Editing Constantinople (section)

=== 1025–1081: Constantinople after Basil II ===
In the late 11th century catastrophe struck with the unexpected and calamitous defeat of the imperial armies at the [[Battle of Manzikert]] in Armenia in 1071. The Emperor [[Romanos IV|Romanus]] Diogenes was captured. The peace terms demanded by [[Alp Arslan]], sultan of the Seljuk Turks, were not excessive, and Romanus accepted them. On his release, however, Romanus found that enemies had placed their own candidate on the throne in his absence; he surrendered to them and suffered death by torture, and the new ruler, [[Michael VII]] Ducas, refused to honour the treaty. In response, the Turks began to move into Anatolia in 1073. The collapse of the old defensive system meant that they met no opposition, and the empire's resources were distracted and squandered in a series of civil wars. Thousands of [[Turkmen people|Turkoman]] tribesmen crossed the unguarded frontier and moved into Anatolia. By 1080, a huge area had been lost to the Empire, and the Turks were within striking distance of Constantinople.