more ferocious in arms and in spirits, had usurped much of their
territory. Those who had remained to maintain the siege of the city
had fought bitterly with the inhabitants, not merely at one point,
but at every gate of the city. This triumph occurred on the fifth
day before the Ides of February,[165] the day before the beginning of
the fast. It was right that on the day before Christians were to
fast they grew fat on what they most desired, the blood of their evil
enemies. The Franks, in their fervent victory celebrations, thanked
God for granting them so many of their prayers, and went back to
their camps, loaded with booty. The Turks, on the other hand,
ashamed to be seen, would have made their way, if they could, through
secret passages, back to their native lands.

Then the leaders of the army, considering the many humiliations they
were suffering from the attacks of the besieged people, held a
meeting and decided, to prevent the chance of any diminution of their
forces, to build, at the gate of the city, where the pagan temple was
located, a fort by means of which they could restrain, to some extent,
the enemy's forays. All the junior officers assented to this plan.
Then the count of Saint-Gilles was the first to speak: "I shall
provide for and protect the fort; you must help build it only."
Bohemund said, "If it please you, I promise to go with this count who
has offered his services, to the Gate of Saint Simeon, where we shall
both supervise those who do the work. Let the others continue the
siege, and prevent the enemy from getting out of the city." And so
the Count and Bohemund then proceeded to the Gate, as they had
proposed. Those who had remained to build the castle began to work,
but the Turks made a sudden, violent attack on the beginnings of the
structure. With their sudden attack they compelled our men to flee,
killing many of them, bringing a day of grief to the Franks. The