1 Play dead, and always keep a rotting chicken handy
Military leaders pulled off some outrageous stunts to outfox their enemies in the Middle Ages. But the one that the Norman leader Bohemond of Taranto deployed at the beginning of the 12th century - pretending he was dead - surely takes some beating. When crusading armies from western Europe conquered the city of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey) in 1098, Bohemond decided to settle there and declared himself prince of Antioch. By September 1104, however, this new "crusader state" was in trouble. Not only was it surrounded by hostile Muslim city states, but it was threatened by Alexios Komnenos, the Byzantine emperor, who believed the city was rightfully his. Bohemond decided that he must return to his lands in Italy to raise reinforcements.
According to Alexios's daughter, Anna Komnene (who also happened to be a historian), in order to avoid being captured by the Greeks, Bohemond spread rumours that he had died. His men carried
