Editing Manuel I Komnenos (section)

==Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks==
{{Details|Battle of Myriokephalon}}
[[File:Crusades surprised by turks.jpg|thumb|left|This image by [[Gustave Doré]] shows the Turkish ambush at the pass of Myriokephalon. This ambush destroyed Manuel's hope of capturing Konya]]
Between 1158 and 1162, a series of Byzantine campaigns against the [[Seljuk Turks]] of the [[Sultanate of Rûm]] resulted in a treaty favourable to the Empire. According to the agreement, certain frontier regions, including the city of [[Sivas|Sebasteia]], should be handed over to Manuel in return for some quantity of cash, while it also obliged the Seljuk Sultan [[Kilij Arslan II]] to recognize his overlordship.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>I. Health, ''Byzantine Armies'', 4</ref> Kilij Arslan II used the peace with Byzantium, and the power vacuum caused by the death in 1174 of [[Nur ad-Din Zangi]] the ruler of Syria, to expel the [[Danishmends]] from their Anatolian emirates. When the Seljuk sultan refused to cede some of the territory he had taken from the Danishmends to the Byzantines, as he was obliged to do as part of his treaty obligations, Manuel decided that it was time to deal with the Turks once and for all.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>Magdalino, pp. 78 and 95–96</ref><ref name="P140">K. Paparrigopoulos, ''History of the Greek Nation'', Db, 140</ref> Therefore, he assembled the full imperial army and marched against the Seljuk capital, [[Iconium]] ([[Konya]]).<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Manuel's strategy was to prepare the advanced bases of [[Dorylaeum]] and [[Keçiborlu|Sublaeum]], and then to use them to strike as quickly as possible at Iconium.<ref name="JB128">J. W. Birkenmeier, ''The Development of the Komnenian Army'', 128</ref>

Yet Manuel's army of 35,000 men was large and unwieldy—according to a letter that Manuel sent to King [[Henry II of England]], the advancing column was {{Convert|10|mi|spell=in}} long.<ref>Birkenmeier, p. 132.</ref> Manuel marched against Iconium via [[Laodicea on the Lycus|Laodicea]], [[Chonae]], Lampe, [[Celaenae]], Choma and [[Antioch of Pisidia|Antioch]]. Just outside the entrance to the pass at Myriokephalon, Manuel was met by Turkish ambassadors, who offered peace on generous terms. Most of Manuel's generals and experienced courtiers urged him to accept the offer. The younger and more aggressive members of the court urged Manuel to attack, however, and he took their advice and continued his advance.<ref name=Norwich/>

Manuel made serious tactical errors, such as failing to properly scout out the route ahead.<ref name="JBr176">J. Bradbury, ''Medieval Warfare'', 176</ref> These failings caused him to lead his forces straight into a classic ambush. On 17 September 1176 Manuel was checked by Seljuk Sultan Kilij Arslan II at the Battle of Myriokephalon (in highlands near the Tzibritze pass), in which his army was ambushed while marching through the narrow mountain pass.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="MN102">D. MacGillivray Nicol, ''Byzantium and Venice'', 102</ref> The Byzantines were hemmed in by the narrowness of the pass, which allowed the Seljuks to concentrate their attacks on part of the Byzantine army, especially the baggage and siege train, without the rest being able to intervene.<ref>Haldon 2001, pp. 142–143</ref> The army's siege equipment was quickly destroyed, and Manuel was forced to withdraw—without [[siege engine]]s, the conquest of Iconium was impossible. According to Byzantine sources, Manuel lost his nerve both during and after the battle, fluctuating between extremes of self-delusion and self-abasement;<ref name="M98">P. Magdalino, ''The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos'', 98</ref> according to William of Tyre, he was never the same again.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hillenbrand |first1=Carole |title=Turkish Myth and Muslim Symbol: The Battle of Manzikert |date=2007 |publisher=Edinburgh UP |page=154 |isbn=9780748631155 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=leqqBgAAQBAJ&dq=William+of+Tyre++manuel+I+was+never+the+same+again+after+turkish+ambush&pg=PA154 |access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref>

