Kor Khan
09-30-2005, 19:11
https://img318.imageshack.us/img318/5597/bayeux13ke.jpg
We've had Byzantines, Europeans, Castles and the Campaign Map. And now we have historical battles. Now if you're wondering why Adherbal isn't posting this, it's because I'm the one responsible for this small area of the mod, and I intend to make the battle scenarios in Chivalry more numerous and challenging than those in any other mod out there, and because Chiv is largely MP, most battles that I make will have a multiplayer version on top of the normal SP one. The battles that you will see in this preview are only the ones for the early era, and I'm not even showing all of them (so no posts like "Why isn't Agincourt in there? I'm not getting this mod unless it has Agincourt in it!" :P ).
What I'm showing in this preview are the battle names and dates, descriptions, setups and plenty of screenshots. I'm not giving away any tactics until someone's actually played some of them ;) . Just a clue though: strategies that worked well historically should work well in-game. Strategies that failed miserably aren't advisable.
Hattin
4th July, 1187
https://img361.imageshack.us/img361/7237/hattinsetup3zc.jpg
https://img293.imageshack.us/img293/9816/hat26px.th.jpg (https://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hat26px.jpg)
The Cross of the Crusaders still stands proud under the Horns of Hattin
Background
Guy of Lusignan became king of Jerusalem in 1186, in right of his wife Sibylla, after the death of Sibylla's son (and Guy's stepson) Baldwin V. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was at this time divided between the "court faction" of Guy, Sibylla, and relative newcomers to the kingdom such as Raynald of Chatillon, as well as Gerard of Ridefort and the Knights Templar; and the "nobles’ faction", led by Raymond III of Tripoli, who had been regent for the child-king Baldwin V and had opposed the succession of Guy. Raymond left Jerusalem for Tripoli. The situation was so tense that there was almost open warfare between Raymond and Guy, who wanted to besiege Tiberias, a fortress held by Raymond through his wife Eschiva, Princess of Galilee. War was avoided through the mediation of Raymond's supporter Balian of Ibelin.
Meanwhile, the Muslim states surrounding the kingdom had been united during the 1170s and 1180s by Saladin. Saladin had been appointed vizier of Egypt in 1169 and soon came to rule the country as sultan. In 1174 he imposed his rule over Damascus; his authority extended to Aleppo by 1176 and Mosul by 1186. For the first time, the Kingdom of Jerusalem was encircled by Muslim territory united under one ruler. The crusaders defeated Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard in 1177, and in the early 1180s there was an uneasy truce between the two sides, which was broken by the raids of Raynald on Muslim caravans passing through his fief of Oultrejordain. During one of these raids, Raynald captured Saladin's sister; Raynald also threatened to attack Mecca itself, and Saladin vowed revenge.
When Guy became king, Raymond made a separate truce with Saladin, and in 1187 allowed the sultan to send an army into the northern part of the kingdom. At the same time, an embassy was on its way from Jerusalem to Tripoli to negotiate a settlement between Raymond and Guy. This embassy was defeated at the Battle of Cresson on May 1, by a small force under the command of Saladin's son. Raymond, wracked with guilt, reconciled with Guy, who assembled the entire army of the kingdom (essentially a levée en masse) and marched north to meet Saladin.
The Siege of Tiberias
Saladin had assembled his own army at Raymond's fortress of Tiberias. When Raymond reconciled with Guy, this assembly turned into a siege, and the town fell on July 2. Raymond's wife Eschiva was besieged in the citadel. Raymond and Guy met at Acre with the bulk of the crusader army, which consisted of 1200 knights, possibly as many as 20,000 foot soldiers, and a large number of mercenaries (including Turcopoles and other Muslims) hired with money donated to the kingdom by Henry II of England. Muslim sources claim that the crusaders had over 80,000 men. Also with the army was the relic of the True Cross, carried by the Bishop of Acre, who was there in place of the ailing Patriarch Heraclius.
