Battle of Manzikert

Last updated

Battle of Manzikert
Part of the Byzantine–Seljuk wars
131 Bataille de Malazgirt.jpg
15th-century French miniature depicting the combatants in contemporary Western European armour
Date26 August 1071
Location 39°08′41″N42°32′21″E / 39.14472°N 42.53917°E / 39.14472; 42.53917
Result Seljuk victory
Territorial
changes
Beginning of Turkish rule over Anatolia
Belligerents

Byzantine Empire

  • Byzantine regular (tagmata) and provincial (thematic) troops.
  • Feudal levies of frontier land owners.
  • Frankish, English, Norman, Georgian, Armenian, Bulgarian, Turkic Pecheneg & Uz mercenaries

Seljuk Empire

Commanders and leaders
Romanos IV  (POW)
Nikephoros Bryennios
Theodore Alyates
Andronikos Doukas
Alp Arslan
Afshin Bey
Artuk Bey
Suleiman ibn Qutalmish
Strength
c. 40,000 [5]
(Close to half deserted before battle. Turkic mercenaries defected to the Seljuk side.)
200,000 (according to Turkish and Arabic sources) [6]
30,000 [7] –50,000 [6]
Casualties and losses
2,000 [5] –8,000 killed [7]
4,000 captured [5]
20,000 deserted [8]
unknown

The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 [9] near Manzikert, theme of Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and the capture of the Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes [10] played an important role in undermining Byzantine authority in Anatolia and Armenia, [11] and allowed for the gradual Turkification of Anatolia. Many Turks, travelling westward during the 11th century, saw the victory at Manzikert as an entrance to Asia Minor. [12]

Contents

The brunt of the battle was borne by the Byzantine army's professional soldiers from the eastern and western tagmata, as large numbers of mercenaries and Anatolian levies fled early and survived the battle. [13] The fallout from Manzikert was disastrous for the Byzantines, resulting in civil conflicts and an economic crisis that severely weakened the Byzantine Empire's ability to defend its borders adequately. [14] This led to the mass movement of Turks into central Anatolia by 1080, an area of 78,000 square kilometres (30,000 sq mi) had been gained by the Seljuk Turks. It took three decades of internal strife before Alexius I (1081 to 1118) restored stability to Byzantium. Historian Thomas Asbridge says: "In 1071, the Seljuqs crushed an imperial army at the Battle of Manzikert (in eastern Asia Minor), and though historians no longer consider this to have been an utterly cataclysmic reversal for the Greeks, it still was a stinging setback." [15] It was the only time a Byzantine emperor became the prisoner of a Muslim commander, and the first time since Valerian that a Roman emperor was captured alive by an enemy force.

Background

Although the Byzantine Empire had remained strong and powerful in the Middle Ages, [16] it began to decline under the reign of the militarily incompetent Constantine IX Monomachos and again under Constantine X Doukas  a brief two-year period of reform under Isaac I Komnenos merely delayed the decay of the Byzantine army. [17]

About 1053, Constantine IX disbanded what the 11th century Byzantine historian John Skylitzes called the "Iberian Army", which consisted of 50,000 men. Skylitzes' contemporaries, the former officials Michael Attaleiates and Kekaumenos, agree that by demobilizing these soldiers, Constantine did catastrophic harm to the empire's eastern defenses. Constantine made a truce with the Seljuks that lasted until 1064, when a large Seljuk army under Alp Arslan attacked the theme of Iberia and took Ani; after a siege of 25 days, they captured the city. [18]

In 1068, Romanos IV Diogenes took power and, after some speedy military reforms, appointed Manuel Komnenos (nephew of Isaac I Komnenos) to lead an expedition against the Seljuks. Manuel captured Hierapolis Bambyce in Syria, next thwarted a Turkish attack against Iconium with a counterattack, [10] but was then defeated and captured by the Seljuks. Despite this success, Alp Arslan quickly sought a peace treaty with the Byzantines, signed in 1069; he saw the Fatimids in Egypt as his main enemy and had no desire to be diverted by unnecessary hostilities. [7]

In February 1071, Romanos sent envoys to Arslan to renew the 1069 treaty; keen to secure his northern flank against attack, to which Arslan agreed. [7] Abandoning the siege of Edessa, he immediately led his army to attack the Fatimid-held Aleppo. However, the peace treaty had been a deliberate distraction: Romanos now led a large army into Armenia to recover the lost fortresses before the Seljuks had time to respond. [7]

