c. 1050-1111

Norman knight and one of the leaders of the First Crusade (1095-1099). Bohemond was the son of Robert Guiscard (c. 1015-1085), who with his brother Roger (1031-1101) controlled much of Italy in the eleventh century. Bohemond first distinguished himself by helping his father take Rome from Emperor Henry IV (1050-1106) in 1094. On his way to the Holy Land, Bohemond stopped in Constantinople, a visit later reported in detail by the Byzantine princess Anna Comnena (1083?-1148), the first female historian in European history. In 1098 Bohemond led the crusaders in the capture of Syrian Antioch and went on to become its ruler, but in the following year he was captured by the Turks while trying to take Sebastea. Released in 1103, Bohemond spent his latter years in an unsuccessful campaign to defeat the Byzantines.