Battle of Manzikert 1071

The Byzantine Empire had already been weakened by internal strife and military challenges, while the Seljuk Turks, a nomadic steppe people, were expanding their influence in the Islamic world. Romanos sought to secure the empire’s eastern borders and recover lost territories, particularly in Armenia, which had been overrun by Seljuk raids.

The Battle of Manzikert between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire took place on the 26th of August 1071. It took place near Manzikert (modern-day Malazgirt, Turkey). It was a decisive victory for the Seljuks, led by Sultan Alp Arslan, against the Byzantine forces commanded by Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes. The Seljuks crushed the Byzantine forces, capturing Emperor Romanos IV. According to chroniclers, when the defeated emperor was brought before the sultan, Alp Arslan placed his foot on Romanos’s neck (a symbolic act of submission), then lifted him up and spared his life. Romanos agreed to pay a large ransom and cede some territories, but the terms were relatively lenient compared to the scale of the Byzantine defeat, and after a week in captivity, he was released and allowed to return to Constantinople.

During his week of captivity, the Doukas family seized power in Constantinople and crowned Michael VII Doukas (the son of Constantine X) as emperor. When Romanos returned he tried to raise support and reclaim the throne but was abandoned by many allies. Then in 1072, he was defeated in battle, captured by the Doukas faction, and forced to surrender. Having surrendered Romanos was subjected to blinding, which was a common Byzantine method of permanently removing rivals from power. He was sent into exile to the island of Proti (one of the Princes’ Islands in the Sea of Marmara), where he died later in 1072, likely from infection and mistreatment, about a year after Manzikert.