Vasilief, A History of the Byzantine Empire

Byzantium and the Crusades

Policies of Manuel I and the Second Crusade 

Page 12

Reginald of Chatillon, realizing that he would be unable to resist the Byzantine forces, decided to sue for Manuel's pardon. The Emperor was at Mopsuestia (Mamistra of the crusaders), in Cilicia; Reginald appeared there as a suppliant before the Great Comnenus. A most humiliating scene took place: barefooted, he prostrated himself before the Emperor, presenting to him the hilt of his sword and submitting himself to his mercy. At the same time, as William of Tyre said, he cried for mercy, and he cried so long that everyone had nausea of it and that many French have disdained and blamed him for that. Ambassadors from most of the Oriental peoples, including the far distant Abasgians (Abkhaz) and Iberians, were present at that spectacle and were profoundly impressed. This scene has rendered the Latins despicable in the whole of Asia. Reginald acknowledged himself the vassal of the Empire, so that later (1178-1179) a certain Robert was sent to the court of Henry II, king of England, as ambassador on behalf of the two countries, Byzantium and Antioch. The king of Jerusalem, Baldwin III, arrived personally in Mopsuestia where, in Manuel's camp, he was courteously received by the Emperor. But Baldwin was forced to enter into a treaty with him and pledged himself to furnish troops to the Emperor. Eustathius of Thessalonica in his oration to Manuel mentioned the king, who ran to us from Jerusalem astounded by the fame and the deeds of the Emperor and recognizing from afar his sublimity.

Then in April 1159, Manuel made his solemn entry into Antioch. Escorted by Reginald of Chatillon and the other Latin princes on foot and unarmed, and followed by the king of Jerusalem on horseback but also unarmed, the Emperor passed through streets decorated with carpets, hangings, and flowers, to the sound of trumpets and drums and to the singing of hymns, and was brought to the cathedral by the patriarch of Antioch in his pontifical robes. For eight days the imperial banners flew from the city walls. The submission of Reginald of Chatillon and the entry of Manuel into Antioch in 1159 mark the triumph of the Byzantine policy towards the Latins. It was the result of more than sixty years of efforts and struggle. Despite many difficulties and wars, the Byzantine Emperor never lost sight of the problem of Antioch the problem raised during the First Crusade and since never solved.

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Reference address : https://ellopos.net/elpenor/vasilief/manuel-i-second-crusade.asp?pg=12