| Battle of Larissa | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the First Norman invasion of the Balkans | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Byzantine Empire | Duchy of Apulia and Calabria | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Alexios I Komnenos Nikephoros Melissenos Basil Kourtikios | Bohemond of Taranto Count of Brienne | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
15,000
| |||||||
The Battle of Larissa was a military engagement between the armies of the Byzantine Empire and the Italo-Norman County of Apulia and Calabria. On 3 November 1082, the Normans besieged the city of Larissa. In July of the following year, Byzantine reinforcements attacked the blockading force, harassing it with mounted archers and spreading discord among its ranks through diplomatic techniques. The demoralized Normans were forced to break off the siege.
The Normans first arrived in southern Italy in 1015 from northern France and served local Lombard lords as mercenaries against the Byzantine Empire. [2] As they were paid with lands, soon they were powerful enough to challenge Papal authority; in 1054, they defeated the Pope at the Battle of Civitate, forcing him to acknowledge their authority. [3] [4] [5] In 1059, the Pope made Robert Guiscard, of the Hauteville family, Duke of Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily. However, most of Apulia and Calabria were in Byzantine hands, and Sicily was in Saracen hands. [6]
By 1071, Robert, together with his brother Roger, had taken over the last Byzantine stronghold in Italy, Bari. By the next year, they conquered all of Sicily, ending the Islamic Emirate of Sicily. In 1073, the Byzantine Emperor Michael VII sent an envoy to Robert offering the hand of his son Constantine to Robert's daughter Helena. [6] [7] Guiscard accepted the offer and sent his daughter to Constantinople. However, in 1078, Michael was overthrown by Nicephorus Botaneiates, an event that destroyed any chances Helena had for the throne. [8] [9] This gave Robert a motive to invade the empire claiming his daughter had been mistreated; however, his intervention was delayed by a revolt in Italy. [8] [10]
Robert conscripted all men of a fighting age into the army, which he refitted. [11] Meanwhile, he sent an ambassador to the Byzantine court with orders to demand proper treatment for Helena and to win over the Domestic of the Schools, Alexios Komnenos. [12] The results of these attempts remain unknown, but the ambassador fell under Alexios's charm and as he was returning to Italy, he heard of Alexios's successful coup against Botaneiates, by which he became emperor. [11]
When the ambassador returned, he urged Robert to make peace, claiming that Alexios wanted nothing but friendship with the Normans. Robert had no intention of peace; he sent his son Bohemond with an advance force towards Greece and Bohemond landed at Aulon, with Robert following shortly after. [8] [13] [14] [15]
On 18 October 1081, the Byzantines under Alexios suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Dyrrhachium. Historian Jonathan Harris states that the defeat was "every bit as severe as that at Manzikert." [16] Alexios lost about 5,000 of his men, including most of the Varangians. Norman losses are unknown, but John Haldon claims they too were substantial as both wings broke and fled. [17] Historian Robert Holmes states: "The new knightly tactic of charging with the lance couched—tucked firmly under the arm to unite the impact of man and horse—proved a battle-winner. [18]
George Palaiologos had not been able to re-enter the city after the battle and left with the main force. The defense of the citadel was left to the Venetians, while the city itself was left to the Count of the Tent mobilizing from Arbanon (i.e., ἐξ Ἀρβάνων ὁρμωμένω Κομισκόρτη; the term Κομισκόρτη is short for κόμης της κόρτης meaning "Count of the Tent"). [19] [20]
In February 1082, Dyrrhachium fell after a Venetian or Amalfitan citizen opened the gates to the Normans. [21] The Norman army proceeded to take most of northern Greece without facing much resistance. While Guiscard was in Kastoria, messengers arrived from Italy, bearing news that Apulia, Calabria, and Campania were in revolt. He also learned that the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV, was at the gates of Rome and besieging Pope Gregory VII, a Norman ally. [22] [23] Alexios had negotiated with Henry and given him 360,000 gold pieces in return for an alliance. Henry responded by invading Italy and attacking the Pope. Guiscard rushed to Italy, leaving Bohemond in command of the army in Greece. [14] [23] [24] [25]
Alexios, desperate for money, ordered the confiscation of all the church's treasure. [23] [24] With this money, Alexios mustered an army near Thessalonica and went to fight Bohemond. However, Bohemond defeated Alexios in two battles: one near Arta and the other near Ioannina. This left Bohemond in control of Macedonia and nearly all of Thessaly. [23] [26]
On 3 November 1082, Bohemond advanced from his encampment in Trikala to lay siege to the city of Larissa. Next to nothing is known about the course of the siege or the city's fortifications. [27] Larissa's governor Leo Kephalas, an experienced officer, sent a letter to Alexios requesting urgent assistance six months into the siege (April 1083), as the siege had begun to take its toll on the defenders. The Byzantines then resorted to organizing a plot within the Norman army, spearheaded by the officers Peter of Aulps, Renaldus, and William, who were accused of attempting to defect. In the early winter of 1082, Alexios managed to obtain a mercenary force of 7,000 soldiers from the Seljuq Turkish sultan Suleiman ibn Qutulmish. The contingent was led by a general named Kamyres. Alexios continued to raise troops in Constantinople, while in late 1082 the Patriarch of Jerusalem Euthymius was sent to Thessalonica, where he mustered an additional force and attempted to broker a deal with the Normans. In March 1083, Alexios departed from Constantinople at the head of an army which marched towards Larissa. The army advanced through the narrow Tempe Valley, camping at Plabitza on the bank of the Peneius. [28]
