Despite the harsh weather of the past two months and the repeated Turkish attacks, the core of the two armies, Roman and German, remained intact. Surprisingly, they had managed to keep the all-but-inevitable bickering down to a low rumble - something that most attributed to the Emperor's overriding concern for the crusade, and refusal to accept any quarrels that would interfere with the much-appreciated assistance Alexius was providing. The Greek troops he could do without, but the ready preparation of supplies was another matter, especially when foraging would hardly have been profitable anyway.
But if Frederick had managed to restrain his followers when it came to their fellow Christians, no man could have restrained the desire of the crusaders to strike against the Turks. When an offer came from the Sultan to call off the attacks in exchange for gold and an alliance against the Romans, the Emperor's temper exploded. In the words of later chroniclers, the Emperor told the Turkish envoys that "With the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose knights we are, we shall open the road with iron, not gold.”[1]
The German army would be divided into two groups, one under the Emperor himself and the other under his son (also named Frederick), the Duke of Swabia. Vatazes's Roman troops would be with the former, partially due to the Emperor's desire that his son gain the glory of taking the city, partially to keep the not-completely-trusted Roman forces somewhere he could watch them.
As it turns out, the division of the German army could easily have gone disasterously wrong. While the Duke of Swabia was battling to enter the city, the main army of the Turks faced off against the Emperor's own forces and the Romans. Only the greatest efforts of the Emperor and the steadiness of the Roman troops saw the Turks first repulsed, and then finally routed, leaving Iconium to its fate - a fate nearly as bad as the city had suffered in wars over two centuries earlier between the Romans and Saracens.
But it really didn't matter. Not to the Romans, not to the Germans. The Turks, on the other hand, were terrified. Proposals begging for peace on any terms were sent almost immediately. Frederick agreed to leave with no further destruction in exchange for twenty distinguished hostages and an guarantee that that supplies would be provided and the attacks stopped. Additionally, Iconium - or what had survived the sack of the cities - would, along with the surrounding countryside - be turned over to the Romans. The exact details would have to be worked out with Alexius, however. Five days after the city was taken, the Germans were once more on the move, though with most of the Romans remaining behind to hold the city.
A week after leaving the city, they would reenter Christian territory - the lands of Cilician Armenia, a semi-independent principality within the Byzantine Empire. After all the struggles across Anatolia and all the hardships of the journey, what lay ahead would be a devastating blow for the crusaders. [2]
1: OTL Frederick apparently said essentially the same thing. I can only assume that the Turks had no idea who they were messing with, because that anyone would address Barbarossa like this and expect to get away with it who does know him seems suicidally stupid.
2: If you're afraid of spoilers, don't read the following:
The original thread talks about Barbarossa's intended fate. No, he doesn't die here...but his son does.[FONT="]
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