Raymond argued that a march from Acre to Tiberias was exactly what Saladin wanted and that Sephoria was a strong position for the Crusaders to defend. Furthermore, Guy should not worry about Tiberias, which Raymond held personally and was willing to give up for the safety of the kingdom. Despite their reconciliation, internal court politics were still strong and Raymond was accused of cowardice by Gerard and Raynald. The latter influenced Guy to attack immediately. Guy ordered the army to march against Saladin at Tiberias, which is what Saladin had planned, for he had calculated that he could defeat the crusaders only in a field battle, rather than by besieging their fortifications.
The Battle
The crusaders began their march from Sephoria on July 3, with Raymond leading the vanguard, Guy the main army, and Balian, Raynald, and the military orders the rearguard. They were almost immediately under harassment from the Muslim skirmishers on horseback. By noon on that day Saladin had joined his forces at Cafarsett and sent his army to engage the exhausted and depleted Crusaders. The rearguard was forced to a halt by continuous attacks, thus halting the whole army. The crusaders, after a day with no fresh water, were forced to make camp in the middle of the plain, surrounded by the Muslim army. Saladin's forces set fire to the grass around the camp during the night.
https://img293.imageshack.us/img293/9812/hat18jk.th.jpg (https://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hat18jk.jpg)https://img293.imageshack.us/img293/6331/hat35pg.th.jpg (https://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hat35pg.jpg)
Saracen Horse Archers probe the position of the Crusaders under the Horns
On the morning of July 4, the crusaders were blinded by smoke, through which the Muslim cavalry pelted them with arrows. Gerard and Raynald advised Guy to form battle lines and attack, which was done by Guy's brother Amalric. Raymond led the first division with Raymond, the son of Bohemund III of Antioch, while Balian and Joscelin III of Edessa formed the rearguard. While this was being arranged, five of Raymond's knights defected to Saladin and told them of the dire situation in the crusader camp.
Thirsty and demoralised, the crusaders broke camp and changed direction for the springs of Hattin, but their ragged approach was attacked by Saladin's army which blocked the route forward and any possible retreat. Count Raymond launched two charges in an attempt to break through to the water supply at the Sea of Galilee. The second of these saw him cut off from the main army and forced to retreat. Most of the crusader infantry had effectively deserted by moving on to the Horns of Hattin. Guy attempted to pitch the tents again to block the Muslim cavalry, but without infantry protection the knight's horses were cut down by Muslim archers and they were forced to fight on foot, and they, too, retreated on to the Horns. The crusaders were surrounded and, despite three desperate charges on Saladin's position, were defeated.
https://img208.imageshack.us/img208/7087/hat46yq.th.jpg (https://img208.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hat46yq.jpg)https://img208.imageshack.us/img208/649/hat66vd.th.jpg (https://img208.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hat66vd.jpg)
Muslim cavalry and infantry engage the surrounded Crusaders, while they try to break through to Lake Tiberias
The Aftermath
The Muslims captured the royal tent of King Guy, as well as the True Cross, after the Bishop of Acre was killed in the fighting. Prisoners included Guy, his brother Amalric, Raynald, William III of Montferrat, Gerard, Humphrey IV of Toron, Hugh of Jubail, and many others. Perhaps only as few as 3,000 Christians escaped the defeat, including Raymond, Joscelin, Balian, and Reginald of Sidon, who had trampled their own men while retreating. The exhausted captives were brought to Saladin's tent, where Guy was given a goblet of water as a sign of Saladin's generosity. When Guy offered the goblet to his fellow captive Raynald, Saladin knocked the goblet away, saying that he had not offered water to Raynald and thus was not bound by the Muslim rules of hospitality. When Saladin accused Raynald of being an oath-breaker, Raynald replied that "kings have always acted thus". Saladin then executed Raynald himself, beheading him with his sword. Guy fell to his knees at the sight of Raynald's corpse. Saladin bade him to rise, saying, "Real kings do not kill each other." The Templars and Hospitallers who had been captured were also killed, although Guy was taken to Damascus as a prisoner and the others were eventually ransomed. Raymond of Tripoli, having escaped the battle, died of pleurisy later in 1187.
By mid-September, Saladin had taken Acre, Nablus, Jaffa, Toron, Sidon, Beirut and Ascalon. Tyre was saved by the fortuitous arrival of Conrad of Montferrat. Jerusalem was defended by Queen Sibylla, Patriarch Heraclius and Balian, who negotiated its surrender to Saladin on October 2.
