Baldwin of Antioch (died September 17, 1176) was a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

and general in service of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

during the

Byzantine–Seljuk Wars The Byzantine–Seljuk wars were a series of decisive battles that shifted the balance of power in Asia Minor and Syria from the Byzantine Empire to the Seljuks. Riding from the steppes of Central Asia, the Seljuks replicated tactics practiced ...

. He was the son of Princess

Constance of Antioch Constance of Hauteville (1128–1163) was the ruling Prince of Antioch, Princess of Antioch from 1130 to 1163. She was the only child of Bohemond II of Antioch by his wife, Alice of Antioch, Alice of Jerusalem. Constance succeeded her father at t ...

and

Raymond of Poitiers Raymond of Poitiers (c. 1105–29 June 1149) was Prince of Antioch from 1136 to 1149. He was the younger son of William IX, Duke of Aquitaine, and his wife Philippa, Countess of Toulouse, born in the very year that his father the Duke began his ...

.Runciman, Steven. ''A History of the Crusades, Volume 2''. London: The Folio Society, 1994. (pgs. 365, 413)) His brother-in-law was Byzantine Emperor

Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Romanization of Greek, Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; "born in the purple"), w ...

. An ally of the Emperor in his battles against the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

, Baldwin was one of his most trusted advisors and the only one of Manuel's senior commanders "of Western origin". Baldwin commanded the right wing of the Byzantine forces guarding the siege and baggage train, largely composed of Latin mercenaries, at the

Battle of Myriokephalon The Battle of Myriokephalon (also known as the Battle of Myriocephalum, gr, Μάχη του Μυριοκέφαλου, tr, Miryokefalon Savaşı or ''Düzbel Muharebesi'') was a battle between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks in Phryg ...

on September 17, 1176. Upon approaching narrow Tzibritze Pass, the Seljuks launched an attack on Manuel's marching troops. Baldwin led a

cavalry charge A charge is an offensive maneuver in battle in which combatants advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in a decisive close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisiv ...

attempting to drive the Turks from the hills in a

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...

but was surrounded and killed together with all his men. Norwich, John Julius. ''Byzantium: The Decline and Fall''. New York: Knopf, 1996. (pg. 135) Nagy, Luqman. ''The Book of Islamic Dynasties: A Celebration of Islamic History and Culture''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers, 2008. (pg. 54) In ''Byzantium: The Decline and Fall'' (1996), English historian

John Julius Norwich John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich, (15 September 1929 – 1 June 2018), known as John Julius Norwich, was an English popular historian, travel writer, and television personality. Background Norwich was born at the Alfred House Nursing ...

described the aftermath of Baldwin's death (taken from the Byzantine historian Choniates, whose comments are not always unbiased);

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