The MIRACLE at Antioch | June 1098 | A GoodKnight Story for Sleep

Описание: In June of 1098, outside the walls of Antioch in modern-day Antakya, Turkey, a starving army marched out to face annihilation. This episode of The GoodKnight Stories brings you into the Battle of Antioch on June 28, 1098 AD, one of the most improbable and psychologically complex victories of the First Crusade.

For eight brutal months, Crusader forces had endured the Siege of Antioch (1097–1098), suffering famine, disease, desertion, and despair. Horses were eaten. Leather was boiled for sustenance. Entire camps collapsed into sickness and death. When the city finally fell, the Crusaders found themselves trapped inside its walls, immediately surrounded by a massive Seljuk coalition army led by Kerbogha of Mosul. By every rule of medieval warfare, the Crusaders should have been destroyed.

Instead, they marched out to fight.

This immersive historical story follows our silver-armored GoodKnight as he walks into battle on foot, weakened by starvation yet unbroken in resolve. With almost no cavalry remaining and outnumbered nearly two to one, the Crusader army formed infantry divisions on the plains beside the Orontes River, crossing the Iron Bridge and advancing under relentless arrow fire. Against mobile Turkish horse archers, professional ghulams, and coalition forces from Mosul, Damascus, Aleppo, and beyond, survival itself became the objective.

At the center of this moment stands one of medieval history’s most controversial relics: the Holy Lance of Antioch. Discovered beneath the Cathedral of Saint Peter after visions claimed by Peter Bartholomew, the Lance transformed morale at the darkest moment of the siege. Whether divine miracle, psychological catalyst, or desperate hope, belief reshaped the battlefield. Chroniclers record visions of “white riders” descending through smoke and fire. Saints on horseback, hallucinations of starvation, or collective faith made manifest, the effect was real.

The battle ended not through slaughter alone, but collapse. Kerbogha’s coalition fractured as rival emirs withdrew. Discipline dissolved. The Seljuk army broke. Antioch held.

Told in a slow, calm, immersive style designed for relaxation and sleep, this episode explores the human cost of belief, the weight of endurance, and the fragile line between faith and desperation. Rather than glorifying violence, it reflects on survival, psychological warfare, medieval siege reality, and the quiet aftermath that followed victory.

Historically grounded and globally accessible, this story connects the Battle of Antioch to the wider First Crusade, medieval Anatolia, Seljuk and Crusader warfare, religious relic culture, and the political fractures that shaped the medieval Near East. It also foreshadows the long road to Jerusalem and the moral cost carried by those who survived Antioch.

If you are interested in medieval history, the First Crusade, Crusader vs Seljuk warfare, the Holy Lance, Antioch siege history, or calm historical storytelling for sleep and deep focus, this episode is designed to be listened to slowly, in low light, and without urgency.

Subscribe to The GoodKnight Stories for immersive journeys through history’s most pivotal battles, where endurance matters more than spectacle and our eternal knight in silver walks beside you through history’s breaking points. Comment below with the next battle, siege, or moment you would like The GoodKnight to witness.

Settle in, breathe slowly, and return to June 1098, when a starving army marched out of Antioch and did not break.


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