Manzikert
26th August, 1071
https://img380.imageshack.us/img380/6118/manzikertsetup3jm.jpg
Historically, the Battle of Manzikert was a great turning point in Byzantine history. This victory for the Turks allowed them to capture most of central Asia Minor and plunged the Byzantine Empire into chaos and accelarated the decline that it was already going through.
As the player, you take control of the Seljuk army and try to prevent the onslaught of the Greeks, not an easy task: They outnumber you by about 3:2, and consist of lots of heavy troops. You will have to rely on your speed to outmaneuvre the enemy, and stop your lines from being completely overrun.
Background information
During the 1060s the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan allowed his Turkish allies to migrate towards Armenia and Asia Minor, where they sacked cities and plundered farmland. In 1064 they destroyed the Armenian capital at Ani. In 1068 Romanus IV led an expedition against them, but his slow-moving infantry could not catch the speedy Turkish cavalry, although he was able to capture the city of Hierapolis. In 1070 Romanus led a second expedition towards Manzikert, a city in eastern Turkey's province of Muş, now known as Malazgirt, a Byzantine fortress that had been captured by the Seljuks, and offered a treaty with Arslan – Romanus would give back Hierapolis if Arslan gave up the siege of Edessa. Romanus threatened war if Arslan did not comply, and prepared his troops anyway, expecting the sultan to decline his offer, which he did.
The Preparations
After some campaigning, Romanus captured Manzikert on August 23. The next day some foraging parties under Bryennius discovered the Seljuk force and were forced to retreat back to Manzikert. The Armenian general Basilaces was sent out with some cavalry, as Romanus did not believe this was Arslan's full army; the cavalry was destroyed and Basilaces taken prisoner. Romanus drew up his troops into formation and sent the left wing out under Bryennius, who was almost surrounded by the quickly approaching Turks and was forced to retreat once more. The Turks hid among the nearby hills for the night, making it nearly impossible for Romanus to send a counterattack.
At the night of 24th August Alp Arslan's light raiders attacked the Byzantine camp. At the camp, they established contact with their Pecheneg and Kypchak relatives, and the Turkish mercenaries switched sides and joined the Seljuk Army. After this, Alp Arslan sent an envoy to Romanus and requested peace. Romanus rejected the Seljuk embassy and attempted to recall Tarchaneiotes, who was no longer in the area. There were no engagements that day, but on August 26 the Byzantine army gathered itself into a proper battle formation and began to march on the Turkish positions.
The Battle
https://img332.imageshack.us/img332/2322/manzikert1copy9sp.th.jpg (https://img332.imageshack.us/my.php?image=manzikert1copy9sp.jpg)
The Byzantine centre under the command of emperor Romanus consists mainly of heavy troops
With the left wing under Bryennius, the right wing under Theodore Alyates, and the centre under the emperor. Andronicus Ducas, who Romanus had decided to take along despite him being a well-known political enemy (the Emperor probably took him along to keep an eye on him), lead the reserves in the rear of the army. The Seljuks were organized into a crescent formation about four kilometres away, with Arslan observing events from a safe distance. Seljuk archers attacked the Byzantines as they drew closer; the centre of their crescent continually moved backwards while the wings moved to surround the Byzantine troops.
https://img368.imageshack.us/img368/7316/manzikert5copy5rd.th.jpg (https://img368.imageshack.us/my.php?image=manzikert5copy5rd.jpg)
Turkish archers open fire on the Byzantines
https://img358.imageshack.us/img358/7787/manzikert3copy5qm.th.jpg (https://img358.imageshack.us/my.php?image=manzikert3copy5qm.jpg)
Horse archers move around the Byzantine right flank, trying to pull Bryennius' cavalry away from the main battle
The Byzantines held off the arrow attacks and captured Arslan's camp by the end of the afternoon. However, the right and left wings, where the arrows did most of their damage, almost broke up when individual units tried to force the Seljuks into a pitched battle; the Seljuk cavalry simply fled when challenged. With the Seljuks avoiding battle, Romanus was forced to order a withdrawal by the time night fell. However, the right wing misunderstood the order, and Ducas, as an enemy of Romanus, deliberately ignored the emperor and marched back to the camp outside Manzikert, rather than covering the emperor's retreat. Now that the Byzantines were thoroughly confused, the Seljuks seized the opportunity and attacked and surrounded the whole Byzantine army with a crescent formation. The Byzantine right wing was routed; the left under Bryennius held out a little longer but was soon routed as well. Romanus was injured, and taken prisoner when the Seljuks discovered him.
