Battle between Nicaea Empire and Seljuk Sultanate
The
Battle of Antioch on the Meander
(also known as the
Battle of Ala?ehir
[5]
) was a military engagement near
Antioch-on-the-Meander
between the forces of the
Empire of Nicaea
and the
Seljuk Sultanate of Rum
. The Turkish defeat ensured continued Nicaean hegemony of the
Aegean
coast of
Asia Minor
. The Seljuk sultan,
Kaykhusraw I
, was killed on the field of battle. The battle took place near the modern town of
Yamalak
in
Kuyucak
district in
Aydın Province
.
Background
[
edit
]
Following the
capture
of
Constantinople
by the forces of the
Fourth Crusade
(1204) and the partition of the
Byzantine Empire
,
Theodore Laskaris
(r. 1205?1222), crowned emperor in 1208, built up a power base in the former Byzantine territory of western
Anatolia
. This new polity was to become known as the
Empire of Nicaea
.
[6]
Nicaea was one of the main
Greek
successor states that claimed the heritage of the Byzantine Empire, the other successor states were
Epirus
and later the
Empire of Thessalonica
in western Greece. Nicaea was threatened from the north by the new
Latin Empire
established by the Crusaders, and from the east by the
Seljuk Sultanate of Rum
.
The peace with the Seljuks was disturbed through the arrival, in early 1211, of the former Byzantine Emperor
Alexios III
(r. 1195?1203), at the port of
Attaleia
. The subsequent events are described in some detail by a number of near-contemporary sources, chiefly the chroniclers
Ibn al-Athir
and
Ibn Bibi
on the Seljuk side and the histories of
George Akropolites
and
Nikephoros Gregoras
on the Byzantine side, as well as references in other chronicles and the orations in honour of Theodore Laskaris by
Niketas Choniates
.
[7]
Alexios had fled Constantinople on the approach of the Crusaders in 1203, but had not given up on his rights to the throne, and was determined to reclaim it. In 1203?1205, he had wandered across Greece, seeking the support of powerful local grandees, before being captured by
Boniface of Montferrat
and held captive until ransomed by his first cousin,
Michael
of Epirus, in 1210.
[8]
Although Theodore Laskaris was Alexios's son-in-law, having married his daughter
Anna
, Alexios resolved to seek the aid of the Seljuk sultan,
Kaykhusraw I
(r. 1192?1196 and 1205?1211), with whom he had close relations: Alexios had sheltered him in Constantinople during the latter's exile, and
George Akropolites
claims that the two fled from Constantinople together in 1203.
[9]
[10]
The sultan welcomed Alexios warmly, and the deposed emperor, after reminding the sultan of the succour he had given him, promised him rich rewards if he would help restore him to his throne. Kaykhusraw, having found in supporting Alexios's cause a perfect pretext for attacking Nicaean territory, sent an emissary to Theodore at
Nicaea
, calling upon him to relinquish his domains to the legitimate emperor. Theodore refused to reply to the sultan's demands, and the sultan assembled his army and invaded Laskaris' domains.
[11]
[12]
Battle
[
edit
]
Theodore I Laskaris (r. 1205?1222), 15th-century manuscript.
Kaykhusraw's army, with Alexios III in tow, laid siege to
Antioch on the Maeander
, which he hoped to use as a base to subdue the rest of the
Meander Valley
. The size of the Seljuk force is unknown. The hagiographer George of Pelagonia in his hagiography estimates it at 60,000, clearly an impossible figure, and even Gregoras's 20,000 seems to be exaggerated. Nevertheless, it was clearly a considerably larger force than the army Theodore managed to scrape together: both Gregoras and Akropolites put it at 2,000 men (3,000 according to George of Pelagonia), of whom 800 were
Latin
[n 1]
and the rest
Byzantine Greeks
.
[13]
[14]
Laskaris marched his army from Nicaea over the
Mysian Olympus
and reached
Philadelphia
in eleven days (indeed, the Seljuk chroniclers name Philadelphia rather than Antioch as the site of the battle.
