The Battle of Manzikert on August 26, 1071 is widely regarded as one of the most significant turning points in medieval history, frequently presented as the culmination of a Turco-Islamic assault upon the Byzantine bulwark of a Christian world struggling for survival. Emperor Romanus IV's campaigns between 1068 and 1071 do, in many ways, represent the empire's fightback against an enemy that for decades had penetrated deep into Asia Minor, its heartland and strategic bulwark. Yet Manzikert was not a disaster. This book examines the geopolitical background and the origins of the campaign that led to the battle, the main protagonists, and their strategies and battle tactics. It also evaluates the primary sources and the enduring legacy of the battle, for both the Greek and Turkish historiography of the twentieth century.

Theotokis Georgios :

Georgios Theotokis is a historian specializing in the military history of the eastern Mediterranean in late antiquity and the Middle Ages. He has published numerous articles and monographs on the history of conflict and warfare in Europe and the Mediterranean in the medieval and early modern periods.

List of Maps and Images

Introduction

Chapter 1. Christian and Muslim Sources for the Battle of Manzikert: Making Sense of the Professional and Cultural Milieu

Chapter 2. Christian and Muslim Sources for the Battle of Manzikert: Making Sense of the "Battle-Piece"

Chapter 3. Christian and Muslim Sources for the Battle of Manzikert: Making Sense of Numbers and Local Topography

Chapter 4. The Geopolitical and Military Background to the Battle of Manzikert

Chapter 5. The Prelude to the Battle of Manzikert

Chapter 6. The Battle of Manzikert

Chapter 7. The Aftermath of the Battle of Manzikert

Conclusions

Bibliography