https://img358.imageshack.us/img358/8826/manzikert44af.th.jpg (https://img358.imageshack.us/my.php?image=manzikert44af.jpg)
The Turks attack the weakened and scattered Byzantines and deal them the final blow
The Aftermath
Despite the defeat, Byzantine casualties were apparently relatively low. Ducas had escaped with no casualties, and quickly marched back to Constantinople where he led a coup against Romanus. Bryennius also lost few men in the rout of his wing. Since the battle had not occurred until after nightfall, the Turks did not pursue the fleeing Byzantines, which probably saved most of them. The Turks did not even recapture Manzikert itself at this point. The Byzantine army regrouped and marched to Dokeia, where they were joined by Romanus when he was released a week later. The most serious loss seems to have been the emperor's extravagant baggage train.
Years and decades later, Manzikert came to be seen as a disaster for the Empire; later sources greatly exaggerate the numbers of troops and the numbers of casualties. Byzantine historians would often look back and lament the 'disaster' of that day, pinpointing it as the moment the decline of the Empire began. It was not, however, an immediate disaster; most units survived intact and were fighting in the Balkans or elsewhere in Asia Minor within a few months. On the other hand, the defeat showed the Seljuks that the Byzantines were not invincible — they were not the unconquerable, millennium-old Roman Empire (as both the Byzantines and Seljuks still called it). The usurpation of Andronicus Ducas also politically destabilized the empire, and it was difficult to organize a resistance to the Turkish migrations that followed the battle. Within the next few decades almost all of Asia Minor was overrun by the Seljuks.
Nevertheless, in hindsight historians are practically unanimous in dating the decline of Byzantine fortunes to this battle. It is also considered one of the root causes for the later Crusades: the West saw Manzikert as a signal that Byzantium was no longer capable of being the protector of Eastern Christianity.
We've had Byzantines, Europeans, Castles and the Campaign Map. And now we have historical battles. Now if you're wondering why Adherbal isn't posting this, it's because I'm the one responsible for this small area of the mod, and I intend to make the battle scenarios in Chivalry more numerous and challenging than those in any other mod out there, and because Chiv is largely MP, most battles that I make will have a multiplayer version on top of the normal SP one. The battles that you will see in this preview are only the ones for the early era, and I'm not even showing all of them (so no posts like "Why isn't Agincourt in there? I'm not getting this mod unless it has Agincourt in it!" :P ).
What I'm showing in this preview are the battle names and dates, descriptions, setups and plenty of screenshots. I'm not giving away any tactics until someone's actually played some of them ;) . Just a clue though: strategies that worked well historically should work well in-game. Strategies that failed miserably aren't advisable.
Hattin
4th July, 1187
https://img361.imageshack.us/img361/7237/hattinsetup3zc.jpg
https://img293.imageshack.us/img293/9816/hat26px.th.jpg (https://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hat26px.jpg)
The Cross of the Crusaders still stands proud under the Horns of Hattin
Background
Guy of Lusignan became king of Jerusalem in 1186, in right of his wife Sibylla, after the death of Sibylla's son (and Guy's stepson) Baldwin V. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was at this time divided between the "court faction" of Guy, Sibylla, and relative newcomers to the kingdom such as Raynald of Chatillon, as well as Gerard of Ridefort and the Knights Templar; and the "nobles’ faction", led by Raymond III of Tripoli, who had been regent for the child-king Baldwin V and had opposed the succession of Guy. Raymond left Jerusalem for Tripoli. The situation was so tense that there was almost open warfare between Raymond and Guy, who wanted to besiege Tiberias, a fortress held by Raymond through his wife Eschiva, Princess of Galilee. War was avoided through the mediation of Raymond's supporter Balian of Ibelin.
