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The aim of this article is to describe the policy of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I in Asia Minor, specifically his policies towards the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum and the Danishmend Emirate. The author writes about the first campaign of the Emperor against the Seljuks, the attempt to dominate the Crusader states of the County of Edessa and the Principality of Antioch in the mid 12th century, and the relations of the Emperor with the officials of the Crusader states in the Middle East. The article is chronologically divided into three main periods, defined by important years in mutual relations. In the conclusion the author characterizes the main reasons which led the Emperor to initiate the military expedition in 1176 and which resulted in the famous Battle of Myriokephalon.
Keywords: Byzantium - Seljuk Sultanate of Rum - Danishmend Emirate - Asia Minor - Manuel Komnenos
The Battle of Myriokephalon (the fortress was destroyed in the medieval period before the battle; there are only ruins in modern Turkey) between the Byzantines and the Seljuk Turks, which took place on September 17, 1176, is considered to be one of the most important battles in Byzantine history. A large Byzantine army under the leadership of Manuel Komnenos (1143-80) was defeated by Seljuk Turks under the leadership of Sultan Kilidj Arslan II (1155-92) and this groundbreaking event marked the final end of the Byzantine efforts to reconquer Anatolia. At the same time, the battle of Myriokephalon is traditionally considered to be the end of the Byzantine offensive in the Middle East and a kind of springboard for another wave of Islamization of the region by the Turks.
A detailed description of the battle is given in a primary Greek source, Chroniké diégésis, by the author Niketas Choniates.1 Another important Byzantine source, known as Epitomé, written by the historian Ioannes Kinnamos, ends with the year 1176; however, this does not describe the history of the battle of Myriokephalon.2 In Latin sources the historian William of Tyre describes the battle of Myriokephalon in his work Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum, referred to in translation as A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea.3 Since no Turkish sources from this period have been preserved, a view of the battle from...