Louis had scarcely passed the Bosphorus when he was met by the returning emperor, who had lost the greater part of his army in glorious, but unsuccessful, actions on the banks of the Maeander.

The contrast of the pomp of his rival hastened the retreat of Conrad: [202] the desertion of his independent vassals reduced him to his hereditary troops; and he borrowed some Greek vessels to execute by sea the pilgrimage of Palestine.

Without studying the lessons of experience, or the nature of the war, the king of France advanced through the same country to a similar fate.

The vanguard, which bore the royal banner and the oriflamme of St.Denys, [21] had doubled their march with rash and inconsiderate speed; and the rear, which the king commanded in person, no longer found their companions in the evening camp.

In darkness and disorder, they were encompassed, assaulted, and overwhelmed, by the innumerable host of Turks, who, in the art of war, were superior to the Christians of the twelfth century.