awash with agitation. The Turkish cavalry was ready to mount their chargers at a moment’s notice, but there was a constant flow of spies and scouts reporting the smallest movements of the Franj. The Franj went through several villages and plundered the harvests, then returned to camp and began to squabble over the spoils.

#4 The Franj were ambushed and nearly six thousand of them were killed. The sultan, Kilij Arslan, was proud of his achievement, but he kept a cool head. He sent two Greek spies to the Civitot camp to report that Reynald’s men were in an excellent position and that they had taken Nicaea.

Summary of Amin Maalouf's The Crusades Through Arab Eyes

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