The terms by which Kilij Arslan II allowed Manuel and his army to leave were that he should remove his frontier forts and garrisons at Dorylaeum and Sublaeum. Since the Sultan had already failed to keep his side of the earlier treaty of 1162, however, Manuel only ordered the fortifications of Sublaeum to be dismantled, but not the fortifications of Dorylaeum.<ref name="Treadgold649">W. Treadgold, ''A History of the Byzantine State and Society'', 649</ref> Nevertheless, defeat at Myriokephalon was an embarrassment for both Manuel personally and also for his empire. The Komnenian emperors had worked hard since the [[Battle of Manzikert]], over a century earlier, to restore the reputation of the empire. Yet because of his overconfidence, Manuel had demonstrated to the world that Byzantium still could not decisively defeat the Seljuks, despite the advances made during the past century. In Western opinion, Myriokephalon cut Manuel down to a humbler size: not that of Emperor of the Romans but that of King of the Greeks.<ref name="MN102"/>

The defeat at Myriokephalon has often been depicted as a catastrophe in which the entire Byzantine army was destroyed. Manuel himself compared the defeat to Manzikert; it seemed to him that the Byzantine defeat at Myriokephalon complemented the destruction at Manzikert. In reality, although a defeat, it was not particularly costly and did not significantly diminish the fighting ability of the Byzantine army.<ref name="MN102"/> Most of the casualties were borne by the right wing, largely composed of allied troops commanded by Baldwin of Antioch, and also by the baggage train, which was the main target of the Turkish ambush.<ref name="JBP">J. W. Birkenmeier, ''The Development of the Komnenian Army'', 128<br/>* K. Paparrigopoulos, ''History of the Greek Nation'', Db, 141</ref>

The limited losses inflicted on native Byzantine troops were quickly recovered, and in the following year Manuel's forces defeated a force of "picked Turks".<ref name="JB128"/> [[John Komnenos Vatatzes]], who was sent by the Emperor to repel the Turkish invasion, not only brought troops from the capital but also was able to gather an army along the way. Vatatzes caught the Turks in an ambush as they were crossing the [[Büyük Menderes River|Meander River]]; the subsequent [[Battle of Hyelion and Leimocheir]] effectively destroyed them as a fighting force. This is an indication that the Byzantine army remained strong and that the defensive program of western [[Asia Minor]] was still successful.<ref name="JB196">J. W. Birkenmeier, ''The Development of the Komnenian Army'', 196</ref> After the victory on the Meander, Manuel himself advanced with a small army to drive the Turks from [[Banaz|Panasium]], south of [[Cotyaeum]].<ref name="Treadgold649"/>

In 1178, however, a Byzantine army retreated after encountering a Turkish force at [[Hereke|Charax]], allowing the Turks to capture many livestock.<ref name="Stone"/> The city of [[Bithynium|Claudiopolis]] in [[Bithynia]] was [[Siege of Claudiopolis|besieged]] by the Turks in 1179, forcing Manuel to lead a small cavalry force to save the city, and then, even as late as 1180, the Byzantines succeeded in scoring a victory over the Turks.<ref name="Stone">A. Stone (2007) [http://www.roman-emperors.org/mannycom.htm Manuel I Comnenus]. ''[[De Imperatoribus Romanis|DIR]]''</ref>

The continuous warfare had a serious effect upon Manuel's vitality; he declined in health and in 1180 succumbed to a slow fever. Furthermore, like Manzikert, the balance between the two powers began to gradually shift—Manuel never again attacked the Turks, and after his death they began to move further west, deeper into Byzantine territory.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beihammer |first1=Alexander |title=Chapter 6: Patterns of Turkish Migration and Expansion in Byzantine Asia Minor in the 11th and 12th Centuries |url=https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004425613/BP000008.xml |date=23 April 2020 |publisher=Brill |doi=10.1163/9789004425613_007 |isbn=9789004425613 |s2cid=218994025 |access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref>