Campaign and Battle of Manzikert, 1071

Georgios Theotokis is a historian specializing in the military history of the eastern Mediterranean in late antiquity and the Middle Ages. He has published numerous articles and monographs on the history of conflict and warfare in Europe and the Mediterranean in the medieval and early modern periods.

• List of Maps and ImagesIntroductionChapter 1. Christian and Muslim Sources for the Battle of Manzikert: Making Sense of the Professional and Cultural MilieuChapter 2. Christian and Muslim Sources for the Battle of Manzikert: Making Sense of the “Battle-Piece”Chapter 3. Christian and Muslim Sources for the Battle of Manzikert: Making Sense of Numbers and Local TopographyChapter 4. The Geopolitical and Military Background to the Battle of ManzikertChapter 5. The Prelude to the Battle of ManzikertChapter 6. The Battle of ManzikertChapter 7. The Aftermath of the Battle of ManzikertConclusionsBibliography

Debate over the causes and effects of the Battle of Manzikert (1071) has long preoccupied many academics, university students, and people generally interested in Byzantium. Georgios Theotokis opens his book by presenting that debate’s central question: why exactly did a single battle lead to the quick loss of Anatolia, so that Asia Minor, a Roman province since classical antiquity, became the Turkish homeland? He states his answer from the outset: the battle proved geopolitically decisive because it introduced an element of chaos into Byzantine history, especially due to the capture of Romanos IV Diogenes. [...] In sum, this is a highly valuable work [...]. I will certainly be adding it to reading lists in the future, and I encourage other historians to use it as a starting point for further investigation.