When battle was joined by the crusaders at Mersivan, the first division to dominate the fighting were the Lombards. But after a long, hard struggle their hungry horses were exhausted and they were beaten; Albert of Biandrate, who held their standard, was forced to flee. Conrad the constable then took up the main weight of the battle, but after a long struggle his Germans too succumbed to the unremitting hail of missiles. Next came Stephen of Burgundy, who also fought long and well, but was compelled to flee. Stephen of Blois tried to help his comrades, but by the evening he was unable to continue and fled, leaving Baldwin of Grandpré, Dodo of Clermont and Walbert castellan of Laon dead on the battlefield. Finally Raymond of Toulouse and the emperor's men made a destructive attack; but the pressure of Turkish numbers made the Byzantine troops flee, while most of his Provençals were killed. After the battle Stephen of Blois checked on the survival of the crusader leaders, and discovered that Raymond had escaped to climb a rock, where he was holding out with ten men against heavy odds. Stephen and Conrad gathered troops and saved him