Prelude

Accompanying Romanos was Andronikos Doukas, son of his rival John Doukas. The army consisted of about 5,000 professional Byzantine troops from the western provinces and probably about the same number from the eastern provinces. These included long established regular units (Heteria, Scholai and Straelati) [19] of the central field army (Tagmata). [20] Amongst the native Byzantine element of the army were provincial troops from both the eastern and western military themes . Under Doukas, the rear guard at Manzikert was largely made up of the private retinues and peasant levies of the border lords (archontes). [21] Finally, the large and diverse host included 500 Frankish and Norman mercenaries under Roussel de Bailleul, some Turkic (Uz and Pecheneg) and Bulgarian mercenaries, infantry under the Duke of Antioch, a contingent of Georgian and Armenian troops and some (but not all) of the Varangian Guard to total around 40,000 men. [22] The quantity of the provincial troops had declined in the years before Romanos, as the government diverted funding to mercenaries who were judged less likely to be involved in politics and could be disbanded after use to save money. [23]

Alp Arslan led the Seljuk Turks to victory against the Byzantine annexation of Manzikert in 1071. Rashid al-Din, Jami' al-tawarikh, 1654 Ottoman copy, Topkapi Museum. AlpArslan.PNG
Alp Arslan led the Seljuk Turks to victory against the Byzantine annexation of Manzikert in 1071. Rashid al-Din, Jami' al-tawarikh , 1654 Ottoman copy, Topkapi Museum.

The march across Asia Minor was long and difficult. Romanos brought a luxurious baggage train, which did not endear him to his troops. The local population also suffered plundering by his Frankish mercenaries, whom he was obliged to dismiss. The expedition rested at Sebasteia on the river Halys, reaching Theodosiopolis in June 1071. Some of his generals suggested continuing the march into the Seljuk territory and catching Alp Arslan before he was ready. Others, including Nicephorus Bryennius, suggested they wait and fortify their position. It was decided to continue the march. [25] Then they moved to Khnus city. The Byzantine army, which was heading towards the Manzikert plain, chose the route of the Kocasu Stream flowing through Khnus as a route to meet its water needs, and the army manufactured the spears to be used in the war from the trees growing in Khnus and its surroundings. [26]

Thinking that Alp Arslan was either further away or not coming at all, Romanos marched towards Lake Van, expecting to retake Manzikert quickly and the nearby fortress of Khliat if possible. Alp Arslan was already in the area, however, with allies and 30,000 cavalry from Aleppo and Mosul. Alp Arslan's scouts knew exactly where Romanos was, while Romanos was completely unaware of his opponent's movements. [27]

Having made peace with the Byzantines, the Seljuks intended to attack Egypt until Alp Arslan learned in Aleppo of the Byzantine advance. He returned north and met the Byzantines north of Lake Van. Manzikertbattlecampaignmap21071.svg
Having made peace with the Byzantines, the Seljuks intended to attack Egypt until Alp Arslan learned in Aleppo of the Byzantine advance. He returned north and met the Byzantines north of Lake Van.

Romanos ordered his general Joseph Tarchaniotes to take some of the regular troops and the Varangians and accompany the Pechenegs and Franks to Khliat. At the same time, Romanos and the rest of the army marched to Manzikert. This split the forces into halves of about 20,000 men each. It is unknown what happened to the army sent off with Tarchaniotes – according to Islamic sources, Alp Arslan smashed this army, yet Roman sources make no mention of any such encounter, and Attaliates suggests that Tarchaniotes fled at the sight of the Seljuk Sultan – an unlikely event considering the reputation of the Roman general. Either way, Romanos' army was reduced to less than half his planned 40,000 men. [22]

Battle

Alp Arslan summoned his army and delivered a speech while dressed in a white robe similar to an Islamic funeral shroud on the morning of the battle. [28] This was an encouraging message that he was ready to die in battle. Romanos was unaware of the loss of Tarchaneiotes and continued to Manzikert, which he easily captured on 23 August; the Seljuks responded with attacks by horse archers. [29] The next day, some foraging parties under Bryennios discovered the main Seljuk force and were forced to retreat to Manzikert. Romanos sent the Armenian general Basilakes and some cavalry, as Romanos did not believe this was Alp Arslan's full army. The cavalry was routed, and Basilakes was taken prisoner. Romanos then drew his troops into formation and sent the left wing out under Bryennios, who was almost surrounded by the rapidly approaching Turks and forced to retreat. The Seljuk forces hid among the nearby hills for the night, making it nearly impossible for Romanos to counterattack. [10] [30]

Byzantine territory (purple), Byzantine attacks (red) and Seljuk attacks (green) Byzantium vs Seljuk c 1071.png
Byzantine territory (purple), Byzantine attacks (red) and Seljuk attacks (green)

