ABSTRACT
A large Crusader army successfully completed, after some eight or so weeks, the siege of Nikaia as the emperor Alexios Komnenos accepted the surrender of the Muslim garrison. The Crusader army that began the march from Dorylaion very probably was in the 50,000 range. In addition, there may perhaps have been as many as 10,000 camp followers, who also took part in the trek. None of the sources provide anything resembling an itinerary, much less a reliable itinerary, for the Crusader march from Dorylaion to Herakleia. For two reasons, it is unlikely that the Crusaders did much systematic foraging during the course of the march to Herakleia. First, most of the march took place in areas with Christian populations, which the Byzantines did not wish to see devastated. Secondly, without Byzantine intelligence, the Crusaders were unlikely to have the precise knowledge required to find large caches of food, if such depots were maintained by the locals.
