Battle of Inab

On June 29, 1149, Raymond of Poitiers led the army of Antioch and Armenian auxiliaries against Nur ad-Din near the ford of Inab. After repelling a raid on Artah, he seeks a pitched battle; Nur ad-Din lures the Franks to an isolated hill, closes the noose and annihilates the army. Raymond died fighting and his head was sent to Aleppo.

Since the fall of Edessa, Nur ad-Din wanted to neutralize Antioch to control the upper valley of the Orontes. Raymond, allied with Thoros II of Cilician Armenia, tried to prevent the loss of the marches. Despite the absence of reinforcements from Tripoli and the warnings of Patriarch Aimery, he went out to confront the Zengid army, confident in the superiority of his heavy cavalry.

Nur ad-Din uses harassment and envelopment: mounted archers provoking the Frankish charge, withdrawal towards a hill where the bulk of the army is waiting, then double cavalry movement which cuts off the retreat. The Armenian allies, separated from the Frankish center, are crushed; the heavy cavalry, isolated, is exhausted by arrows before being finished off by the ghulams and Nur ad-Din's personal guard.

The death of the prince leaves Antioch under the regency of Constantius, forced to seek Byzantine aid. Nur ad-Din recovers Artah and Harenc, consolidates his positions and strengthens his prestige with the Syrian emirs. The call for help launched in the West helps to raise Europe's awareness of the dangers faced by the Latin states, without however reversing the balance of power.