On 25 August, some of Romanos' Turkic mercenaries came into contact with their Seljuk kin and deserted. [31] Romanos then rejected a Seljuk peace emissary. He wanted to settle the eastern question and the persistent Turkic incursions and settlements with a decisive military victory. He understood that raising another army would be both difficult and expensive. The emperor attempted to recall Tarchaneiotes and his half of the forces, but they were no longer in the area.[ citation needed ] There were no engagements that day, but on 26 August, the Byzantine army gathered itself into a proper battle formation and began to march on the Seljuk positions, with the left wing under Bryennios, the right wing under Theodore Alyates, and the centre under the emperor. Andronikos Doukas led the reserve forces in the rear – a foolish mistake by the emperor, considering the dubious loyalties of the Doukas family. The Seljuks were organized into a crescent formation about four kilometres away. [32] Seljuk horse archers attacked the Byzantines as they drew closer; the centre of their crescent continually moved backwards while the wings moved to surround the Byzantine troops. [33]

The Byzantines pressed on despite the arrow attacks and captured Alp Arslan's camp by the end of the afternoon. However, the right and left wings, where the arrows did most of their damage, almost broke up when individual units tried to force the Seljuks into a pitched battle; the Seljuk cavalry simply disengaged when challenged, in the classic Parthian tactics of steppe warriors. With the Seljuks avoiding battle, Romanos was forced to order a withdrawal by nightfall. However, the right wing misunderstood the order, and Doukas deliberately ignored the emperor's order to cover the army's withdrawal and marched directly back to the Byzantine camp outside Manzikert. With the Byzantines thoroughly confused, the Seljuks seized the opportunity and attacked. [10] The Byzantine right wing was almost immediately routed, thinking they were betrayed either by the Armenians or the army's Turkish auxiliaries. Some authors suppose that Armenians were the first to flee, and they all managed to get away, while by contrast, the Turkish auxiliaries remained loyal to the end. [34] Other sources suggest that Armenian infantry stoutly resisted and did not turn tail, not abandoning the emperor as many had. When Romanos saw the boldness of the Armenian foot soldiers, he displayed great affection for them and promised them unheard-of rewards. In the end, the emperor's personal troops and these Armenian foot soldiers suffered the heaviest casualties in the Byzantine army. [35] The left wing under Bryennios held out a little longer but was also soon routed. [13] The remnants of the Byzantine centre, including the emperor and the Varangian Guard, were encircled by the Seljuks. Romanos was wounded and taken prisoner by the Seljuks. The survivors were many who fled the field and were pursued throughout the night, but not beyond that; by dawn, the professional core of the Byzantine army had been destroyed, while many of the peasant troops and levies who had been under the command of Andronikus had fled. [13]

Captivity of Romanos Diogenes

Alp Arslan humiliating Emperor Romanos IV. From a 15th-century illustrated French translation of Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium. BnF Fr232 fol323 Alp Arslan Romanus.jpg
Alp Arslan humiliating Emperor Romanos IV. From a 15th-century illustrated French translation of Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium .

When Romanos was conducted into the presence of Alp Arslan, the Sultan refused to believe that the bloodied and tattered man covered in dirt was the mighty Emperor of the Romans. After discovering his identity, Alp Arslan placed his boot on the Emperor's neck and forced him to kiss the ground, a traditional symbolic gesture at the time. [36] Alp Arslan then treated Romanos with considerable kindness and again offered the terms of peace that he had offered before the battle. [37]

According to Ibn al-Adim, in the presence of Arslan, Romanos blamed the raids of Rashid al-Dawla Mahmud into Byzantine territory for his interventions in Muslim territories which eventually led to the Battle of Manzikert. [38] Romanos remained a captive of the Sultan for a week. During this time, the Sultan allowed Romanos to eat at his table while concessions were agreed upon: Antioch, Edessa, Hierapolis, and Manzikert were to be surrendered. [14] This would have left the vital core of Anatolia untouched. A payment of 10 million gold pieces demanded by the Sultan as a ransom for Romanos was deemed as too high by the latter, so the Sultan reduced its short-term expense by asking for 1.5 million gold pieces as an initial payment instead, followed by an annual sum of 360,000 gold pieces. [14] Plus, a marriage alliance was prepared between Alp Arslan's son and Romanos’ daughter. [7] The Sultan then gave Romanos many presents and an escort of two emirs and one hundred Mamluks on his route to Constantinople. [39]

Shortly after his return to his subjects, Romanos found his rule in serious trouble. Despite attempts to raise loyal troops, he was defeated three times in battle against the Doukas family and was deposed, blinded, and exiled to the island of Proti. He died soon after due to an infection caused by his brutal blinding. Romanos' final foray into the Anatolian heartland, which he had worked so hard to defend, was a public humiliation. [14]

Aftermath

The Turks did not move into Anatolia until after Alp Arslan's death in 1072. Aftermath of Manzikert.png
The Turks did not move into Anatolia until after Alp Arslan's death in 1072.