Meanwhile, the Muslim states surrounding the kingdom had been united during the 1170s and 1180s by Saladin. Saladin had been appointed vizier of Egypt in 1169 and soon came to rule the country as sultan. In 1174 he imposed his rule over Damascus; his authority extended to Aleppo by 1176 and Mosul by 1186. For the first time, the Kingdom of Jerusalem was encircled by Muslim territory united under one ruler. The crusaders defeated Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard in 1177, and in the early 1180s there was an uneasy truce between the two sides, which was broken by the raids of Raynald on Muslim caravans passing through his fief of Oultrejordain. During one of these raids, Raynald captured Saladin's sister; Raynald also threatened to attack Mecca itself, and Saladin vowed revenge.
When Guy became king, Raymond made a separate truce with Saladin, and in 1187 allowed the sultan to send an army into the northern part of the kingdom. At the same time, an embassy was on its way from Jerusalem to Tripoli to negotiate a settlement between Raymond and Guy. This embassy was defeated at the Battle of Cresson on May 1, by a small force under the command of Saladin's son. Raymond, wracked with guilt, reconciled with Guy, who assembled the entire army of the kingdom (essentially a levée en masse) and marched north to meet Saladin.
The Siege of Tiberias
Saladin had assembled his own army at Raymond's fortress of Tiberias. When Raymond reconciled with Guy, this assembly turned into a siege, and the town fell on July 2. Raymond's wife Eschiva was besieged in the citadel. Raymond and Guy met at Acre with the bulk of the crusader army, which consisted of 1200 knights, possibly as many as 20,000 foot soldiers, and a large number of mercenaries (including Turcopoles and other Muslims) hired with money donated to the kingdom by Henry II of England. Muslim sources claim that the crusaders had over 80,000 men. Also with the army was the relic of the True Cross, carried by the Bishop of Acre, who was there in place of the ailing Patriarch Heraclius.
Raymond argued that a march from Acre to Tiberias was exactly what Saladin wanted and that Sephoria was a strong position for the Crusaders to defend. Furthermore, Guy should not worry about Tiberias, which Raymond held personally and was willing to give up for the safety of the kingdom. Despite their reconciliation, internal court politics were still strong and Raymond was accused of cowardice by Gerard and Raynald. The latter influenced Guy to attack immediately. Guy ordered the army to march against Saladin at Tiberias, which is what Saladin had planned, for he had calculated that he could defeat the crusaders only in a field battle, rather than by besieging their fortifications.
The Battle
The crusaders began their march from Sephoria on July 3, with Raymond leading the vanguard, Guy the main army, and Balian, Raynald, and the military orders the rearguard. They were almost immediately under harassment from the Muslim skirmishers on horseback. By noon on that day Saladin had joined his forces at Cafarsett and sent his army to engage the exhausted and depleted Crusaders. The rearguard was forced to a halt by continuous attacks, thus halting the whole army. The crusaders, after a day with no fresh water, were forced to make camp in the middle of the plain, surrounded by the Muslim army. Saladin's forces set fire to the grass around the camp during the night.
https://img293.imageshack.us/img293/9812/hat18jk.th.jpg (https://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hat18jk.jpg)https://img293.imageshack.us/img293/6331/hat35pg.th.jpg (https://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hat35pg.jpg)
Saracen Horse Archers probe the position of the Crusaders under the Horns
On the morning of July 4, the crusaders were blinded by smoke, through which the Muslim cavalry pelted them with arrows. Gerard and Raynald advised Guy to form battle lines and attack, which was done by Guy's brother Amalric. Raymond led the first division with Raymond, the son of Bohemund III of Antioch, while Balian and Joscelin III of Edessa formed the rearguard. While this was being arranged, five of Raymond's knights defected to Saladin and told them of the dire situation in the crusader camp.
