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Byzantine–Seljuk Wars
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Date 1048 to 1308 (End of Sultanate of Rum)
Location Asia Minor
Result Many territories lost to the Seljuk dynasty; Byzantine-Ottoman wars
Territorial
changes Vast amounts of Anatolia won permanently by the Seljuk Turks
Belligerents
Byzantine Empire 
Crusader States
Kingdom of Hungary
Seljuq Turks
Strength
Potential to raise 100,000 c. 1071
25,000 - 50,000 Field troops in 1140. Unknown
The Byzantine–Seljuk Wars were a series of decisive battles that shifted the balance of power in Asia Minor and Syria from the Byzantine Empire to the Seljuk Turks. Riding from the steppes of Central Asia, the Seljuk Turks replicated tactics practiced by the Huns hundreds of years earlier against a similar Roman opponent but now combining it with new-found Islamic zeal; in many ways, the Seljuk Turks resumed the conquests of the Muslims in the Byzantine-Arab Wars initiated by the Rashidun, Umayyad and Abassid Caliphate in the Levant, North Africa and Asia Minor.
Today, the Battle of Manzikert is widely seen as the moment when the Byzantines lost the war against the Turks; however the Byzantine military was of questionable quality before 1071 with regular Turkish incursions overrunning the failing theme system. Even after Manzikert, Byzantine rule over Asia Minor did not end immediately, nor were any heavy concessions levied by the Turks on their opponents — it took another 20 years before the Turks were in control of the entire Anatolian peninsula and not for long either.
During the course of the war, the Seljuk Turks and their allies attacked the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt, capturing Jerusalem and catalyzing the call for the First Crusade. Crusader assistance to Byzantium was mixed with treachery and looting, although substantial gains were made in the First Crusade. Within a hundred years of Manzikert, the Byzantines had (with Crusader assistance) successfully driven back the Turks from the coasts of Asia Minor and extended their influence right down to Palestine and even Egypt. Later, the Byzantines were unable to extract any more assistance, and the Fourth Crusade even led to the sack of Constantinople. Before the conflict petered out, the Seljuks managed to take more territory from the weakened Empire of Nicaea until the Sultanate itself was taken over by the Mongols, leading to the rise of the ghazis and the conclusive Byzantine-Ottoman wars.
Origins
The wars' distant origins lay in the formation of the Byzantine Empire from the collapsing Roman Empire in the 4th century AD. Prior to the formation of the Byzantine realm in the 3rd century AD, the Roman Empire faced a severe military and political crisis; political assassinations and dangerous campaigning led to 32 Emperors seizing and losing power within 50 years of Roman history.[1][unreliable source?] Matters were made worse with an economic and demographic problem.The population of the Roman Empire began to fall in the 4th century AD due to a lack of conquest leading to a lack of slaves,[2] a vital and significant group of people in the Empire. Reforms by Emperors like Constantine I and Theodosius I prolonged the Roman Empire but nonetheless the Empire split into Eastern and Western Halves in 395 AD.[3] The Western Half (Western Roman Empire) was plagued by barbarian invasions, collapsing in 476 AD whilst the Eastern Half survived and began to undergo Hellenization[4][unreliable source?] transforming into what historians label today as the Byzantine Empire. Unlike the Western Half of the Roman Empire, the Eastern Half experienced fewer barbarian invasions although encounters with the Huns and Persians kept the Byzantines busy enough from making any serious recovery attempts in the West.
In the 7th and 8th centuries, the Byzantines experienced several co-ordinated Arab invasions losing several vital provinces, such as Egypt and the Levant. A Byzantine resurgence under the Macedonian Dynasty allowed the Byzantines to reconquer parts of Syria and Mesopotamia; in particular were the efforts of Basil II who from the late 10th century to early 11th century transformed the Empire into the most powerful state in the Medieval World.[5]
Despite this, the Byzantines were far from safe. With the death of Basil II came a series of Emperors who failed to secure the Empire against external threats. The biggest threat to the Empire since the Arab invasions were the Turks. The Turks were much like the Byzantines former enemies, the Huns. Combining their excellent riding skills with Islamic zeal, the Turks who converted to Islam in the 7th and later 8th centuries[6] were to become a formidable enemy to a Christian state in decline.
As the Byzantines were making headway against the Arabs in the 10th century, Persia was being ruled by the Ghaznevids, another Turkic people. The Migration of Seljuk Turks into Persia in the 10th century led to the Ghaznevids being overthrown. There they settled and adopted Persian language and customs.[7] The Seljuks established a powerful domain and captured Baghdad in 1055 from the Abassid Caliphate. The Abassid Caliphate henceforth became a mere figurehead in the Islamic World. The Seljuk Turks, spurred on by their previous success, now launched an attack on the Levant and against Fatimid Egypt, which lost Jerusalem in 1071.[8][unreliable source?]
Encounters between the Seljuk Turks and the Byzantines did not occur until after the reign of Basil II. However, the outcome of another war, the Byzantine-Georgian wars was in some ways influenced by the incursions of the Seljuk Turks into Georgia,[9][unreliable source?] so it is unlikely that they were unheard of.
When the Seljuk Turks did encounter the Byzantines, they had chosen a good time to attack; Byzantium was faced with weak rule, Norman conquests[10][unreliable source?] and the schism whilst the Abassid Caliphate had recently been seriously weakened with its wars against the Fatimid dynasty.[11]
Initial Conflicts: 1064-1071
See also: Battle of Manzikert
Ever since the early 11th century, the Seljuk Turks from central Asia had been expanding westward,[12][unreliable source?] defeating various Arab factions and occupying the Abassid caliphate's power base in Baghdad.[13] At the same time, the Byzantine empire was making a few gains in Edessa and Syria. In 1067 the Seljuk Turks invaded Asia Minor attacking Caesarea and in 1069 Iconium.[14] A Byzantine counter attack in 1069 drove the Seljuk Turks back from these lands.[15] Further offensives by the Byzantine army drove the Turks back across the Euphrates.
Despite this, the Seljuk Turks continued their incursions into Asia Minor, capturing Manzikert. The Byzantine Emperor Romanus Diogenes led an army in an attempt to score a decisive blow against the Seljuks and add some military justification to his rule (which had seen the loss of southern Italy to Norman conquests). During the march, Alp Arslan, the leader of the Seljuk Turks withdrew from Manzikert. His tactical withdrawal allowed his army to ambush the Byzantines, reclaiming Manzikert shortly after.[16] The victory itself led to few gains at the time for the Seljuk Turks, but the civil chaos that resulted in the Byzantine Empire allowed the Seljuk's and various other Turkic allies to swarm into Asia Minor.
Turkic Conquests: 1071-1096
