The Battle of Manzikert

The Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan, with about twenty thousand, defeated the army of the Byzantine emperor Romanos — over two hundred thousand — and captured the emperor himself, opening Anatolia to Islam and the Turks.

Romanos IV mustered a vast army to uproot the Seljuks and recover Armenia. Alp Arslan met him near Manzikert north of Lake Van with a small force of cavalry and offered peace, which the emperor refused, proud of his numbers.

The Sultan donned white on Friday, embalmed himself and said: If I am killed, this is my shroud, prayed with the army, and had the preachers supplicate for the Muslims on the pulpits — by the arrangement of the caliph al-Qaʾim bi-Amr Allah. Then he charged with the Turkic tactic of feigned retreat until the Byzantine army was torn apart and Romanos fell captive.

It was the first time a Byzantine emperor was taken captive in war with the Muslims; Alp Arslan honoured him, ransomed him and made a covenant with him. After it Anatolia opened to the migrations of the Turkmen, and the Seljuks of Rum then the House of Osman arose — and from Manzikert began the road to Constantinople.