The Seljuqs and Byzantium
Dhu'l Qa'da 463/ August 1071 The Battle of Malazkirt (Manzikert)
The
Seljuqs
advanced westward from Khorasan, gradually gaining control of
the Caspian littoral and northern Iran, and driving the
ever retreating
Buyids
(or Buwayhids),
before them, until in 1055 they
captured the caliphal capital,
Baghdad.
The caliph al-Qa'im initially welcomed them as deliverers and both gave
Tughrul Beg the title Sultan, and made him
military commander of the city. The Seljuq impulse towards the west did
not subside, and the nomadic groups of Turkomen who were the core of
the Seljuq military started
moving into Syria and Anatolia. Anatolia was then held by the weakening
Byzantine Empire. In August 1071 this push culminated in the
Battle of Malazkirt
(Armenian
Manzikert
, originally Manavazakert), near the shores of lake Van. The Seljuq
army was lead by Sultan Alp Arslan
who had succeeded his uncle
Tughrul Beg
as the Sultan in 1063. At the head of
the Byzantine forces was Emperor Romanus Diogenes I.
The Byzantines was more numerous, yet less homogenous than the Seljuk Army,
as mercenaries of many nations were enlisted under
Emperor Diogenes' command. This disunited army gave way to the quick and
mobile Seljuq cavalry. Romanus I was taken prisoner, but was
later released in return for a ransom. This battle was a turning
point in both Byzantine and Seljuk history as it diminished the Byzantine
military might, and opened up Asia minor to the
Seljuq conquest.
cf.
Brittanica Online "Manzikert, Battle of"and embedded articles.