While Manzikert was a long-term strategic catastrophe for Byzantium, it was by no means the massacre that historians earlier presumed. Modern scholars estimate that Byzantine losses were relatively low, [40] [41] considering that many units survived the battle intact and were fighting elsewhere within a few months, and most Byzantine prisoners of war were later released. [41] Certainly, all the commanders on the Byzantine side (Doukas, Tarchaneiotes, Bryennios, Theodore Alyates, de Bailleul, and, above all, the Emperor) survived and took part in later events. [42] The battle did not directly change the balance of power between the Byzantines and the Seljuks; however, the ensuing civil war within the Byzantine Empire did, to the advantage of the Seljuks. [41]

Doukas had escaped without casualties and quickly marched back to Constantinople, where he led a coup against Romanos and proclaimed his cousin Michael VII as basileus. [14] Bryennios also lost a few men in the rout of his wing. The Seljuks did not pursue the fleeing Byzantines, nor did they recapture Manzikert itself at this point. The Byzantine army regrouped and marched to Dokeia, where they were joined by Romanos when he was released a week later. The emperor's extravagant baggage train was the most serious loss materially. [43]

The result of this disastrous defeat was, in simplest terms, the loss of the Eastern Roman Empire's Anatolian heartland. John Julius Norwich says in his trilogy on the Byzantine Empire that the defeat was "its death blow, though centuries remained before the remnant fell. The themes in Anatolia were literally the heart of the empire, and within decades after Manzikert, they were gone." In his smaller book, A Short History of Byzantium, Norwich describes the battle as "the greatest disaster suffered by the Empire in its seven and a half centuries of existence". [44] Sir Steven Runciman, in his "History of the Crusades", noted that "The Battle of Manzikert was the most decisive disaster in Byzantine history. The Byzantines themselves had no illusions about it. Again and again, their historians refer to that dreadful day. [45]

Anna Komnene, writing a few decades after the actual battle, wrote:

...the fortunes of the Roman Empire had sunk to their lowest ebb. For the armies of the East were dispersed in all directions, because the Turks had over-spread, and gained command of, countries between the Euxine Sea [Black Sea] and the Hellespont, and the Aegean Sea and Syrian Seas [Mediterranean Sea], and the various bays, especially those which wash Pamphylia, Cilicia, and empty themselves into the Egyptian Sea [Mediterranean Sea]. [46]

Years and decades later, Manzikert came to be seen as a disaster for the Empire; thus, later sources greatly exaggerated the number of troops and casualties. Byzantine historians would often look back and lament the "disaster" of that day, pinpointing it as the moment the decline of the Empire began. It was not an immediate disaster, but the defeat showed the Seljuks that the Byzantines were not invincible. The usurpation by Andronikos Doukas also politically destabilized the empire, and it was difficult to organize resistance to the Turkic migrations that followed the battle. [47] Finally, while intrigue and the deposition of emperors had taken place before, the fate of Romanos was particularly horrific, and the destabilization caused by it also rippled through the empire for centuries. [48]

Settlements and regions affected during the first wave of Turkish invasions in Asia Minor (until 1204). 11 13th century Asia Minor Turkish Invasions.png
Settlements and regions affected during the first wave of Turkish invasions in Asia Minor (until 1204).

What followed the battle was a chain of events of which the battle was the first link that undermined the Empire in the years to come. They included intrigues for the throne, the fate of Romanos, and Roussel de Bailleul attempting to carve himself an independent kingdom in Galatia with his 3,000 Frankish, Norman, and German mercenaries. [49] He defeated the Emperor's uncle John Doukas, who had come to suppress him, advancing toward the capital to destroy Chrysopolis (Üsküdar) on the Asian coast of the Bosphorus. The Empire finally turned to the Seljuks to crush de Bailleul, which they did. However, the Turks ransomed him back to his wife, and it was not before the young general Alexios Komnenos pursued him that he was captured. These events all interacted to create a vacuum that the Turks filled. Their choice to establish their capital in Nikaea (Iznik) in 1077 could be explained by a desire to see if the Empire's struggles could present new opportunities.[ citation needed ]

In hindsight, both Byzantine and modern historians are unanimous in dating the decline of Byzantine fortunes to this battle. As Paul K. Davis writes, "Byzantine defeat severely limited the power of the Byzantines by denying them control over Anatolia, the major recruiting ground for soldiers. Henceforth, the Muslims controlled the region. The Byzantine Empire was limited to the area immediately around Constantinople, and the Byzantines were never again a serious military force." [50] It is also interpreted as one of the root causes for the later Crusades, in that the First Crusade of 1095 was originally a western response to the Byzantine emperor's call for military assistance after the loss of Anatolia. [51] From another perspective, the West saw Manzikert as a signal that Byzantium was no longer capable of being the protector of Eastern Christianity or of Christian pilgrims to the Holy Places in the Middle East. Delbrück considers the battle's importance exaggerated, but the evidence makes clear that it resulted in the Empire's inability to put an effective army into the field for many years. [52]

