Battle of Pankaleia

Battle of Pankaleia
Part of Rebellion of Bardas Skleros
Clash between the armies of Skleros and Phokas, miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes
Date 978 or 979 Location Plain of Pankaleia, northeast of Amorium Result Byzantine victory
Belligerents
Byzantine Empire Kingdom of the Iberians	Bardas Skleros
Commanders and leaders
Bardas Phokas the Younger	Bardas Skleros

The Battle of Pankaleia was fought in 978 or 979 between the army loyal to the Byzantine emperor Basil II, commanded by Bardas Phokas the Younger, and the forces of the rebel general Bardas Skleros, which ultimately led to the defeat and exile of the latter. Sources are unclear in the succession and location of the events, so that while earlier scholars followed John Skylitzes in placing the Battle of Pankaleia in March 979 as the decisive victory for loyalist forces, today, following Leo the Deacon's account, it is placed in June 978 and regarded as a defeat for Phokas.