Why would the Turks withdraw? Do they suffer heavy losses during raids? There needs to be a reason. Arslan was pretty determined on conquest of Byzantine lands, in the name of both his people and his faith.
Why would the Turks withdraw? Do they suffer heavy losses during raids? There needs to be a reason. Arslan was pretty determined on conquest of Byzantine lands, in the name of both his people and his faith.
Why would the Turks withdraw? Do they suffer heavy losses during raids? There needs to be a reason. Arslan was pretty determined on conquest of Byzantine lands, in the name of both his people and his faith.
Where are you getting your info on that? Arslan definitely focused on gaining Egypt, and was averse to fighting the Romans in a pitched battle right up until Manzikert.
Indeed, the Romans and the Seljuks had signed a peace treaty which the Romans actually betrayed by attacking the Turks. If the Empire had not broken the treaty and deliberately provoked this battle, it would not have happened.
Of course, getting rid of this single battle does not mean that the problem is suddenly solved. Avoiding the disaster of Manzikert can only be a good thing for the Romans, but Romanos still faces significant opposition at home and the Turks will still attempt to move into the wealthy Anatolian provinces. These problems must still be resolved one way or the other.
Well Arslan offered peace, nothing was agreed upon. Actually making peace with the Turks without a battle would have been political suicide.
I'm not sure how much the defeat at Manzikert flavoured Turkish perception beyond humbling the Romans but it wasn't till Arslan died that Anatolia fell to the Turks, possibly because he was holding the reins on their movement, not disallowing them completely but not letting the gates flow freely.
Didn't the Romans already win some battles against the Turks previously? It's not like Manzikert was their first encounter with the Seljuks. Though I suppose Romanos wanted a decisive victory that would actually completely rout the Turks from their lands rather than some wishy-washy negotiated ceasefire which would likely just continue to result in regular raids..
the Turks were a band of murderous barbarians
That's essentially what all nomads do I suppose.Well that's a fair and balanced anaylsis.
Well that's a fair and balanced anaylsis.