The Battle of Myriokephalon, also known as the Myriocephalum, has been compared to the Battle of Manzikert as a pivotal point in the decline of the Byzantine Empire. [53] In both battles, separated by over a hundred years, a more elusive Seljuk opponent ambushed a large Byzantine army. However, the implications of Myriocephalum were initially limited, thanks to Manuel I Komnenos holding on to power. The same could not be said of Romanos, whose enemies "martyred a courageous and upright man", and as a result "the Empire ... would never recover". [49]

Cultural references

In the aftermath of the battle, Norman soldiers who had served in the Byzantine armies spread tales about the defeat and likely inspired an episode in the Chanson de Roland in which the amirant of Babylon, Baligant, fights Charlemagne and is defeated only through the aid of Saint Gabriel. [54]

The battle is described in the novel The Lady For Ransom by Alfred Duggan.

Camlica Mosque, Istanbul Camlica-2018-06-14.jpg
Çamlıca Mosque, Istanbul

The largest mosque in Turkey, the Çamlıca Mosque of Istanbul, has four minarets that span 107.1 metres (351 ft), a measurement that refers to the Battle of Manzikert (1071). [55] In 2018, Turkey's ruling AKP announced their future agenda for 2023, 2053 and 2071 targets: 100th anniversary of the republic, 600th anniversary of conquest of Istanbul and 1000th anniversary of battle of Manzikert, respectively. [56]

Crusade of Kings, a game supplement, covers the battle extensively, and claims the following conversation took place between Alp Arslan and Romanos: [57]

Alp Arslan: "What would you do if I were brought before you as a prisoner?"
Romanos: "Perhaps I'd kill you, or exhibit you in the streets of Constantinople."
Alp Arslan: "My punishment is far heavier. I forgive you, and set you free."

The battle is part of Age of Empires II . [58] The Turkish movie Malazgirt 1071  [ tr ] (2022) is based on this battle.

Notes

  1. Pechenegs and Uzes defected to the Seljuk side when the war began.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alp Arslan</span> Sultan of Seljuk Empire from 1063 to 1072

Alp Arslan, born Muhammad bin Dawud Chaghri, was the second sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. He greatly expanded the Seljuk territory and consolidated his power, defeating rivals to the south and northwest, and his victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert, in 1071, ushered in the Turkmen settlement of Anatolia.

The 1070s was a decade of the Julian Calendar which began on January 1, 1070, and ended on December 31, 1079.

Year 1071 (MLXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikephoros III Botaneiates</span> Byzantine Emperor from 1078 to 1081

Nikephoros III Botaneiates, Latinized as Nicephorus III Botaniates, was Byzantine Emperor from 7 January 1078 to 1 April 1081. He was born in 1002, and became a general during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, serving in the Pecheneg revolt of 1048–1053. His actions in guiding his forces away from the Pechenegs following the Battle of Zygos Pass, in which they suffered eleven days of harassment before finally reaching the Byzantine city of Adrianople, attracted the attention of fellow officers, and he received the title of magistros as a reward. Nikephoros served in the revolt of Isaac I Komnenos against the Byzantine Emperor Michael VI Bringas, leading forces at the decisive Battle of Petroe. Under the Emperor Constantine X Doukas he was made doux of Thessalonica. He later served as doux of Antioch. While doux of Antioch, he repelled numerous incursions from the Emirate of Aleppo. When Constantine X died in 1067, his wife, Empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa, considered taking Nikephoros as husband and emperor but instead chose Romanos IV Diogenes. The need for an immediate successor was made pressing by the constant Seljuk raids into Byzantine Anatolia, and Eudokia, Patriarch John VIII of Constantinople, and the Byzantine Senate agreed that their top priority was the defense of the empire and that they needed an emperor to lead troops to repel the Turks. Nikephoros was the favorite candidate of the senate, but was in the field leading troops in Antioch and was still married. Romanos, once chosen to be emperor, exiled Nikephoros to his holdings in the Anatolic Theme, where he remained until he was brought out of retirement by the Emperor Michael VII and made kouropalates and governor of the Anatolic Theme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romanos IV Diogenes</span> Byzantine emperor from 1068 to 1071

Romanos IV Diogenes was a Byzantine general and Akritai commander who, after his marriage to the dowager empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa, was crowned Byzantine emperor. He reigned from 1068 to 1071, during which time he was determined to halt the decline of the Byzantine military and to stop Turkish incursions into the Byzantine Empire. In 1071 he was captured and his army routed at the Battle of Manzikert by the forces of Alp Arslan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael VII Doukas</span> Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078

