Battle of Myriokephalon

Battle of Myriokephalon
Part of the Byzantine–Seljuq Wars

This image by Gustave Doré shows the Turkish ambush at the pass of Myriokephalon.
Date17 September 1176
Location
Pass of Tzivritze, near the fortress of Myriokephalon (not presently identified), west of Konya, Anatolia
Result
  • Seljuk victory
  • Military balance maintained[1]
Belligerents
Byzantine Empire
Hungary
Principality of Antioch
Grand Principality of Serbia		 Sultanate of Rum
Commanders and leaders
 Kilij Arslan II
Strength
25,000–40,000[2][3] Unknown (likely smaller)
Casualties and losses
Approx. 1⁄4 of the army[4] or half of those troops who were directly attacked (left and right wings only),[5]
possibly heavier[6][7]		 Unknown

The Battle of Myriokephalon (also known as the Battle of Myriocephalum, Greek: Μάχη του Μυριοκέφαλου, Turkish: Miryokefalon Savaşı or Düzbel Muharebesi) was a battle between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks in the mountains west of Iconium (Konya) in southwestern Turkey on 17 September 1176. The battle was a strategic reverse for the Byzantine forces, who were ambushed when moving through a mountain pass.

In 1161, the Seljuk Sultan of Rum Kilij Arslan II and Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos concluded a peace agreement. Manuel wanted to achieve peace for his Anatolian provinces with the help of this treaty. Kilij Arslan needed to eliminate internal rivals and gather his strength. After the death of Nureddin Zangi in 1174, the Sultan conquered the Danishmend emirates and expelled his brother Shahinshah, the ruler of Ankara. The emirs fled to Manuel, who demanded the surrender of the captured territories of the Danishmendids to him, which the Sultan was obliged to do under the treaty. However, Kilij Arslan ignored Manuel's request.

In 1176, Manuel I Komnenos gathered a large army and set out on a campaign against Konya. The Seljuks, under the command of Kilij Arslan II, organised an ambush at the Tzivritze Pass and defeated the Byzantine Army. According to the Byzantine historian Niketas Choniates, in the vicinity of the pass there were the ruins of the fortress named Myriokephalon, which gave the name to the battle. The exact location of the battle is the subject of debate among researchers.

The battle was to be the final, unsuccessful effort by the Byzantines to recover the interior of Anatolia from the Seljuk Turks.

  1. ^ The battle was decisive in that it saved the Seljuk Sultanate but the military balance between the two belligerents was not greatly affected by its outcome. The bulk of Byzantine Asia Minor was retained for more than a century after the battle. Magdalino 1993, p. 99. "Whatever he [Manuel] said in the moment of defeat, it was not a disaster on the scale of Manzikert… Even Choniates admits that the frontier in Asia Minor did not collapse."
  2. ^ Haldon 2001, p. 198.
  3. ^ Birkenmeier, p. 180.
  4. ^ Hendy 1985, p. 128.
  5. ^ Birkenmeier 2002, p. 131.
  6. ^ Magdalino 1993, p. 98. "The defeat which it suffered in the narrows of Tzibritze, a day's march from Konya, near the ruined fort of Myriokephalon, was correspondingly humiliating. The Turks made great slaughter, took great quantity of booty, and came close to capturing the Emperor himself who gratefully accepted the sultan's offer of a truce in return of demolishing Dorylaion and Sublaion."
  7. ^ Bradbury 2004, p. 176. "With Manuel were Hungarian allies and his brother-in-law Baldwin of Antioch. Baldwin charged but was killed. The Byzantines suffered heavy losses. Kilij Arslan offered terms and the Byzantines were allowed to withdraw."