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Description
Working on new techniques.

made it with rapido and water colour..

a4 sizes

edited in cs3

1. Crusade.

The first major siege of the first crusade. The danger Byzantium stood in is amply demonstrated by the presence of the Seljuk Turks at Nicaea, a major fortified city only fifty miles from Constantinople. The city was strongly defended by four miles of walls, and it's position on a lakeside made it very difficult to blockade. The crusaders relied on Byzantine aid, at least after their initial attempts to take the city by storm had failed. The Crusaders eventually settled down for a proper siege, but even then their efforts to undermine the walls resulted in failure when a tunnel being dug under the walls collapsed early, allowing the defenders to repair the damage.

On May 16, the Turkish defenders sallied out to attack them, but they were defeated in a skirmish with the loss of 200 men. The Turks sent messages to Kilij Arslan begging him to return, and when he realized the strength of the crusaders he quickly turned back. An advance party was defeated by troops under Raymond and Robert of Flanders on May 20, and on May 21, the crusader army defeated Kilij in a pitched battle which lasted long into the night. Losses were heavy on both sides but in the end the Sultan retreated, despite the pleas of the Nicaean Turks. The rest of the crusaders arrived throughout the rest of May, with Robert Curthose (accompanied by Ralph de Guader) and Stephen of Blois arriving at the beginning of June. Meanwhile Raymond and Adhemar built a large siege engine, which was rolled up to the Gonatas Tower in order to engage the defenders on the walls while miners mined the tower from below. The tower was damaged but no further progress was made.

It was only when the Byzantines transported a fleet onto the lake facing Nicaea that the defenders decided to negotiate a surrender. The crusaders woke to find the city unexpectedly in Byzantine hands, and were angered by Alexius's refusal to let them to sack the city as was normal, a dispute in which both sides had some justification, the crusaders have endured the rigors of carrying out a siege, while to Alexius the city was part of his empire, only temporarily lost to the Turks, and so not to be damaged. This dispute only served to worsen the already bad relations between the Byzantines and the crusaders.

Description
Working on new techniques.

made it with rapido and water colour..

a4 sizes

edited in cs3

1. Crusade.

The first major siege of the first crusade. The danger Byzantium stood in is amply demonstrated by the presence of the Seljuk Turks at Nicaea, a major fortified city only fifty miles from Constantinople. The city was strongly defended by four miles of walls, and it's position on a lakeside made it very difficult to blockade. The crusaders relied on Byzantine aid, at least after their initial attempts to take the city by storm had failed. The Crusaders eventually settled down for a proper siege, but even then their efforts to undermine the walls resulted in failure when a tunnel being dug under the walls collapsed early, allowing the defenders to repair the damage.

On May 16, the Turkish defenders sallied out to attack them, but they were defeated in a skirmish with the loss of 200 men. The Turks sent messages to Kilij Arslan begging him to return, and when he realized the strength of the crusaders he quickly turned back. An advance party was defeated by troops under Raymond and Robert of Flanders on May 20, and on May 21, the crusader army defeated Kilij in a pitched battle which lasted long into the night. Losses were heavy on both sides but in the end the Sultan retreated, despite the pleas of the Nicaean Turks. The rest of the crusaders arrived throughout the rest of May, with Robert Curthose (accompanied by Ralph de Guader) and Stephen of Blois arriving at the beginning of June. Meanwhile Raymond and Adhemar built a large siege engine, which was rolled up to the Gonatas Tower in order to engage the defenders on the walls while miners mined the tower from below. The tower was damaged but no further progress was made.

It was only when the Byzantines transported a fleet onto the lake facing Nicaea that the defenders decided to negotiate a surrender. The crusaders woke to find the city unexpectedly in Byzantine hands, and were angered by Alexius's refusal to let them to sack the city as was normal, a dispute in which both sides had some justification, the crusaders have endured the rigors of carrying out a siege, while to Alexius the city was part of his empire, only temporarily lost to the Turks, and so not to be damaged. This dispute only served to worsen the already bad relations between the Byzantines and the crusaders.