Michael VII Doukas or Ducas, nicknamed Parapinakes, was the senior Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078. He was known as incompetent as an emperor and reliant on court officials, especially of his finance minister Nikephoritzes, who increased taxation and luxury spending while not properly financing their army. Under his reign, Bari was lost and his empire faced open revolt in the Balkans. Along with the advancing Seljuk Turks in the eastern front, Michael also had to contend with his mercenaries openly turning against the empire. Michael stepped down as emperor in 1078 and later retired to a monastery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constantine X Doukas</span> Byzantine emperor from 1059 to 1067

Constantine X Doukas or Ducas, was Byzantine emperor from 1059 to 1067. He was the founder of the Doukid dynasty. During his reign, the Normans took over much of the remaining Byzantine territories in Italy while in the Balkans the Hungarians occupied Belgrade. He also suffered defeats by the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Myriokephalon</span> 1176 battle between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks

The Battle of Myriokephalon was a battle between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks in the mountains west of Iconium (Konya) in southwestern Turkey on 17 September 1176. The battle was a strategic reverse for the Byzantine forces, who were ambushed when moving through a mountain pass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eudokia Makrembolitissa</span> Byzantine Empress from 1059 to 1071

Eudokia Makrembolitissa was a Byzantine empress by her successive marriages to Constantine X Doukas and Romanos IV Diogenes. She acted as regent of her minor son, Michael VII in 1067, and resigned her regency by marriage to Romanos IV Diogenes. When he was deposed in 1071 she resumed the regency for her sons, but was soon forced to resign again.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Kalavrye</span> 1078 battle in present-day Turkey

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Levounion</span> 1091 battle of the Komnenian Restoration

The Battle of Levounion was the first decisive Byzantine victory of the Komnenian restoration. On April 29, 1091, an invading force of Pechenegs was crushed by the combined forces of the Byzantine Empire under Alexios I Komnenos and his Cuman allies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Komnenian restoration</span> Historical period of the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decline of the Byzantine Empire</span> Sequence of historical events

The Byzantine Empire experienced cycles of growth and decay over the course of nearly a thousand years, including major losses during the early Muslim conquests of the 7th century.

The Battle of Caesarea occurred in 1067 when the Seljuk Turks under Alp Arslan attacked Caesarea. Caesarea was sacked and its Cathedral of St. Basil desecrated. Following Caesarea, the Seljuk Turks made another attempt invading Anatolia, with an assault on Iconium in 1069. This provoked Romanos IV Diogenes' second campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byzantine–Seljuk wars</span> Series of conflicts in the Middle Ages

The Byzantine–Seljuk wars were a series of conflicts in the Middle Ages between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire. They shifted the balance of power in Asia Minor and Syria from the Byzantines to the Seljuk dynasty. Riding from the steppes of Central Asia, the Seljuks replicated tactics practiced by the Huns hundreds of years earlier against a similar Roman opponent but now combining it with new-found Islamic zeal. In many ways, the Seljuk resumed the conquests of the Muslims in the Byzantine–Arab Wars initiated by the Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates in the Levant, North Africa and Asia Minor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byzantine Empire under the Komnenos dynasty</span> Byzantine Komnenos dynasty emperors (1081–1185)

The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the Komnenos dynasty for a period of 104 years, from 1081 to about 1185. The Komnenian period comprises the reigns of five emperors, Alexios I, John II, Manuel I, Alexios II and Andronikos I. It was a period of sustained, though ultimately incomplete, restoration of the military, territorial, economic and political position of the Byzantine Empire.

Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder, Latinized as Nicephorus Bryennius, was a Byzantine Greek general who tried to establish himself as Emperor in the late eleventh century. His contemporaries considered him the best tactician in the empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byzantine–Arab wars (780–1180)</span>

Between 780–1180, the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid & Fatimid caliphates in the regions of Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Anatolia and Southern Italy fought a series of wars for supremacy in the Eastern Mediterranean. After a period of indecisive and slow border warfare, a string of almost unbroken Byzantine victories in the late 10th and early 11th centuries allowed three Byzantine Emperors, namely Nikephoros II Phokas, John I Tzimiskes and finally Basil II to recapture territory lost to the Muslim conquests in the 7th century Arab–Byzantine wars under the failing Heraclian Dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byzantine Anatolia</span> History of Anatolia under the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Anatolia refers to the peninsula of Anatolia during the rule of the Byzantine Empire. Anatolia was of vital importance to the empire following the Muslim invasion of Syria and Egypt during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in the years 634–645 AD. Over the next two hundred and fifty years, the region suffered constant raids by Arab Muslim forces raiding mainly from the cities of Antioch, Tarsus, and Aleppo near the Anatolian borders. However, the Byzantine Empire maintained control over the Anatolian peninsula until the High Middle Ages, when imperial authority in the area began to collapse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byzantine Empire under the Doukas dynasty</span> Rule from 1059 to 1081

The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the Doukas dynasty between 1059 and 1081. There are six emperors and co-emperors of this period: the dynasty's founder, Emperor Constantine X Doukas, his brother John Doukas, katepano and later Caesar, Romanos IV Diogenes, Constantine's son Michael VII Doukas, Michael's son and co-emperor Constantine Doukas, and finally Nikephoros III Botaneiates, who claimed descent from the Phokas family.

