The 1108 Treaty of Deabolis attempted to subordinate the Principality of Antioch to Byzantium, illustrating tensions between crusader and imperial interests.
Key Facts
- Year signed
- 1108
- Parties
- Bohemond I of Antioch and Alexios I Komnenos
- Named after
- Byzantine fortress of Deabolis (modern Devol, Albania)
- Title granted to Bohemond
- Sebastos and Doux of Antioch
- Antioch became vassal
- Not truly until 1158, despite 1137 brief sway
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the First Crusade, crusaders had promised to return conquered lands to Byzantium, but Bohemond I claimed Antioch for himself. Alexios I refused to recognize this, and Bohemond launched open warfare against the empire, besieging Dyrrhachium before being forced to surrender.
In 1108 at the imperial camp near the fortress of Deabolis, Bohemond I and Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos signed a treaty. Bohemond agreed to become an imperial vassal, accept a Greek patriarch, and defend the empire, receiving in return noble titles and rights over the County of Edessa.
Bohemond withdrew to Apulia, where he died, and his regent nephew Tancred refused to honor the treaty. Antioch fell briefly under Byzantine influence in 1137 but only became a true vassal in 1158. The treaty deepened mutual distrust between Byzantines and Western Europeans.
Political Outcome
Bohemond I agreed to make Antioch a Byzantine vassal state; terms were not enforced during his lifetime as his regent Tancred rejected them.
Antioch held independently by Bohemond I, unrecognized by Byzantium
Antioch nominally a Byzantine vassal; Bohemond granted titles of sebastos and doux