The Byzantines avoided a direct engagement with the Normans, passing south-west of Larissa and arriving at Trikala in early April, without encountering any resistance. Byzantine scouts managed to apprehend a local man, who provided them with crucial information about the topography of the areas surrounding Larissa. The poor morale and lack of military experience of the Byzantine troops necessitated the use of guile to defeat the Normans. A day later, the generals Nikephoros Melissenos and Basil Kourtikios approached Larissa from the east while bearing the imperial standard. In the account of John Zonaras Alexios' brother Adrian commands this decoy force wearing imperial garb leading the Normans to believe that they have engaged the main force under the command of the emperor. Following a brief engagement the Byzantines made a feigned retreat, leading the unsuspecting Normans to a place called Lykostomion (Wolf's Mouth), where Alexios awaited with a unit of elite cavalry. Bohemond and the Count of Brienne's cavalry charged towards the imperial standard. When a small force of peltasts (light infantry) and mounted archers began to harass them from another direction, Brienne's cavalry turned their attention towards them. Suffering casualties, the cavalrymen broke off the engagement. Meanwhile, Behemond had established his camp on the river islet of Salabria, eating grapes (pointing out that the engagement probably happened in late July). The following day, the Turkish and "Sarmatian" (probably Pecheneg) mounted archers returned, this time raiding Bohemond's camp. The Normans decided to stand their ground and formed a phalanx. Panic ensued when the Norman flag bearer was killed, prompting their retreat to Trikala. [29]
Discord continued to spread in the Norman army, as its officers demanded two and half years' worth of payment arrears, a sum Bohemond did not possess. The bulk of the Norman army returned to the coast and sailed back to Italy, leaving only a small garrison at Kastoria. [14] [30] [31]
Alexios granted the Venetians a commercial colony in Constantinople, as well as exemption from trading duties in return for their renewed aid. They responded by recapturing Dyrrhachium and Corfu and returning them to the Byzantine Empire. These victories returned the Empire to its previous status quo and marked the beginning of the Komnenian restoration. [23] [32]
Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power and initiated a hereditary succession to the throne. Inheriting a collapsing empire and faced with constant warfare during his reign against both the Seljuq Turks in Asia Minor and the Normans in the western Balkans, Alexios was able to curb the Byzantine decline and begin the military, financial, and territorial recovery known as the Komnenian restoration. His appeals to Western Europe for help against the Turks was the catalyst that sparked the First Crusade.
Year 1081 (MLXXXI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.
Bohemond I of Antioch, also known as Bohemond of Taranto or Bohemond of Hauteville, was the prince of Taranto from 1089 to 1111 and the prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111. He was a leader of the First Crusade, leading a contingent of Normans on the quest eastward. Knowledgeable about the Byzantine Empire through earlier campaigns with his father, he was the most experienced military leader of the crusade.
Robert "Guiscard" de Hauteville, sometimes Robert "the Guiscard", was a Norman adventurer remembered for his conquest of southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century.
The Treaty of Devol was an agreement made in 1108 between Bohemond I of Antioch and Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, in the wake of the First Crusade. It is named after the Byzantine fortress of Devol. Although the treaty was not immediately enforced, it was intended to make the Principality of Antioch a vassal state of the Byzantine Empire.
The Battle of Dyrrhachium took place on October 18, 1081 between the Byzantine Empire, led by the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, and the Normans of southern Italy under Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria. The battle was fought outside the city of Dyrrhachium, the major Byzantine stronghold in the western Balkans, and ended in a Norman victory.
Sikelgaita was a Lombard princess, the daughter of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno and second wife of Duke Robert Guiscard of Apulia. Her heritage made her a vital asset to Robert's governance in Southern Italy, legitimizing his reign and that of his successors. Sikelgaita frequently accompanied Robert on campaigns and is noted for leading troops in battle. She continued to be a significant source of support for her primary heir, Roger Borsa, and remained actively involved in politics until her death.
The Alexiad is a medieval historical and biographical text written around the year 1148, by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. It was written in a form of artificial Attic Greek. Anna described the political and military history of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of her father, thus providing a significant account on the Byzantium of the High Middle Ages. Among other topics, the Alexiad documents the Byzantine Empire's interaction with the Crusades and highlights the conflicting perceptions of the East and West in the early 12th century. It does not mention the schism of 1054 – a topic which is very common in contemporary writing. It documents firsthand the decline of Byzantine cultural influence in eastern and western Europe, particularly in the West's increasing involvement in its geographic sphere. The Alexiad was paraphrased in vernacular medieval Greek in mid-14th century to increase its readability, which testifies to the lasting interest in the work.
