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    Manzikert 1071: The breaking of Byzantium
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    Manzikert 1071: The breaking of Byzantium
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    Manzikert 1071: The breaking of Byzantium
    Ebook207 pages2 hours

    Manzikert 1071: The breaking of Byzantium

    By David Nicolle and Christa Hook

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    On 26 August 1071 a large Byzantine army under Emperor Romanus IV met the Saljuq Turk forces of Sultan Alp Arslan near the town of Manzikert. The battle ended in a decisive defeat for the Byzantine forces, with the Byzantine emperor captured and much of his fabled Varangian guard killed. This battle is seen as the primary trigger of the Crusades, and as the moment when the power of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire was irreparably broken. The Saljuq victory opened up Anatolia to Turkish-Islamic conquest, which was eventually followed by the establishment of the Ottoman state. Nevertheless the battle itself was the culmination of a Christian Byzantine offensive, intended to strengthen the eastern frontiers of the empire and re-establish Byzantine domination over Armenia and northern Mesopotamia. Turkish Saljuq victory was in no sense inevitable and might, in fact, have come as something of a surprise to those who achieved it. It was not only the battle of Manzikert that had such profound and far-reaching consequences, many of these stemmed from the debilitating Byzantine civil war which followed and was a direct consequence of the defeat.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateAug 20, 2013
    ISBN9781780965055
    Unavailable
    Manzikert 1071: The breaking of Byzantium
    Author

    David Nicolle

    David Nicolle is Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Medieval Studies, Nottingham University. He is the author of numerous books on aspects of medieval military history, including many for Osprey.

    Read more from David Nicolle

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    • 4/5
      Roman history has been among the most influential to the modern world, from supporting the tradition of the rule by law to influencing the Founding Fathers of the United States to the creation of the Catholic Church.

      The Imperial Roman Empire began in 27 BCE when the Senate and People of Rome voted Octavian imperator ("commander") thus beginning the Principate, the first epoch of Roman imperial history usually dated from 27 BCE to 284 CE; they later awarded him the name Augustus, "the venerated".

      But the history of Rome predates Octavian Augustus by at least 600 years, maybe even 700 years if the legends are to be believed. And the Imperial Roman Empire finally collapsed with the death of Constantine XI Palaiologos during the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 CE, when the remaining territories were captured by the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed II. The Imperial Roman Empire lasted nearly for 1,500 years – probably the longest in Ancient History.

      Legend has it that Romulus founded Rome in 753 BCE. Again Legend has it that Seven Kings ruled Rome (eight if we include Titus Tatius – Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius, Tarquinius Superbus – till 509 BCE, when monarchy was abolished the Roman Republic was established. It was this Republic that built up the Roman Empire –having been sacked by Gauls in 390 BCE, fought the Punic Wars including the destruction of Carthage between 264 and 146 BCE. In the first century BCE power struggle broke out between the senators, first between Julius Caesar and Pompey, and finally between Octavian and Mark Antony. Antony was defeated at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC.

      In the late 3rd century, the rise of powerful Barbarian tribes along the borders of the empire and the challenge they posed to defense of far-flung borders and unstable imperial succession led Diocletian (reigned 284 – 305 CE) to divide the administration geographically of the Empire in 286 with a co-Augustus. In 330 CE, Constantine the Great established a second capital in Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople. For most of the period from 286 to 480 CE, there was more than one recognised senior emperor, with the division usually based in geographic terms.

      The fall of the Western Roman Empire is dated either from the de facto date of 476 when Romulus Augustulus was deposed by the Germanic Herulians led by Odoacer or the de jure date of 480, on the death of Julius Nepos, when Eastern Emperor Zeno ended recognition of a separate Western Court. Thereafter, most historians refer to the Eastern Roman Empire as Byzantine Empire.

      Earlier, in 324 CE, Constantine I emerged victorious in a series of civil wars against Emperors Maxentius and Licinius to become sole ruler of both west and east. In 330 CE Constantine built a new capital at Byzantine, which he renamed Constantinople (modern Istanbul) and shifted the administration there, Rome becoming a subsidiary court. It remained the Capital of the Roman Empire for more than a millennium.

      The birth and rise in Islam from 622 CE led to the Roman Empire spending more on defending itself and the Christian faith. In the eleventh century CE, in spite of having ceded areas like Egypt and Syria to the Moslems, and in spite of being regularly raided by nomadic Turks, the Roman Empire was strong and fairly healthy. It was to their advantage that a civil war raged in Islam between the Fatimid and Abasid Caliphates. Alp Arslan was with the Abasid faction and his main aim was to finish off the rival Fatimid Caliphate, but in 1071 CE there occurred a small battle at Manzikert.

      The Battle of Manzikert had far reaching effects on region and on world history, but that was much later. With hindsight a question arises – was this battle necessary at all? Could not Emperor Romanos Diogenes IV and Sultan Alp Arslan have diplomatically sorted out their problems? Possibly yes, but the imperial pride of the Byzantine Emperor and the contempt in which the held the nomadic barbarian Turks, came in the way.

      Final result the Byzantines lost the battle, their Emperor was captured and imprisoned, large ransom and annual tribute had to be paid to the Abasid Caliphate and Alhat, Manzikert and Anatolia ceded to the Turks. The victory gave the Turks more encouragement to expand their realms, which is exactly what happened. The Byzantine power suffered its prestige shattered and gradual decline led to the capture of Constantinople by the Turks – Ottoman Emperor Mehmed II about 400 years later in 1453 CE.

      Western influence in Asia Minor and Middle East gradually vanished and Islamic Caliphate ruling over vast swathes of Asia and Africa and some pockets of Europe became a reality.

      ‘Manzikert 1071 – The Breaking of Byzantium’ is quite informative, eminently readable book. For a lay student of History, like me and probably others, awareness of this historic battle is absent. I don’t recall our history books highlighting this momentous battle that started the decline of the Byzantine Empire. There were of course mentions of constant raids by Turks which weakened the Empire and as the Ottoman power grew, more and more defeats to Byzantine and the ultimate sacking of Constantinople in 1453 – but that there was a starting point 400 years earlier at Manzikert – NO.

      Well written, illustrated with colour plates and situation maps with detailed index, I enjoyed the book and the knowledge it imparted.

      Recommend the book to all students of History, who are interested in Medieval period, growth of Islam and decline of Christianity in Asia Minor.