[15]
) There he learned that Antioch was about to fall, and led his army in a forced march towards the town, discarding all baggage except for a few days' rations.
[13]
[16]
According to Gregoras, Laskaris intended to catch the Turks off guard by his rapid approach, but Akropolites relates that the Nicaean ruler sent Kaykhusraw's ambassador, whom he had taken along, to inform his master of his arrival. The sultan at first appeared incredulous, but eventually abandoned the siege and drew up his forces for battle.
[16]
[17]
The Turks were constrained by the narrowness of the valley and could not deploy their full force, especially their cavalry. Hence, the sultan decided to await the Nicaean attack instead. As the Nicaean army drew close to the Turks, Laskaris's Latin mercenary cavalry launched an impetuous charge on the Turkish centre; their attack inflicted many casualties on the Turks, in particular the lightly armed archers and slingers, as the knights drove through their formation and then wheeled back and charged it again from the rear. Kaykhusraw, however, soon managed to restore discipline among his troops, shaken by the sudden Latin onslaught, and used his superior numbers to surround and annihilate the Latins. The Turks then turned on the rest of the Nicaean army, which, after suffering casualties, began to retreat and break up.
[18]
[19]
As the sources narrate, at this moment of victory, the Seljuk sultan sought out Laskaris, who was hard pressed by the attacking Turkish troops. Kaykhusraw charged his enemy and gave him a heavy blow on the head with a
mace
, so that the Nicaean emperor, dizzied, fell from his horse. Kaykhusraw was already giving orders to his retinue to carry Laskaris away, when the latter regained his composure and brought Kaykhusraw down by hacking at his mount's rear legs. The sultan too fell on the ground and was beheaded. His head was impaled on a lance and hoisted aloft for his army to see, causing the Turks to panic and retreat. It is unclear who delivered the fatal blow to the sultan: Choniates and Gregoras attribute this deed to Laskaris himself, Ibn Bibi to an unknown Frankish mercenary; Akropolites says that neither the emperor nor his attendants saw who did this, while George of Pelagonia claims that Kaykhusraw and not Laskaris was unhorsed first, and that one of the emperor's attendants cut off his head. Though the Turks retreated, allegedly at speed, the Nicaean army was so depleted in numbers that it could not mount a pursuit.
[18]
[20]
Aftermath
[
edit
]
In this way Laskaris snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, although his own army was well-nigh destroyed in the process. The battle ended the Seljuk threat: Kaykhusraw's son and successor,
Kaykaus I
, concluded a truce with Nicaea on 14 June 1211, and the border between the two states would remain virtually unchallenged until the 1260s.
[18]
[21]
The former emperor Alexios, Laskaris's father-in-law, was also captured during the battle. Laskaris treated him well but stripped him of his imperial insignia and consigned him to the monastery of Hyakinthos in Nicaea, where he ended his days.
[18]
Following the battle, the Turks carried the body of their sultan back to
Konya
, where he was buried in the
dynastic mausoleum
.
[22]
Ibn Bibi relates that Theodore Laskaris gave 20,000
dirhams
to be distributed at the sultan's funeral as alms.
[23]
The battle freed Nicaea from Seljuk pressure, but Laskaris's army had suffered heavy casualties. In particular, his very effective, though headstrong, Latin mercenary cavalry had been almost destroyed. As a result, Laskaris could not adequately defend his territory from an attack by the
Latin Empire
of Constantinople; defeated at the
Battle of the Rhyndacus
, he had to cede some territory bordering the
Sea of Marmara
. The Nicaeans were compensated for this territorial loss when, in 1212, the death of
David Komnenos
allowed their annexation of his lands in
Paphlagonia
.
The victory at Antioch on the Meander gave Laskaris considerable prestige, and the capture of Alexios ended internal opposition to his rule. The battle was the last major encounter between the Seljuks and the Byzantines. Ultimately, the Seljuks had failed to take all of Asia Minor. However, even though the Nicaean Empire would strengthen (at the cost of the Latins) and the Seljuks would weaken, the Turks, under Ottoman leadership, would ultimately conquer Byzantine Asia Minor a little over 100 years later.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"Latin" is the term used for people, of mixed national origins, from western Europe who followed the "Latin Rite" (
Roman Catholic
) rather than the "Greek Rite" (
Greek Orthodoxy
). Latins, sometimes alternatively called "Franks", were prominent in many of the eastern Mediterranean lands in this period.