Thirsty and demoralised, the crusaders broke camp and changed direction for the springs of Hattin, but their ragged approach was attacked by Saladin's army which blocked the route forward and any possible retreat. Count Raymond launched two charges in an attempt to break through to the water supply at the Sea of Galilee. The second of these saw him cut off from the main army and forced to retreat. Most of the crusader infantry had effectively deserted by moving on to the Horns of Hattin. Guy attempted to pitch the tents again to block the Muslim cavalry, but without infantry protection the knight's horses were cut down by Muslim archers and they were forced to fight on foot, and they, too, retreated on to the Horns. The crusaders were surrounded and, despite three desperate charges on Saladin's position, were defeated.
https://img208.imageshack.us/img208/7087/hat46yq.th.jpg (https://img208.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hat46yq.jpg)https://img208.imageshack.us/img208/649/hat66vd.th.jpg (https://img208.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hat66vd.jpg)
Muslim cavalry and infantry engage the surrounded Crusaders, while they try to break through to Lake Tiberias
The Aftermath
The Muslims captured the royal tent of King Guy, as well as the True Cross, after the Bishop of Acre was killed in the fighting. Prisoners included Guy, his brother Amalric, Raynald, William III of Montferrat, Gerard, Humphrey IV of Toron, Hugh of Jubail, and many others. Perhaps only as few as 3,000 Christians escaped the defeat, including Raymond, Joscelin, Balian, and Reginald of Sidon, who had trampled their own men while retreating. The exhausted captives were brought to Saladin's tent, where Guy was given a goblet of water as a sign of Saladin's generosity. When Guy offered the goblet to his fellow captive Raynald, Saladin knocked the goblet away, saying that he had not offered water to Raynald and thus was not bound by the Muslim rules of hospitality. When Saladin accused Raynald of being an oath-breaker, Raynald replied that "kings have always acted thus". Saladin then executed Raynald himself, beheading him with his sword. Guy fell to his knees at the sight of Raynald's corpse. Saladin bade him to rise, saying, "Real kings do not kill each other." The Templars and Hospitallers who had been captured were also killed, although Guy was taken to Damascus as a prisoner and the others were eventually ransomed. Raymond of Tripoli, having escaped the battle, died of pleurisy later in 1187.
By mid-September, Saladin had taken Acre, Nablus, Jaffa, Toron, Sidon, Beirut and Ascalon. Tyre was saved by the fortuitous arrival of Conrad of Montferrat. Jerusalem was defended by Queen Sibylla, Patriarch Heraclius and Balian, who negotiated its surrender to Saladin on October 2.
Manzikert
26th August, 1071
https://img380.imageshack.us/img380/6118/manzikertsetup3jm.jpg
Historically, the Battle of Manzikert was a great turning point in Byzantine history. This victory for the Turks allowed them to capture most of central Asia Minor and plunged the Byzantine Empire into chaos and accelarated the decline that it was already going through.
As the player, you take control of the Seljuk army and try to prevent the onslaught of the Greeks, not an easy task: They outnumber you by about 3:2, and consist of lots of heavy troops. You will have to rely on your speed to outmaneuvre the enemy, and stop your lines from being completely overrun.
Background information
During the 1060s the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan allowed his Turkish allies to migrate towards Armenia and Asia Minor, where they sacked cities and plundered farmland. In 1064 they destroyed the Armenian capital at Ani. In 1068 Romanus IV led an expedition against them, but his slow-moving infantry could not catch the speedy Turkish cavalry, although he was able to capture the city of Hierapolis. In 1070 Romanus led a second expedition towards Manzikert, a city in eastern Turkey's province of Muş, now known as Malazgirt, a Byzantine fortress that had been captured by the Seljuks, and offered a treaty with Arslan – Romanus would give back Hierapolis if Arslan gave up the siege of Edessa. Romanus threatened war if Arslan did not comply, and prepared his troops anyway, expecting the sultan to decline his offer, which he did.
The Preparations
After some campaigning, Romanus captured Manzikert on August 23. The next day some foraging parties under Bryennius discovered the Seljuk force and were forced to retreat back to Manzikert. The Armenian general Basilaces was sent out with some cavalry, as Romanus did not believe this was Arslan's full army; the cavalry was destroyed and Basilaces taken prisoner. Romanus drew up his troops into formation and sent the left wing out under Bryennius, who was almost surrounded by the quickly approaching Turks and was forced to retreat once more. The Turks hid among the nearby hills for the night, making it nearly impossible for Romanus to send a counterattack.