References

  1. Nesbitt, John and Eric McGeer. Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art. 1st ed. Washington, D.C.: N.p., 2001. Print.
  2. Church, Kenneth. From Dynastic Principality to Imperial District. 1st ed. 2001. Print.
  3. The Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. 6 (Cambridge: University Press, 198), p. 791: "In 1071, five years after Hastings, the Byzantine army, the oldest and best trained military force in Europe, was destroyed in battle with the Seljuk Turks at Manzikert in Armenia."
  4. Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades, Vol. 1 (Cambridge: University Press, 1987), pp. 62–63: "With this large but untrustworthy army, Romanus set out in the spring of 1071 to reconquer Armenia. As he was leaving the capital the news came through from Italy that Bary, the last Byzantine possession in the peninsula, had fallen to the Normans. The chroniclers tell in tragic detail of the Emperor's march eastward along the great Byzantine military road. His intention was to capture and garrison the Armenian fortresses before the Turkish army should come up from the south. Alp Arslan was in Syria, near Aleppo, when he heard of the Byzantine advance. He realized how vital was the challenge; and he hurried northward to meet the Emperor. Romanus entered Armenia along the southern branch of the upper Euphrates. Near Manzikert he divided his forces."
  5. 1 2 3 Haldon 2001, p. 180.
  6. 1 2 Sevım 2003, p. 481; Hillenbrand 2007, p. 213.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Markham, Paul. "Battle of Manzikert: Military Disaster or Political Failure?".
  8. Haldon 2001, p. 173
  9. Norwich 1991 , pp. 350–351, citing Friendly 1981
  10. 1 2 3 4 Grant, R.G. (2005). Battle a Visual Journey Through 5000 Years of Combat. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 77. ISBN   1-74033-593-7.
  11. Holt, Peter Malcolm; Lambton, Ann Katharine Swynford & Lewis, Bernard (1977). The Cambridge History of Islam. pp. 231–232.
  12. Barber, Malcolm. The Crusader States Yale University Press. 2012. ISBN   978-0-300-11312-9. p. 9
  13. 1 2 3 Norwich, John Julius (1997). A Short History of Byzantium. New York: Vintage Books. p. 240. ISBN   0-679-45088-2.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Norwich, John Julius (1997). A Short History of Byzantium. New York: Vintage Books. p. 241. ISBN   0-679-45088-2.
  15. Thomas S. Asbridge The Crusades (2010) p. 27 [ ISBN missing ]
  16. Konstam, Angus (2004). The Crusades. London: Mercury Books. p. 40. ISBN   0-8160-4919-X.
  17. Norwich, John Julius (1997). A Short History of Byzantium. New York: Vintage Books. p. 236. ISBN   0-679-45088-2.
  18. Baynes, T.S., ed. (1878). "Anni"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 2 (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 72 via Wikisource.
  19. Nicolle, David (2013). Manzikerk 1071. The Breaking of Byzantium. Bloomsbury USA. p. 40. ISBN   978-1-78096-503-1.
  20. d'Amato, Raffaele (2012). Byzantine Imperial Guardsmen 925–1025. The Taghmata and Imperial Guard. Bloomsbury USA. p. 13. ISBN   978-1-84908-850-3.
  21. Heath, Ian (1979). Byzantine Armies 886–1118. Bloomsbury USA. p. 26. ISBN   0-85045-306-2.
  22. 1 2 J. Haldon, The Byzantine Wars, 180
  23. Health, Ian (1979). Byzantine Armies 886–1118. Bloomsbury USA. pp. 21–22. ISBN   0-85045-306-2.
  24. Yıldız, Osman Fikret (1 January 2019). Büyük Selçuklular Ve Nizamül-Mülk, Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, (Yüksek Lisans Tezi), Isparta 2019,(Great Seljuks and Nizamal-Mulk). p. 93 Fig.4. Miniature from Reşîdüddîn, Câmiu't-Tevârîh , TSMK, Hazine, nr. 1654, vr. 202
  25. Hillenbrand 2007 , pp. 7–8
  26. "Hınıs'ın tarihçesi". hinis.gov.tr/ (in Turkish). Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  27. Morris, Rosemary; Tucker, Spencer (2019). "Manzikert, Battle of (August 26, 1071)". In Tucker, Spencer (ed.). Middle East Conflicts from Ancient Egypt to the 21st Century: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 800. ISBN   978-1-4408-5352-4.
