OOC: First of all, I'm going to say hi. Finally joined after being a longtime lurker.
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The year is 1071. Emperor Romanus Diogenes managed to renew a peace treaty with Alp Arslan, the leader of the Seljuk Turks. The sultan eagerly accepted to this treaty as he has no quarrel with the Romans, the ascendant Christian power at the time. Knowing that Arslan would be busy sacking Fatimid cities, however, Romanus used the treaty to distract Arslan and gather a large army to attempt to recover Manzikert.
The motley army commanded by Romanus is a pale shadow compared to the forces at the time of the Bulgar-Slayer. Years of neglect, incompetence, and decadence by Basil II's successors ensured that what Romanus all has were ill-disciplined, disorganized and uncoordinated men; in other words, not reliable.
Romanus ordered his general Joseph Tarchaneiotes to take some of the Roman troops and Varangians and accompany the Pechenegs and Franks to Khliat, while Romanus and the rest of the army marched to Manzikert. This split the forces in half, each taking about 20,000 men. It is unknown what happened to the army sent off with Joseph Tarchaneiotes—according to Islamic sources, Alp Arslan smashed this army; however Roman sources remain quiet of any such encounter, whilst Attaleiates suggests that Tarchaneiotes fled at the sight of the Seljuk Sultan—an unlikely event considering the reputation Tarchaneiotes. Either way, Romanus' army was reduced to less than half his planned 40,000 to 70,000 men.
The emperor pressed on with the march and captured the fortress on August 23. The next day some foraging parties under Nicephorus Bryennius discovered the Seljuk army and were forced to retreat back to Manzikert. They didn't know that Arslan and a 30,000-strong army is there all this time.
The Armenian general Basilaces was sent out with some cavalry, as Romanus did not believe this was Arslan's full army; the cavalry was destroyed and Basilaces taken prisoner. Romanus drew up his troops into formation and sent the left wing out under Bryennius, who was almost surrounded by the quickly approaching Turks and was forced to retreat once more. The Seljuk forces hid among the nearby hills for the night, making it nearly impossible for Romanus to send a counterattack.
On August 25, some of Romanos' Turkic mercenaries came into contact with their Seljuk kin and deserted. Romanus then rejected a Seljuk peace embassy as he wanted to settle the eastern question and the Turkic persistent incursions and settlements with a decisive military victory and understood that raising another army would be both difficult and expensive. The Emperor attempted to recall Tarchaneiotes, who was no longer in the area. There were no engagements that day, but on August 26 the Roman army gathered itself into a proper battle formation and began to march on the Turkish positions, with the left wing under Bryennius, the right wing under Theodore Alyates, and the center under the emperor.
At that moment, when a Turkish soldier approached to the sultan: "My Sultan, the enemy army is approaching"
"Then we are also approaching them," was the sultan's reply
Andronicus Ducas led the reserve forces in the rear—a foolish mistake, considering the loyalties of the Ducids. The Seljuks were organized into a crescent formation about four kilometers away. Seljuk archers attacked the Romans as they drew closer; the center of their crescent continually moved backwards while the wings moved to surround the Roman troops.
The Romans held off the arrow attacks and captured Arslan's camp by the end of the afternoon. However, the right and left wings, where the arrows did most of their damage, almost broke up when individual units tried to force the Seljuks into a pitched battle; the Seljuk cavalry simply disengaged when challenged. With the Seljuks avoiding battle, Romanus was forced to order a withdrawal by the time night fell. However, the right wing misunderstood the order, and Ducas, as an enemy of Romanus, deliberately ignored the emperor and marched back to the camp outside Manzikert, rather than covering the emperor's retreat. With the Romans thoroughly confused, the Seljuks seized their opportunity and attacked. The Romans right wing was almost immediately routed, thinking they were betrayed either by the Armenians or the army's Turkish auxiliaries. In fact the Armenians were the first to flee and they all managed to get away, while by contrast the Turkish auxiliaries remained loyal to the end. The left wing under Bryennius held out a little longer, but was also soon routed. The remnants of the Roman centre, including the Emperor and the Varangian Guard, were encircled by the Seljuks. Romanus was injured, and taken prisoner by the Seljuks. The survivors were the many who fled the field and were pursued throughout the night, but not beyond that; by dawn, the professional core of the Romans army had been destroyed whilst many of the peasant troops and levies who had been under the command of Andronicus had fled.
