Thread by @nonregemesse

The 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐭 was a defeat which plunged the Roman Empire into a civil war and brought it down to depths of despair never known before!

A tale of disaster and betrayal…

[Thread]🧵

At the beginning of the 11th Century, the Roman Empire was at the height of its medieval power thanks to the indomitable spirit and military capability of Basil II Boulgaroktónos who extended the empire’s borders on all fronts.

However, the empire began to face new threats in Italy and on its Balkan borders around the middle of the century under Emperor Constantine IX which coincided with the coming of the Seljuk Turks who broke into the empire under Alp Arslan when they invaded Iberia in the 1060s!

𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐬

Romanos Diogenes, a renowned general, took power in 1068 after the death of Constantine X who ruled that his own son should succeed him. Romanos’ succession enraged the Doukas family whose anger would have dire consequences for the new emperor.

By 1068 much of Cappadocia had been overrun by the Turks, culminating in the sack of Ceasarea, but Romanos had resolved to turn them back and restore order to the empire.

He led a successful campaign in 1068 and 1069 chasing the Turks from one place to another over Anatolia

Affairs elsewhere, including Norman advances in Italy and their imminent capture of Bari, took his attention from the Turks in 1070 but in 1071 he was ready to set out against them once again.

The Roman Army was in a sorry state by the time Romanos became emperor and had a serious discipline problem. It took considerable effort to deal with mutineering mercenaries. His own actions, including bringing a large baggage train on campaign also did not endear him to the men

Romanos thought Alp Arslan was much farther away then he was and assumed he could quickly capture Manzikert. However, Alp Arslan was close by and knew exactly where the Romans were.

Romanos made the fatal decision to split his forces and send half to retake the fort at Khliat.

What happened to those men is not known for sure. However it is thought that either Alp Arslan swept down and destroyed them or that their commander Tarchaneiotes led them away at the sight of the mighty army mustered by Alp Arslan.

With half his army gone, Romanos pushed on and captured Manzikert, oblivious to the doom that awaited him.

The next day scouts reported that the Turks had retreated and Romanos sent a small force of cavalry toward them, still ignorant of the size of the Turkic army.

The men he sent were routed and Romanos drew up his army and sent his left wing forward which was surrounded and forced to retreat. The Turks then hid in the hills that night, making another attack impossible.

The next day his Turkic mercenaries defected.

Peace envoys were sent to Romanos with terms that he rejected in favour of settling the problem of the Turkic presence in the Empire for good.

He sent out scouts to recall Tarchaneiotes and the rest of his army. No word came back, and Romanos advanced again without them.

He made the grave error of leaving the rear of his army under the command of Andronikos Doukas, a member of the Doukas family, who still resented the Romanos’ succession.

The Turkic horse archers advanced in a crescent formation with the centre drawing back farther to draw in the Romans whose flanked were now susceptible to arrow fire while the Turks simply disengaged whenever the Romans attempted to force them to stand and fight.

When Romanos ordered his forces to withdraw, Andronikos Doukas betrayed his emperor and refused to cover the withdrawal and instead marched the rear of the army back to the camp near Manzikert.

The Turks exploited the confusion and stormed the Roman lines, routing the right wing.

The left wing of the army under Nikephoros Bryennios held out for longer but was eventually routed.

All that remained was the emperor commanding the centre of the army, including the famously steadfast Varangian guard

In his last stand, Romanos is recorded to have ‘launched himself into the thick of the battle. He knocked down several very valiant fighters and caused disarray in their ranks!’

They fought valiantly, refusing to retreat until they were eventually surrounded. Romanos was wounded and taken prisoner and the professional core of the army was destroyed.

The battle was over, but the disaster was just beginning to unfold.

When Romanos was brought before Alp Arslan it is said that he refused to believe a man in such a state could be the emperor.

He placed his boot on his neck and forced him to kiss the ground. Then he offered the previously rejected peace terms and released the forlorn emperor.

The Doukas family seized upon the defeat of Romanos. Andronikos had marched from Manzikert to Constantinople to launch a coup in favour of his cousin, now hailed as Emperor Michael VII.

The true disaster of Manzikert was not the defeat itself but the war with resulted from it.

Romanos raised an army to defend his throne but was defeated by Andronikos Doukas and retreated to the fortress of Adana. From there, knowing his cause was lost, he sent a large shipment of gold to Alp Arslan in attempt to save the peace he had agreed and prevent further war.

He surrendered after Doukas promised him that he could resign to a monastery unharmed.

But Doukas lied.

Romanos was seized and blinded.

Attaleiates wrote ‘when he arose, his eyes were drenched with blood, a pathetic and pitiable sight that made everyone who saw it cry uncontrollably’. He was sent into exile without much needed medical attention.

Before dying from an infection caused by the poorly carried out blinding, Romanos received one last insult.

A letter arrived from Michael Psellos, a courtier and supporter of the Doukas faction.

In the letter he congratulated Romanos on the loss of his eyes.

The fallout from the betrayal of Romanos Diogenes and the ensuing war gave the Turks free reign in Anatolia which they utilised to conquer it almost entirely.

The heartland of the empire was gone.

For the time being the empire was reduced to a mere Balkan state.