On 26 August 1071, the Battle of Manzikert was fought in Armenia between the Byzantines under Romanus IV against the Seljuks under Alp Arslan during the Byzantine-Seljuk Wars.
Why did it happen?
By the Eleventh Century, the Byzantine Empire was a shadow of its former self. After the death of Basil II in 1025, the military expenditure was cut back, while the collapse of the empire’s local defence systems meant that the Byzantines had to hire mercenaries to defend their lands from Muslim raiders. To make matters worse, Byzantine emperors were better at administration than military matters, which meant that their main rivals, the Seljuk Turks, could capture city after city in pursuit of plunder. In 1068, Constantine X died, and his widow Eudocia chose as her new husband a general named Romanus Diogenes, who became Romanus IV. Almost immediately, Romanus rebuilt the Byzantine army despite opposition from the Ducas family, who saw the emperor as a usurper and sought to overthrow him. By 1071, Romanus had assembled a massive army of 100,000 troops and marched towards Armenia, intending to retake its cities from the Seljuk leader, Alp Arslan. Upon arriving in August, Romanus divided his army in half: while he led 50,000 troops against the town of Manzikert, the other half would capture the fortress of Khelat. After a Byzantine reconnaissance force was annihilated, Romanus confronted the main Seljuk army outside Manzikert.
Who was involved?
The Byzantine army at Manzikert numbered 50,000 infantry and cavalry. While much of the Byzantine army consisted of Norman and Viking mercenaries drawn from Western Europe and Ukraine, the core force comprised heavily armoured cavalry known as cataphracts. Crucially, as stated by Geoffrey Regan, “There were pitifully few of the once-elite Anatolian soldiers who had formed the backbone of imperial armies for centuries” (Regan, 2002, p.55). While Romanus commanded the centre of the Byzantine army, which comprised the cataphracts and Varangian Guard, Andronicus Ducus held the reserves, which were made up of Anatolian levies. Nicephorus Bryennius commanded the left wing, while Alyattes led the right wing. The Seljuk army at Manzikert numbered 40,000 cavalry, predominantly horse archers. The left wing consisted of 10,000 cavalry under Sundak, while the centre comprised 26,000 cavalry under Taurang. Positioned on a hill to the right of the battlefield was Alp Arslan with 4,000 heavy cavalry.
What happened?
On 26 August, the Byzantine cataphracts began the battle by charging the Seljuk centre. In response, the Seljuk horse archers rode towards the Byzantines, fired their arrows, and then feigned retreat towards their camp. At the same time, the Seljuk horse archers on the left and right wings conducted hit-and-run attacks on the Byzantine army while moving closer towards the distant hills. At dusk, having spent fruitless hours chasing the Seljuk horse archers, the Byzantine Emperor Romanus IV ordered his army to withdraw back to their camp. Led by Alp Arslan, the entire Seljuk army descended from the hills and surrounded all but the rear guard of the Byzantine army. The Byzantine rear guard, made up of Anatolian levies, fled the battlefield as the Seljuks captured Romanus IV.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Manzikert was a decisive Seljuk victory. In the aftermath of the battle, Alp Arslan treated the captive Byzantine emperor with kindness, and both agreed to sign a treaty that gave the Seljuk Empire control of most of Armenia and Anatolia. When news reached Constantinople of the defeat, the exiled John Ducas seized power and declared Michael VII the new Byzantine emperor. Although Romanus was released shortly afterwards and allowed to return home, Andronicus Ducus led an army against him, and during the brief civil war, Romanus was blinded and died of his wounds shortly afterwards. In 1072, Alp Arslan was killed by a prisoner while on a campaign in Persia, but the damage to the Byzantine Empire had been done. As explained by Geoffrey Regan, “The Byzantine Empire lost its recruiting grounds in Anatolia and became too feeble to hold back the Turks. To save themselves the Byzantines were forced to call on the states of Western Europe for military help” (Regan, 2002, p.54). This appeal would lead to the First Crusade of 1095-99 when Western Christendom recaptured Jerusalem and parts of Anatolia from the Seljuks.
Bibliography
Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.
Regan, Geoffrey. Battles That Changed History: Fifty Decisive Battles Spanning Over 2,500 Years of Warfare. London, Andre Deutsch, 2002.
Swanston, Malcolm. “Battle of Manzikert 1071.” The Map Archive. Accessed November 5, 2022. www.themaparchive.com/product/battle-of-manzikert-1071/
Swanston, Malcolm. Mapping History: Battles and Campaigns. Royston, Eagle Editions, 2007.