  28. Hillenbrand 2007 , p. 214
  29. J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Apogee, 238
  30. Konstam, Angus (2004). The Crusades. London: Mercury Books. p. 41. ISBN   0-8160-4919-X.
  31. Norwich, John Julius (1997). A Short History of Byzantium. New York: Vintage Books. p. 238. ISBN   0-679-45088-2.
  32. Norwich, John Julius (1997). A Short History of Byzantium. New York: Vintage Books. p. 239. ISBN   0-679-45088-2.
  33. Nicolle, David (2013). Manzikerk 1071. The Breaking of Byzantium. Bloomsbury USA. p. 73. ISBN   978-1-78096-503-1.
  34. Heath, Ian; McBride, Angus (1979). Byzantine Armies, 886–1118. London: Osprey. p. 27. ISBN   0-85045-306-2.[ permanent dead link ]
  35. Nicolle, David. Manzikert 1071: The breaking of Byzantium. Osprey Publishing (2013), pp. 80–81. ISBN   978-1780965031
  36. Norwich 1991 , p. 354
  37. Alp Arslan, the lion of Manzikert, arabnews.com, 19 June 2015
  38. Hillenbrand 2007 , p. 78
  39. Nicolle, David (2013). Manzikerk 1071. The Breaking of Byzantium. Bloomsbury USA. p. 89. ISBN   978-1-78096-503-1.
  40. Haldon, John (2000). Byzantium at War 600–1453. New York: Osprey. p. 46. ISBN   0-415-96861-5.
  41. 1 2 3 Mikaberidze, Alexander (2011). Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 563. ISBN   978-1-59884-336-1.
  42. Norwich, John Julius (1997). A Short History of Byzantium. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 240–243. ISBN   0-679-45088-2.. Andronikus returned to the capital, Tarchaneiotes did not take part, and Bryennios and all the others, including Romanos, took part in the ensuing civil war.
  43. Nicolle, David (2013). Manzikerk 1071. The Breaking of Byzantium. Bloomsbury USA. p. 41. ISBN   978-1-78096-503-1.
  44. Norwich, John Julius (1997). A Short History of Byzantium. New York: Vintage Books. p. 242. ISBN   0-679-45088-2.
  45. Runciman, Steven (1951). A History of the Crusades Vol. I. The First Crusade and the Foundation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. p. 64. ISBN   0-521-06161-X.
  46. "Medieval Sourcebook: Anna Comnena: The Alexiad: Book I". Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
  47. Haldon, John (2002). Byzantium at War AD 600 – 1453. Bloomsbury USA. p. 46. ISBN   1-84176-360-8.
  48. Nicolle, David (2013). Manzikerk 1071. The Breaking of Byzantium. Bloomsbury USA. p. 92. ISBN   978-1-78096-503-1.
  49. 1 2 Norwich, John Julius (1997). A Short History of Byzantium. New York: Vintage Books. p. 243. ISBN   0-679-45088-2.
  50. Paul K. Davis, 100 Decisive Battles from Ancient Times to the Present: The World's Major Battles and How They Shaped History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 118.[ ISBN missing ]
  51. Madden, Thomas (2005). Crusades The Illustrated History . Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. pp.  35. ISBN   0-8476-9429-1.
  52. Delbrück, Hans (1923). "7. Kapitel: Byzanz" [Chapter 7: Byzantium]. Geschichte der Kriegskunst im Rahmen der politischen Geschichte (in German). Vol. 3. Teil: Das Mittelalter (2nd ed.). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 209–210. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  53. For example, Vryonis, Speros (1971). The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor: and the process of Islamization from the eleventh through the fifteenth century. Berkeley: University of California. p. 125. ISBN   0-520-01597-5.
  54. Duggan, Joseph J. (1976). "The Generation of the Episode of Baligant: Charlemagne's Dream and the Normans at Mantzikert". Romance Philology. 30 (Jean Frappier Memorial): 59–82. JSTOR   44941695.
  55. "Turkey's largest mosque opens its doors in Istanbul". Gulf Times. Istanbul. DPA. 8 March 2019.
  56. "Türkiye'nin 2023, 2053 Ve 2071 Hedefleri | YeniBirlik Gazetesi". www.gazetebirlik.com. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  57. Peoples, R. Scott (2013). Crusade of Kings Wildside Press LLC, p. 13. ISBN   978-0-8095-7221-2
  58. "Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – recenzja", Interia.pl, 4 December 2019

Bibliography