Most Decisive Battle of the Middle Ages 500-1500

[hasdrubal barca]

Most Decisive Battle of the Middle Ages 500-1500

What was the most decisive battle of the Middle Ages? By decisive I mean a significant victory on the battlefield that also led to strategic results. My pick is the Battle of Didgori, it was a bloodbath and saved Georgia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Didgori

 

[Deleted member 93645]

The Battle of Yarmouk, because it led to the Roman Empire losing the Levant and Africa permanently.

 

[Wendell]

Pelekanon. It effectively cemented the rise of the Ottomans.

 

[aegis03florin]

Hasting? Mazinkert. Constantinople's many sieges... several Mongol victories and one or two defeats, etc.
I think that we cannot have one single most decisive batle but many, many decisive ones. The one wich changed the most the global history?
The successful escape to Medina and maybe the one between Gengis khan and Jamuka

 

[frustrated progressive]

The Battle of Badr.

 

[frustrated progressive]

And Second Manzikert, of course!

 

[BiteNibbleChomp]

My vote goes to Lindisfarne, Jun 8 793 - the first Viking raid. Because of the relative lack of real opposition, the Vikings decided they could do whatever they wanted, and it led to the creation of England and Russia as we know them.

Not a true battle, but certainly an important fight

- BNC

 

[carlton_bach]

I would vote for the 1197 Jin dynasty campaign against the Tatars. At its end, a warlord named Temujin had emerged as the future leader of the Mongol tribes. Without that victory, he would most likely have remained a minor noble for the rest of his life.

 

[Ninjasvswarriors]

Battle of Talas, which cemented the Western reach of Chinese influence and Eastern reach of Islamic Control

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

The Battle of Badr.

You do know that many battles where fought after that and even lost to Khalid ibn Walid?

 

[Avrorrange]

Battle of Talas, which cemented the Western reach of Chinese influence and Eastern reach of Islamic Control

Fairly insignificant.If the Anshi Rebellion didn't break out,there might be renewed Chinese attempts to move west.

 

[DAv]

Probably the Battle of Red Cliff counts, signifying the division of China and the following various periods of upheaval that would follow.

 

[Avrorrange]

Probably the Battle of Red Cliff counts, signifying the division of China and the following various periods of upheaval that would follow.

That happened in the early 200s.

 

[Behemoth]

There are a few that I can think of but I think that I'll spread them out. Battle of Morgarten, 1315.

 

[Derek Pullem]

Bit of a odd one but Ain Jalut 1260.

If the Mongols had overrun Egypt then Islam may have been fatally wounded as a result. The Crusaders may have remained as enclaves in Palestine too until the decline of the hypothetical Mongol successor states.

 

[Tom Colton]

Battle of Tours, of cou-*gets pelted by modern historians*

 

[Youngmarshall]

The middle ages in afroeurasia were defined by the rise of islam. No disrespect to the mongols but muhammed was far more influencial than ghenghis.

The most decisive battles in terms of influencing how the middle ages went was any of the early battles in the muslim conquests where the muslims could have been stopped and weren't. Badr, yarmouk, etc.

However the post 1500 world was much more defined by the existence of the first global empires, portugal, spain, britain, france, netherlands, ottomans, ussr, usa.

If you want to pick battles like hastings, lindisfarne or Pelekanon, because of their role in forming the global empires that would define the post middle age world than how about 'Las Navas de Toluna' for it's role in forming christian Iberia?

 

[hasdrubal barca]

There are a few that I can think of but I think that I'll spread them out. Battle of Morgarten, 1315.

Good and interesting choice. I'd like to also add Battle of Legnano.

 

[Draeger]

Grünwald, led to P-L hegemony replacing Teutonic primacy in the Baltic/Eastern Europe. Had it gone the other way, PLC likely is a nonstarter, and Baltic/Eastern Europe looks a lot more German...

 

[avernite]

I'd say the period is too long to pick one. Sure, the battles of the Islamic conquest (and its limits) were decisive, and by virtue of being ancient affected all the others... but by 1500 that hardly mattered as much as more recent battles defining the rise and fall of the Italian merchant republics and the subsequent rise of the Atlantic empires (which, no offense to the Ottomans, Mughals or Chinese, were ridiculously important by knitting a whole New World together with Eurasiafrica).

But, looking at trends, I'd be tempted to go with a battle that defined both the limits of Islam, the subsequent few centuries of Merchant Republics, knocked on into the Roman-Turkish conflicts, and go with the capture of Jerusalem in the first crusade.

While the Crusader Kingdoms did not truly last, the success of the first crusade in taking Jerusalem all but guaranteed follow-up crusades, including the 4th that knocked over the Byzantines quite hard. In addition it hacked out a niche for the Italian merchants in the Levant, and led to no end of their meddling (and acquisition of riches to fund the Atlantic expeditions). Finally, it also upped the ante of Christian-Muslim hostility, which undoubtedly added to the Portuguese desire to bypass the Muslims during their expeditions along the African coast.

Of course it means the battles that inspired the first crusade also count, as do the followups, so it gets messy.