In the Wake of Mantzikert

The First Crusade and the Alexian Reconquest of Western Anatolia

Bibliographic Data

ID9877866
AuthorsJASON T ROCHE (0000-0003-0518-9706, University of St Andrews, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume94
Issue314
Pages135-153
Publication date2009-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHistory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-2648 • E-ISSN: 1468-229X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1468-229x.2009.00448.x
OpenAlexW2120600521
LanguageEN
Citations received2

The main aims of this article are threefold. It initially seeks to address two popular misconceptions frequently found in crusade histories and general histories of the Byzantine empire concerning the Turkish invasion and settlement of western Anatolia after the battle of Mantzikert in 1071. The article maintains that blurring the distinctions between the Seljuk Turks of Ransūm and the tribes of pastoral nomads or rather transhumants who came to be known as Türkmens or Turcomans is incorrect. The oft‐repeated assumption that the Seljuk Turks of Baghdad oversaw the Turkish conquest of Anatolia is addressed when tracing the unstructured nature of the Turkish migration and the subsequent lack of unity amongst the invaders. After providing the context of the Turkish settlement in western Anatolia, the article throws new light on the relative ease with which the armies of the First Crusade traversed the Anatolian plateau and Byzantine forces compelled the speedy capitulation of Turkish towns and territories along the western coastal plains and river valleys of Anatolia in 1097 and 1098 respectively

Ancient history · Archaeology · Battle · Byzantine architecture · CONQUEST · Context (archaeology · Geography · Settlement (finance · Turkish · Byzantine Studies and History · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Medieval History and Crusades

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