Bohemond I, orig. Marc, (born 1050–58—died March 5 or 7, 1109, probably Bari), Prince of Otranto (1089–1109) and of Antioch (1098–1101, 1103–4). The son of a duke who held sway in southeastern Italy, he was nicknamed after a legendary giant. He joined his father’s army and contested with Alexius I Comnenus for territory in the Byzantine Empire. In 1095 he joined the First Crusade, reconquering Byzantine lands from the Turks and capturing Antioch (1098). Rather than taking part in the battle to gain Jerusalem, Bohemond remained in Antioch, which he ruled as a principality. His efforts to muster French and Italian support against Alexius and the Byzantine Empire were ultimately unsuccessful.
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