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Constantine Doukas or Ducas was Byzantine junior emperor from 1074 to 1078, and again from 1081 to 1087. He was born to Emperor Michael VII Doukas and Empress Maria of Alania in about 1074, and elevated to junior emperor probably in the same year. He was junior emperor until 1078, when Michael VII was replaced by Nikephoros III Botaneiates. Because Constantine was not made junior emperor under Nikephoros III, his betrothal to Olympias, the daughter of Robert Guiscard, was broken, which Robert Guiscard used as a pretext to invade the Byzantine Empire. John Doukas forced Nikephoros to abdicate in favor of Alexios I Komnenos in 1081, and shortly afterwards Alexios elevated Constantine to junior emperor. Constantine married Alexios's daughter Anna Komnene, and remained junior emperor until 1087, when Alexios had a son, John II Komnenos. Constantine died in c. 1095.
The Battle of Kalavrye was fought in 1078 between the Byzantine imperial forces of general Alexios Komnenos and the rebellious governor of Dyrrhachium, Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder. Bryennios had rebelled against Michael VII Doukas and had won over the allegiance of the Byzantine army's regular regiments in the Balkans. Even after Doukas's overthrow by Nikephoros III Botaneiates, Bryennios continued his revolt, and threatened Constantinople. After failed negotiations, Botaneiates sent the young general Alexios Komnenos with whatever forces he could gather to confront him.
Herman of Hauteville was the younger son of Humphrey, count of Apulia and Calabria (1051–1057), and his Lombard wife, Gaitelgrima of Salerno, also known as Altrude. His older brother Abelard was supposed to inherit their father's lands, but Robert Guiscard, their uncle, who was elected count on Humphrey's death, confiscated them.
The Komnenian restoration is the term used by historians to describe the military, financial, and territorial recovery of the Byzantine Empire under the Komnenian dynasty, from the accession of Alexios I Komnenos in 1081 to the death of Andronikos I Komnenos in 1185. At the onset of the reign of Alexios I, the empire was reeling from its defeat by the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. The empire was also being threatened by the Normans of Robert Guiscard, who were invading the Balkans from their base in southern Italy. All this occurred as the empire's military institution was in disarray and had grown increasingly reliant on mercenaries. Previous emperors had also squandered the large gold deposits of Constantinople, so the defense of the empire had broken down, and there were few troops to fill the gaps.
Nikephoros Melissenos, Latinized as Nicephorus Melissenus, was a Byzantine general and aristocrat. Of distinguished lineage, he served as a governor and general in the Balkans and Asia Minor in the 1060s. In the turbulent period after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, when several generals tried to seize the throne for themselves, Melissenos remained loyal to Michael VII Doukas and was exiled by his successor Nikephoros III Botaneiates. In 1080–1081, with Turkish aid, he seized control of what remained of Byzantine Asia Minor and proclaimed himself emperor against Botaneiates. After the revolt of his brother-in-law Alexios I Komnenos, however, which succeeded in taking Constantinople, he submitted to him, accepting the rank of Caesar and the governance of Thessalonica. He remained loyal to Alexios thereafter, participating in most Byzantine campaigns of the period 1081–1095 in the Balkans at the emperor's side. He died on 17 November 1104.
Wars between the Normans and the Byzantine Empire were fought from c. 1040 until 1185, when the final Norman invasion of the Byzantine Empire was defeated.
Constantine Opos was a notable Byzantine general and aristocrat in the first half of the reign of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. He participated in the wars against the Normans and the Seljuk Turks, eventually reaching the rank of megas doux.
John Komnenos was a Byzantine aristocrat, the nephew of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and governor (doux) of the strategically important city and theme of Dyrrhachium from 1091 to c. 1106.
Alexios Komnenos was a Byzantine aristocrat and nephew of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Promoted to the rank of sebastos, he served as doux of Dyrrhachium from 1106 until after 1108. During this time, he led the successful resistance to a siege of Dyrrhachium by Bohemond I of Antioch, leading to the Treaty of Devol.
The siege of Dyrrhachium took place from November 1107 until September 1108, as the Italo-Normans under Bohemond I of Antioch besieged the Adriatic port city of Dyrrhachium, now known as Durrës. Dyrrhachium was held for the Byzantine Empire by its doux Alexios Komnenos, a nephew of the reigning Byzantine emperor, Alexios I Komnenos.
Amicus of Giovinazzo, also Amicus II, was a Norman nobleman and military leader during the Norman conquest of southern Italy. He was the count of Molfetta from 1068 until his death and of Giovinazzo from 1068 until 1073. He came from a prominent family often opposed to the rule of the Hautevilles. In 1067–68, 1072–73 and 1079–80 he took part in rebellions against the Hauteville Duke of Apulia. In 1067 and 1079 he received aid from Byzantium against the duke.