At the night of 24th August Alp Arslan's light raiders attacked the Byzantine camp. At the camp, they established contact with their Pecheneg and Kypchak relatives, and the Turkish mercenaries switched sides and joined the Seljuk Army. After this, Alp Arslan sent an envoy to Romanus and requested peace. Romanus rejected the Seljuk embassy and attempted to recall Tarchaneiotes, who was no longer in the area. There were no engagements that day, but on August 26 the Byzantine army gathered itself into a proper battle formation and began to march on the Turkish positions.
The Battle
https://img332.imageshack.us/img332/2322/manzikert1copy9sp.th.jpg (https://img332.imageshack.us/my.php?image=manzikert1copy9sp.jpg)
The Byzantine centre under the command of emperor Romanus consists mainly of heavy troops
With the left wing under Bryennius, the right wing under Theodore Alyates, and the centre under the emperor. Andronicus Ducas, who Romanus had decided to take along despite him being a well-known political enemy (the Emperor probably took him along to keep an eye on him), lead the reserves in the rear of the army. The Seljuks were organized into a crescent formation about four kilometres away, with Arslan observing events from a safe distance. Seljuk archers attacked the Byzantines as they drew closer; the centre of their crescent continually moved backwards while the wings moved to surround the Byzantine troops.
https://img368.imageshack.us/img368/7316/manzikert5copy5rd.th.jpg (https://img368.imageshack.us/my.php?image=manzikert5copy5rd.jpg)
Turkish archers open fire on the Byzantines
https://img358.imageshack.us/img358/7787/manzikert3copy5qm.th.jpg (https://img358.imageshack.us/my.php?image=manzikert3copy5qm.jpg)
Horse archers move around the Byzantine right flank, trying to pull Bryennius' cavalry away from the main battle
The Byzantines held off the arrow attacks and captured Arslan's camp by the end of the afternoon. However, the right and left wings, where the arrows did most of their damage, almost broke up when individual units tried to force the Seljuks into a pitched battle; the Seljuk cavalry simply fled when challenged. With the Seljuks avoiding battle, Romanus was forced to order a withdrawal by the time night fell. However, the right wing misunderstood the order, and Ducas, as an enemy of Romanus, deliberately ignored the emperor and marched back to the camp outside Manzikert, rather than covering the emperor's retreat. Now that the Byzantines were thoroughly confused, the Seljuks seized the opportunity and attacked and surrounded the whole Byzantine army with a crescent formation. The Byzantine right wing was routed; the left under Bryennius held out a little longer but was soon routed as well. Romanus was injured, and taken prisoner when the Seljuks discovered him.
https://img358.imageshack.us/img358/8826/manzikert44af.th.jpg (https://img358.imageshack.us/my.php?image=manzikert44af.jpg)
The Turks attack the weakened and scattered Byzantines and deal them the final blow
The Aftermath
Despite the defeat, Byzantine casualties were apparently relatively low. Ducas had escaped with no casualties, and quickly marched back to Constantinople where he led a coup against Romanus. Bryennius also lost few men in the rout of his wing. Since the battle had not occurred until after nightfall, the Turks did not pursue the fleeing Byzantines, which probably saved most of them. The Turks did not even recapture Manzikert itself at this point. The Byzantine army regrouped and marched to Dokeia, where they were joined by Romanus when he was released a week later. The most serious loss seems to have been the emperor's extravagant baggage train.
Years and decades later, Manzikert came to be seen as a disaster for the Empire; later sources greatly exaggerate the numbers of troops and the numbers of casualties. Byzantine historians would often look back and lament the 'disaster' of that day, pinpointing it as the moment the decline of the Empire began. It was not, however, an immediate disaster; most units survived intact and were fighting in the Balkans or elsewhere in Asia Minor within a few months. On the other hand, the defeat showed the Seljuks that the Byzantines were not invincible — they were not the unconquerable, millennium-old Roman Empire (as both the Byzantines and Seljuks still called it). The usurpation of Andronicus Ducas also politically destabilized the empire, and it was difficult to organize a resistance to the Turkish migrations that followed the battle. Within the next few decades almost all of Asia Minor was overrun by the Seljuks.
Nevertheless, in hindsight historians are practically unanimous in dating the decline of Byzantine fortunes to this battle. It is also considered one of the root causes for the later Crusades: the West saw Manzikert as a signal that Byzantium was no longer capable of being the protector of Eastern Christianity.