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
Korobeinikov, Dimitri (2014).
Byzantium and the Turks in the Thirteenth Century
. Oxford University Press. p. 149.
ISBN
978-0191017940
.
Theodore I had no choice but to fight. In the battle at Antioch at the Maeander the Nicaean army was almost defeated, but Laskaris met the sultan in person and after a short duel killed him. The battle took place after 15 June 1211, probably on 17 June.
- ^
Treadgold 1997
, p. 717.
- ^
a
b
Bartusis, Mark C. (1997).
The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society, 1204-1453
. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 28.
ISBN
9780812216202
.
- ^
Battle of Antioch on the Meander (1211)
, Adam Ali,
Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia
, Vol. 1, ed. Alexander Mikaberidze, (ABC-CLIO, 2011), 118-119.
- ^
Redford 1991
, p. 70.
- ^
Finlay & Tozer 1877
, pp. 365?366.
- ^
Savvides 1991
, pp. 93?94.
- ^
Macrides 2007
, pp. 79?80, 123?127.
- ^
Macrides 2007
, pp. 124, 127?129.
- ^
Savvides 1991
, p. 98 (Note 12).
- ^
Macrides 2007
, p. 129.
- ^
Savvides 1991
, pp. 97?98.
- ^
a
b
Macrides 2007
, pp. 129?130.
- ^
Savvides 1991
, pp. 96 (Note 7), 98?99.
- ^
Savvides 1991
, p. 93.
- ^
a
b
Savvides 1991
, p. 99.
- ^
Macrides 2007
, p. 131.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Macrides 2007
, pp. 131?132.
- ^
Savvides 1991
, pp. 99?100.
- ^
Savvides 1991
, pp. 97 (Note 11), 100?101.
- ^
Savvides 1991
, p. 101 (Note 19).
- ^
Redford 1991
, p. 70: "The importance to the Seljuks of burial in the tomb tower in Konya is well known, and is graphically illustrated by the care taken to reinter the body of Giyaseddin Keyhusrev in Konya after he was killed by the troops of Theodore Lascaris after the battle of Ala?ehir."
- ^
Macrides 2007
, p. 132 (Note 6).
Sources
[
edit
]
- Angold, Michael (1999).
"Byzantium in exile"
. In
Abulafia, David
(ed.).
The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 5, c.1198?c.1300
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 543?568.
ISBN
978-1-13905573-4
.
- Finlay, George; Tozer, Henry Fanshawe (1877).
A History of Greece from its Conquest by the Romans to the Present Time B.C. 146 to A.D. 1864: The Byzantine and Greek Empires. Part 2, A.D. 1057-1453
. Vol. III. Oxford, United Kingdom: Clarendon Press.
- Macrides, Ruth (2007).
George Akropolites: The History ? Introduction, Translation and Commentary
. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0-19-921067-1
.
- Redford, Scott (1991). "The Alaeddin Mosque in Konya Reconsidered".
Artibus Asiae
.
51
(1?2). Zurich: Artibus Asiae Publishers: 54?74.
doi
:
10.2307/3249676
.
ISSN
0004-3648
.
JSTOR
3249676
.
- Savvides, Alexis G.C. (1991).
"Acropolites and Gregoras on the Byzantine-Seljuk confrontation at Antioch-on-the Maeander (A. D. 1211). English translation and commentary"
(PDF)
.
Ankara Universitesi Dil ve Tarih-Co?rafya Fakultesi Tarih Bolumu Tarih Ara?tırmaları Dergisi
.
15
(26): 93?101.
- Treadgold, Warren
(1997).
A History of the Byzantine State and Society
. Stanford, California:
Stanford University Press
.
ISBN
0-8047-2630-2
.
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/
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/
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