The capture of the emperor is just the start of the Roman's woes. In a short span of time, the result of the perseverance of so many past emperors came to naught. There is no Heraclius to pull another miracle
Romania, 1072
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Rout at Manzikert, or The Roman's Bane
The year is 1071. Emperor Romanus Diogenes managed to renew a peace treaty with Alp Arslan, the leader of the Seljuk Turks. The sultan eagerly accepted to this treaty as he has no quarrel with the Romans, the ascendant Christian power at the time. Knowing that Arslan would be busy sacking Fatimid cities, however, Romanus used the treaty to distract Arslan and gather a large army to attempt to recover Manzikert.
The motley army commanded by Romanus is a pale shadow compared to the forces at the time of the Bulgar-Slayer. Years of neglect, incompetence, and decadence by Basil II's successors ensured that what Romanus all has were ill-disciplined, disorganized and uncoordinated men; in other words, not reliable.
Romanus ordered his general Joseph Tarchaneiotes to take some of the Roman troops and Varangians and accompany the Pechenegs and Franks to Khliat, while Romanus and the rest of the army marched to Manzikert. This split the forces in half, each taking about 20,000 men. It is unknown what happened to the army sent off with Joseph Tarchaneiotes—according to Islamic sources, Alp Arslan smashed this army; however Roman sources remain quiet of any such encounter, whilst Attaleiates suggests that Tarchaneiotes fled at the sight of the Seljuk Sultan—an unlikely event considering the reputation Tarchaneiotes. Either way, Romanus' army was reduced to less than half his planned 40,000 to 70,000 men.
The emperor pressed on with the march and captured the fortress on August 23. The next day some foraging parties under Nicephorus Bryennius discovered the Seljuk army and were forced to retreat back to Manzikert. They didn't know that Arslan and a 30,000-strong army is there all this time.
The Armenian general Basilaces was sent out with some cavalry, as Romanus did not believe this was Arslan's full army; the cavalry was destroyed and Basilaces taken prisoner. Romanus drew up his troops into formation and sent the left wing out under Bryennius, who was almost surrounded by the quickly approaching Turks and was forced to retreat once more. The Seljuk forces hid among the nearby hills for the night, making it nearly impossible for Romanus to send a counterattack.
On August 25, some of Romanos' Turkic mercenaries came into contact with their Seljuk kin and deserted. Romanus then rejected a Seljuk peace embassy as he wanted to settle the eastern question and the Turkic persistent incursions and settlements with a decisive military victory and understood that raising another army would be both difficult and expensive. The Emperor attempted to recall Tarchaneiotes, who was no longer in the area. There were no engagements that day, but on August 26 the Roman army gathered itself into a proper battle formation and began to march on the Turkish positions, with the left wing under Bryennius, the right wing under Theodore Alyates, and the center under the emperor.
At that moment, when a Turkish soldier approached to the sultan: "My Sultan, the enemy army is approaching"
"Then we are also approaching them," was the sultan's reply
Andronicus Ducas led the reserve forces in the rear—a foolish mistake, considering the loyalties of the Ducids. The Seljuks were organized into a crescent formation about four kilometers away. Seljuk archers attacked the Romans as they drew closer; the center of their crescent continually moved backwards while the wings moved to surround the Roman troops.
The Romans held off the arrow attacks and captured Arslan's camp by the end of the afternoon. However, the right and left wings, where the arrows did most of their damage, almost broke up when individual units tried to force the Seljuks into a pitched battle; the Seljuk cavalry simply disengaged when challenged. With the Seljuks avoiding battle, Romanus was forced to order a withdrawal by the time night fell. However, the right wing misunderstood the order, and Ducas, as an enemy of Romanus, deliberately ignored the emperor and marched back to the camp outside Manzikert, rather than covering the emperor's retreat. With the Romans thoroughly confused, the Seljuks seized their opportunity and attacked. The Romans right wing was almost immediately routed, thinking they were betrayed either by the Armenians or the army's Turkish auxiliaries. In fact the Armenians were the first to flee and they all managed to get away, while by contrast the Turkish auxiliaries remained loyal to the end. The left wing under Bryennius held out a little longer, but was also soon routed. The remnants of the Roman centre, including the Emperor and the Varangian Guard, were encircled by the Seljuks. Romanus was injured, and taken prisoner by the Seljuks. The survivors were the many who fled the field and were pursued throughout the night, but not beyond that; by dawn, the professional core of the Romans army had been destroyed whilst many of the peasant troops and levies who had been under the command of Andronicus had fled.
The capture of the emperor is just the start of the Roman's woes. In a short span of time, the result of the perseverance of so many past emperors came to naught. There is no Heraclius to pull another miracle
Romania, 1072