The Battle of Manzikurt, Aug.26, 1071

As Islam spread East, various Mongol/Hun/Turk barbarians from central Asia gave up their superstitious paganism for Monotheistic Mohammedanism. These fervent and fierce converts who became the muscle of the orthodox caliph in Bagdad as well as the rulers in Iran/Persia included Seljik the Turk. His great-grandson, Alp Arslan became ruler of the Seljik Turks in 1063, nine years after the formal split between Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics in 1054, and three years before the Norman conquest of England by William in 1066.

Alp Arslan led many attacks on the Byzantine Empire, ruled then by Romanus Diogenes amidst the political intrigue that "was mixed up with an 'intellectual' disease comparable to the movement called today [1930s] in Europe by the barbaric names of 'Pacifism' and 'Anti-Militarism.'"[1] Until this time, Byzantium stood well-rooted, a bastion of civilization and the Christian world. Unlike the Arab Mohammedans who controlled Jerusalem but deferred to the Christian West on matters of administration of Christian places in the Holy Land, the Seljik Turks brought only destruction.

Romanus Diogenes brought out about 60,000 men, including heavy cavalry against 100,000 dimunitive, horseback riding, arrow shooting Seljik Turks. Military strategy dictates that the well-disciplined coherent forces (the Greeks) will miss their highly mobile, loosely organized foes (the Turks) who can attack and retreat and regroup at will, UNLESS the foe can be pinned against some terrain where their retreat is cut off. This mistake of Romanus Diogenes was compounded by the traitorous and envious acts of his reserve commanders, who abandoned the field. A general massacre of Romanus' army ensued during the night. The defeat at Manzikurt left the Byzantine Empire open to invasion by the Turks. The Seljuk Turks in Jerusalem from 1071-1096 leave a legacy of bullying and worse of Christian pilgrims, far worse then the previous Arab host, as well as desecration of Christian places.

This victory and brutal behavior by the Seljuk Turks set the stage for the First Crusade - the one you never hear about in the Movies or in History Class. The Just One. Dieux le volt!


[1] The Crusades by Hilaire Belloc, TAN books, (c)1937, p.13