The Battle of Manzikert

A man was dragged before Sultan Alp Arslan of the Seljuk Turks. The man's name was Romanus IV, the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. The Sultan asked the Emperor, "If I were to become your prisoner, what would you do to me?" The Emperor replied, "I would probably kill you and display your body in the streets of Constantinople." Then, the Sultan said, "The punishment I will give is far more terrifying. I will forgive you and release you."

 

 

1. Background
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages began in earnest. In Western Europe, the Frankish Kingdom rose, in Eastern Europe, the Byzantine Empire thrived, and in the Middle East, Islamic forces emerged. After Emperor Theodosius's death and the division of the Roman Empire into East and West, while the Western Roman Empire fell, the Eastern Roman Empire survived into the Middle Ages. This Eastern Roman Empire came to be known as the Byzantine Empire. Since Emperor Constantine renamed Byzantium (now Istanbul) to Constantinople and made it the capital, the Byzantine Empire acted as a bulwark against the Islamic invasions, protecting the Christian world. Constantinople, along with the Tang Dynasty's Chang'an, was considered one of the largest cities in the world, and the Byzantine Empire was a powerful nation in Europe.

 

2. The Rise of the Seljuk Turks
Meanwhile, in the early 11th century, a seismic shift occurred in the Islamic world. The Seljuk Turks, who emerged from Central Asia, unified the fragmented Islamic world and rose to prominence as a new power. The conflict between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks became inevitable. Just as there is a sharp conflict today between Christianity and Islam, a similar tension existed between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks. In 1064, Sultan Alp Arslan of the Seljuk Turks invaded Armenia, which could be considered a buffer zone between the two nations.

 

3. The Byzantine Empire’s Counterattack
In response, Emperor Romanus IV of the Byzantine Empire launched a counterattack with an army of 60,000. While advancing towards Manzikert, he sent 30,000 soldiers led by Takanaiotes to attack the Helat Fortress. However, Takanaiotes's army was defeated by Alp Arslan's forces. Unaware of this, Emperor Romanus IV continued his march toward Manzikert, and when the battle began, he only had about half of his original army to face Alp Arslan. On August 23, 1071, after easily capturing Manzikert, the Byzantine army went out the next day to forage for supplies and encountered the Seljuk Turkish cavalry. The Byzantine cavalry, while pursuing them, fell into a trap and was annihilated. Additionally, mercenaries from the Uzz tribe serving under the Byzantines defected to the Seljuk Turks. The preliminary skirmishes had begun.

 

4. Deployment of the Armies
On August 26, the Byzantine army attacked the Seljuk Turks with the left wing led by Briennios, the right wing by Theodore Aliaetes, and the center led by Emperor Romanus IV. Additionally, reserves were deployed to prevent encirclement. However, the reserves were commanded by Emperor Romanus IV's rival, Andronicus Doukas. The Seljuk Turks arranged their forces in a crescent-shaped formation about 4 kilometers away, with Alp Arslan in the rear.

 

5. Luring and Betrayal
The Seljuk Turkish archers approached within range and began attacking the Byzantine army, while the central forces of the Seljuks retreated as the left and right wings attacked the Byzantine flanks. By evening, Emperor Romanus IV realized that his rear was unprotected. He ordered a retreat, but Alp Arslan was waiting for this moment. Seeing the Byzantine army retreat, Alp Arslan commanded a full-scale attack. Suddenly, the Seljuk Turkish forces surged forward, and the Byzantine army was caught off guard, collapsing in an instant. This happened because the Byzantine army consisted mostly of mercenaries, and to prevent encirclement in case of an emergency, the reserve forces that were supposed to protect the rear had instead abandoned the battlefield. It was a betrayal by Andronicus Doukas. Only the left wing made an effort to rescue the Emperor, but it was in vain.

 

6. Aftermath of the Battle
After the battle, Romanus IV became a prisoner of Alp Arslan. However, Alp Arslan treated him respectfully and, after signing a peace treaty, sent him back to the Byzantine Empire. In Alp Arslan's judgment, it was more advantageous to have Romanus IV return to the Byzantine Empire to uphold the peace treaty rather than having a new emperor installed. However, contrary to this hope, the returned Emperor was deposed by a rebellion led by Andronicus Doukas, blinded, and exiled, where he eventually died due to complications from his eye injuries.

 

7. The Decline of the Empire
After Romanus IV, Michael VII ascended to the throne but failed to honor the peace treaty with the Seljuk Turks. Following the Battle of Manzikert, the Byzantine Empire fell into chaos, and its defense lines collapsed. The Seljuk Turks, seizing this opportunity, began pushing into the Anatolian region (modern-day Turkey), and the Byzantine Empire could not stop their advance. As a result, the Byzantine Empire lost half of its territory in Anatolia, a major agricultural region, and more than half of its population. The loss of Anatolia was a fatal blow to the Byzantine Empire, which began its decline thereafter. In contrast, the Seljuk Turks, under Alp Arslan's son Malik Shah, expanded their power by conquering Syria, Anatolia, and Palestine, ushering in their golden age.