[4] In 1058, Pope Nicholas II strengthened existing canon law against consanguinity and, on that basis, Guiscard repudiated Alberada in favour of a then more advantageous marriage to Sikelgaita, the sister of Gisulf, the Lombard Prince of Salerno.

[11] His father dispatched him at the head of an advance guard against the Byzantine Empire in early 1081[17] and he captured Valona (now Vlorë in Albania).

[21][22] They marched along the Via Egnatia as far as Kastoria, but Alexios's agents stirred up a rebellion in Southern Italy, forcing Robert Guiscard to return to his realm in April.

[24] Bohemond defeated the Byzantines at Ioannina and at Arta, taking control of most of Macedonia and Thessaly;[25] however, the six-month siege of Larissa was unsuccessful.

[25] Supply and pay problems (and the gifts promised to deserters by the Byzantines) undermined the morale of the Norman army,[25][26] so Bohemond returned to Italy for financial support.

[27] Orderic Vitalis, William of Malmesbury and other contemporaneous writers accused his widow, Sikelgaita, of having poisoned Robert to secure Apulia for her son, Roger Borsa, but failed to establish her guilt.

[35] The ensuing civil war prevented the Normans from supporting Pope Urban II, and enabled the brothers' uncle, Roger I of Sicily, to increase his power.

If to the astute and meticulous observer he appeared to stoop slightly, that was not caused by any weakness of the vertebrae of the lower spine, but presumably there was some malformation there from birth.

[44] Bohemond's best chance at gaining a favorable position was to be loyal to Alexios, which he attempted to prove while the crusaders were camped around Constantinople.

Bohemond's reputation as an effective strategist and leader came from his fighting experience in the Balkans when he took charge of his father's army against Emperor Alexios (1082–1085).

Of Bohemond, she wrote: Now the man was such as, to put it briefly, had never before been seen in the land of the Romans, be he either of the barbarians or of the Greeks (for he was a marvel for the eyes to behold, and his reputation was terrifying).

Let me describe the barbarian's appearance more particularly – he was so tall in stature that he overtopped the tallest by nearly one cubit, narrow in the waist and loins, with broad shoulders and a deep chest and powerful arms.

When his nephew Tancred left the main army at Heraclea Cybistra and attempted to establish a footing in Cilicia, the movement may have been already intended as a preparation for Bohemond's eastern principality.

In the subsequent siege of Antioch, he played a key role in gathering supplies, stopping the attempt of Ridwan of Aleppo to relieve the city from the east, and connecting the besiegers on the west with the Genoese fleet which lay in the port of St.

He then proposed to the other crusade leaders that the one to take Antioch should be put in charge of the city, as Alexios' representative Tetigus had left in February 1098.

[51] Firouz led Bohemond's force up the walls of Antioch, allowing the Norman troops to infiltrate and ultimately capture the city.

Running very low on food and supplies Bohemond took the initiative by leaving the city and attacking Kerbogha's forces, leading to a victory for the crusaders.

Raymond claimed that Bohemond and other leaders would be breaking their oath to Alexios, which was to give any conquered lands to the Byzantine Empire.

Raymond of Toulouse decided to give up Antioch to Bohemond in January 1099, as the other crusaders moved south to the capture of Jerusalem.

[49][53] After the fall of Jerusalem, Bohemond was besieging the Byzantine garrison in Latakia but he was forced by returning crusading leaders, including Raymond, to abandon the siege.

While there he took part in the installation of Dagobert of Pisa as Patriarch of Jerusalem, perhaps in order to check the growth of Godfrey and his knights of Lorraine's power in the city.

By submitting to the patriarch, Bohemond made connections to Jerusalem, a potential ally against future attacks on Antioch, and to remain in the Pope's good graces.

Gabriel was in possession of one of the major cities controlling the access to Anatolia and had received reports that Gazi Gümüshtigin of Sebastea was preparing an expedition to capture Melitene.

When he heard of Bohemond's capture, he offered to redeem the Norman commander for 260,000 dinars, if Gümüshtigin would hand the prisoner over to Byzantium.

During that time, he had attacked the Byzantines, and had added Tarsus, Adana and Massissa in Cilicia to his uncle's territory; he was now deprived of his lordship by Bohemond's return.

Either way, he enthralled audiences across France with gifts of relics from the Holy Land and tales of heroism while fighting the infidel, gathering a large army in the process.

Of this marriage wrote Abbot Suger: Bohemond came to France to seek by any means he could gain the hand of the Lord Louis' sister Constance, a young lady of excellent breeding, elegant appearance and beautiful face.

In speech at the shrine of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat in early 1106, written down by Bishop Walram of Naumburg, Bohemond said of the emperor:He has oppressed many thousands of Christians with wicked treachery, some consigned to shipwreck, many to poison, more still to exile, and countless others he has handed over to pagans.

This emperor is not a Christian but a mad heretic, Julian the Apostate, another Judas, friend of the Jews, pretending peace but inciting war, cut-throat to his brothers, a bloody Herod against Christ!

In Age of Empires II: Lords of the West, there are two campaigns relating to Bohemond for his victory against Alexios Kommenus and his defending against Kerbogha's siege of Antioch.