Ahmed ibn Merwan was an
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
in
Kerbogha
Qiwam al-Dawla Kerbogha ( tr, Kürboğa), known as Kerbogha or Karbughā, was atabeg of Mosul during the First Crusade and was renowned as a soldier.
Early life
Kerbogha was a Seljuk Turk who owed his success to his military talent. He suppo ...
's army at the time of the
First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...
.
After the
siege of Antioch
The siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098, on the crusaders' way to Jerusalem through Syria. Two sieges took place in succession. The first siege, by the crusaders against the city held by the Seljuk Empire, last ...
by the
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
, Ahmed was entrusted with maintaining control of the still Muslim-held citadel within the city after Shams al-Dawlah, son of the governor
Yağısıyan
Yağısıyan, also known as Yaghi-Siyan (; died 1098) was a Seljuk Turkish commander and governor of Antioch in the 11th century . Although little is known about his personal life he was an important figure of the First Crusade.
Governor of Ant ...
, fled. Following the 1098
Battle of Antioch, in which Kerbogha's forces were crushed, Ahmed offered to surrender the citadel to the Crusaders. However, as he refused to allow any prince's banner but
Bohemond I of Antioch
Bohemond I of Antioch (5 or 7 March 1111), also known as Bohemond of Taranto, was the prince of Taranto from 1089 to 1111 and the prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111. He was a leader of the First Crusade, leading a contingent of Normans on the q ...
's to be flown over the citadel, it appears as though he had maintained a secret