Anders Peter Johnsen <anderspj@post8.tele.dk> wrote:
> Har du aldrig hørt om Pave Urban II, der startede korstogene med ordene "Gud
> vil det"? ("Deus vult", som senere blev korsriddernes angrebsråb.)
Han startede kortogene, efter at tyrkerne i 1071 havde vundet slaget ved
Manzikert, og derefter begyndt at massakrere østromerne. Tyrkerne truede
med at tage Konstantinopel, kristenhedens hovedstad, og derefter ville
hele Europa være i fare. Leo III Isaurerens og Karl Martels indsats
havde da været forgæves.
Korstogene udsatte denne proces, idet den venezianske doge, Dandolo, i
1204 lod det fjerde korstog indtage Konstantinopel, i stedet for at
forsvare Østrom [og det Jerusalem, der nødvendigvis måtte blive
korstogenes religiøse mål]. Som følge af Dandolos handlinger, blev
Konstantinopel alligevel 1453 taget af tyrkerne, og så sent som for
omkring 300 år siden var Wien under tyrkisk belejring:
Manzikert, Battle of
(1071), battle in which the Byzantines under the emperor
Romanus IV Diogenes were defeated by the Seljuq Turks
led by the sultan Alp-Arslan. It was followed by Seljuq
conquest of most of Anatolia.
Spurred by Seljuq raids and incursions into
Byzantine-ruled Anatolia, Romanus assembled a large army
to reestablish the security of the Byzantine Empire's
eastern frontier there. In the spring of 1071 he led
this army into parts of Turkish-held Armenia, entering
Armenia along the southern branch of the Upper Euphrates
River. Near the town of Manzikert (present Malazgirt,
Tur.), he divided his army, which was composed of
mercenaries that included a contingent of Turkmen,
sending some ahead to secure the fortress of Akhlât on
nearby Lake Van and taking others with him into
Manzikert. Learning of the Byzantine foray into his
territory, Alp-Arslan hastened to Manzikert, where he
confronted the emperor's army.
Romanus abandoned Manzikert in an attempt to reunite his
forces with the group besieging Akhlât. Trapped in a
valley on the Akhlât road, he neglected to send out
scouts to assess the enemy's position, and the Turks
fell upon him. Romanus fought valiantly and might have
won if his position had not been weakened by treachery
within his ranks; his Turkmen troops went over to the
enemy the night before the battle, and one of his
generals, Andronicus Ducas, perceiving that the cause
was lost, fled with his men. The Byzantine army was
destroyed, and Romanus was taken prisoner.
Copyright © 1994-1999 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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