Results of a Byzantine Victory at Dyrrhachium.

Nikephoros

Banned
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dyrrhachium_(1081)

The Battle of Dyrrhachium was a battle between Robert Guisicard's Normans and Alexios Komnenos's Byzantines.

What are the results of a Byzantine Victory?

"Alexius was undoubtedly a good tactician, but he was badly let down by the indisciplined rush to pursue the beaten enemy wings, a cardinal sin in the Byzantine tactical manuals. He failed to take adequate account of the effectiveness of the Norman heavy cavalry charge, which punched through his lines with little resistance." John Haldon's assessment of the battle.[25]
 
Meh. The Normans would just come back a few decades later, and Alexios and his successor would go on to mishandle the crusades. Maybe they military will be slightly better off and the rather economically important areas of Northern Greece would be a bit richer...but I dont know. Post-Manzikert is hard to turn around.
 

trajen777

Banned
A great victory (destroy the Normans) would have ended the western issures and let him retain perhaps 1/3 of Anatolia. Instead of fighting the west ffrom 1081 - 1090 he could have focused on an eastern war recaptureing additional territory. At this time the Turks were yet to be firmly established and this could have even resulted in a recapture of all of anatolia.

IN addition:
1. The core army - theme / Vargarian / Tagmata would have been whole
2. This core would have left a training force to rebuild from
3. Less relience on mercenaries
4. Less money spent on bribing the west
5. No crusade or a crusade that he would have led (as many crusaders had planned on
6.Considering his two strong sons who followed perhaps most of Justianinas empire rebuilt (pre his conquests)
 
A great victory (destroy the Normans) would have ended the western issures and let him retain perhaps 1/3 of Anatolia. Instead of fighting the west ffrom 1081 - 1090 he could have focused on an eastern war recaptureing additional territory. At this time the Turks were yet to be firmly established and this could have even resulted in a recapture of all of anatolia.

IN addition:
1. The core army - theme / Vargarian / Tagmata would have been whole
2. This core would have left a training force to rebuild from
3. Less relience on mercenaries
4. Less money spent on bribing the west
5. No crusade or a crusade that he would have led (as many crusaders had planned on
6.Considering his two strong sons who followed perhaps most of Justianinas empire rebuilt (pre his conquests)

I agree with this pretty much completely. BUUUUUT 6 seems VERY optimistic. Perhaps a pre Manzikert Empire (ie Macedonian Dynasty) can be regained, but Justinian's Empire post 1071 seems very, very implausible, unless the Romans can somehow totally reinvent themselves and become some kind of Ottoman analogy. Good points about the Thematic army though; this would certainly change a lot.
 

Nikephoros

Banned
A great victory (destroy the Normans) would have ended the western issures and let him retain perhaps 1/3 of Anatolia. Instead of fighting the west ffrom 1081 - 1090 he could have focused on an eastern war recaptureing additional territory. At this time the Turks were yet to be firmly established and this could have even resulted in a recapture of all of anatolia.

IN addition:
1. The core army - theme / Vargarian / Tagmata would have been whole
2. This core would have left a training force to rebuild from
3. Less relience on mercenaries
4. Less money spent on bribing the west
5. No crusade or a crusade that he would have led (as many crusaders had planned on
6.Considering his two strong sons who followed perhaps most of Justianinas empire rebuilt (pre his conquests)

He took the troops out of Anatolia to help cope with the Norman Invasion, so I see no change there.
 
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