Crusades · 1071

Battle of Manzikert

The emperor was captured, and Turkish tribes poured into Anatolia. Byzantium's appeal to Europe for help led to the First Crusade.

The site of the battle on the 1190 map. Shaded: Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, Ayyubid Sultanate, 1192, Crusader territory left in 1192.

Key facts

When: 1071
Where: Malazgirt, Turkey
Sides: Seljuk Empire vs Byzantine Empire
Commanders: Alp Arslan vs Romanos IV Diogenes
Result: Decisive Seljuk victory
Type: Crusades
Chapter: 3. The Abbasids, the Crusades and the Mongols

Who led it

Alp Arslanc. 1029 to 1072
The Seljuk sultan who defeated and captured the Byzantine emperor at Manzikert in 1071, then released him for a ransom.

The wider picture: The Crusades and Salahuddin

The Seljuk win at Manzikert in 1071 opened Anatolia to the Turks, and Byzantium asked Europe for help. The First Crusade took Jerusalem in 1099. Zengi, his son Nur al-Din and then Salahuddin rebuilt Muslim unity, and Salahuddin won back Jerusalem in October 1187, three months after Hattin.

See the 1190 map Read chapter 3

More crusades battles

All 9 crusades battles · Battle explorer

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