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Battle of Kapetron
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Battle of Kapetron
The Battle of Kapetron or Kapetrou was fought between a Byzantine-Georgian army and the Seljuq Turks at the plain of Kapetron (modern Hasankale/Pasinler in northeastern Turkey) in 1048. The event was the culmination of a major raid led by the Seljuq prince Ibrahim Inal into Byzantine-ruled Armenia. A combination of factors meant that the regular Byzantine forces were at a considerable numerical disadvantage against the Turks: the local thematic armies had been disbanded, while many of the professional troops had been diverted to the Balkans to face the revolt of Leo Tornikios. As a result, the Byzantine commanders, Aaron and Katakalon Kekaumenos, disagreed on how best to confront the invasion. Kekaumenos favoured an immediate and pre-emptive strike, while Aaron favoured a more cautious strategy until the arrival of reinforcements. Emperor Constantine IX chose the latter option and ordered his forces to adopt a passive stance, while requesting aid from the ruler of Georgian Duchy of Kldekari, Liparit IV. This allowed the Turks to ravage at will, notably leading to the sack and destruction of the great commercial centre of Artze.
After the Georgians arrived, the combined Byzantine–Georgian force gave battle at Kapetron (modern Hasankale). In a fierce nocturnal battle, the Christian allies managed to repel the Turks, and Aaron and Kekaumenos, in command of the two flanks, pursued the Turks until the next morning. In the centre, however, Inal managed to capture Liparit, a fact of which the two Byzantine commanders were not informed until after they had given thanks to God for their victory. Inal was able to return unmolested to the Seljuq capital at Rayy, carrying enormous plunder. The two sides exchanged embassies, leading to the release of Liparit and the start of diplomatic relations between the Byzantine and Seljuq courts. Emperor Constantine IX took steps to strengthen his eastern frontier, but due to infighting the Turkish invasions did not recommence until 1054. The Turks experienced increasing success, aided by the renewed diversion of Byzantine troops to the Balkans to fight the Pechenegs, disputes between the various ethnic groups of the eastern Byzantine provinces, and the decline of the Byzantine army.
After the conquest of territories in present-day Iran by the Seljuq Empire, a large number of Oghuz Turks arrived on the Byzantine borderlands of Armenia in the late 1040s. Eager for plunder and distinction in the path of jihad, they began raiding the Byzantine provinces in Armenia. At the same time, the eastern defences of the Byzantine Empire had been weakened by Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos (r. 1042–1055), who allowed the thematic troops (provincial levies) of Iberia and Mesopotamia to relinquish their military obligations in favour of tax payments.
The Seljuq expansion westward was a confused affair, as it was accompanied by a mass migration of Turkish tribes. These tribes were only nominally subjects of the Seljuq rulers, and their relations were dominated by a complex dynamic: while the Seljuqs aimed at establishing a state with an orderly administration, the tribes were more interested in plunder and new pasture lands, and launched raids independently of the Seljuq court. The latter tolerated this phenomenon, as it helped to defuse tensions in the Seljuq heartlands.
A first large-scale raid against the eastern Byzantine province of Vaspurakan may have been undertaken around 1045 by Qutalmish, a cousin of the Seljuq ruler Tughril Beg. Qutalmish defeated and captured the local Byzantine commander, Stephen Leichoudes. Another large-scale invasion, under Tughril's nephew, Hasan the Deaf, was launched soon after from Tabriz into Georgia. Returning via Vaspurakan, Hasan's army was ambushed and destroyed east of Lake Van by the local Byzantine commanders, the katepano of Vaspurakan, Aaron, and the katepano of Ani and Iberia, Katakalon Kekaumenos. This first raid is variously dated either to 1045/46 or 1048.
An even larger invasion followed, under Ibrahim Inal, the half-brother of Tughril Beg. The Byzantine sources regard this as a retaliation for Hasan's defeat, but as Anthony Kaldellis points out, there were other factors at play as well: Ibn al-Athir reports that Ibrahim had at this time received a large number of recent Oghuz arrivals from Transoxiana, and that, unable to provide for them, sent them to raid the Byzantine provinces of Armenia, promising that he would soon follow with his own troops.
The events of this campaign are well attested through the histories of the Armenian historians Aristakes Lastivertsi and Matthew of Edessa, and the Byzantine official John Skylitzes. Ibrahim's invasion is usually dated by modern sources to 1048 although some date it to 1049.
Skylitzes reports, with obvious exaggeration, that the invaders numbered 100,000 men, or five times as many as Hasan's force. He also adds the detail that alongside the Turks, the Seljuq army also counted many "Dilimnites" (Daylamites) and "Kabeiroi" (probably Khurasani Iranians). Indeed, Skylitzes mentions that Ibrahim had two lieutenants, one "Chorosantes" (possibly a corruption of Khurasani), who likely commanded the Khurasani contingent, and "Aspan Salarios", clearly a hellenisation of the Persian military rank ispahsalar.
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Battle of Kapetron
The Battle of Kapetron or Kapetrou was fought between a Byzantine-Georgian army and the Seljuq Turks at the plain of Kapetron (modern Hasankale/Pasinler in northeastern Turkey) in 1048. The event was the culmination of a major raid led by the Seljuq prince Ibrahim Inal into Byzantine-ruled Armenia. A combination of factors meant that the regular Byzantine forces were at a considerable numerical disadvantage against the Turks: the local thematic armies had been disbanded, while many of the professional troops had been diverted to the Balkans to face the revolt of Leo Tornikios. As a result, the Byzantine commanders, Aaron and Katakalon Kekaumenos, disagreed on how best to confront the invasion. Kekaumenos favoured an immediate and pre-emptive strike, while Aaron favoured a more cautious strategy until the arrival of reinforcements. Emperor Constantine IX chose the latter option and ordered his forces to adopt a passive stance, while requesting aid from the ruler of Georgian Duchy of Kldekari, Liparit IV. This allowed the Turks to ravage at will, notably leading to the sack and destruction of the great commercial centre of Artze.
After the Georgians arrived, the combined Byzantine–Georgian force gave battle at Kapetron (modern Hasankale). In a fierce nocturnal battle, the Christian allies managed to repel the Turks, and Aaron and Kekaumenos, in command of the two flanks, pursued the Turks until the next morning. In the centre, however, Inal managed to capture Liparit, a fact of which the two Byzantine commanders were not informed until after they had given thanks to God for their victory. Inal was able to return unmolested to the Seljuq capital at Rayy, carrying enormous plunder. The two sides exchanged embassies, leading to the release of Liparit and the start of diplomatic relations between the Byzantine and Seljuq courts. Emperor Constantine IX took steps to strengthen his eastern frontier, but due to infighting the Turkish invasions did not recommence until 1054. The Turks experienced increasing success, aided by the renewed diversion of Byzantine troops to the Balkans to fight the Pechenegs, disputes between the various ethnic groups of the eastern Byzantine provinces, and the decline of the Byzantine army.
After the conquest of territories in present-day Iran by the Seljuq Empire, a large number of Oghuz Turks arrived on the Byzantine borderlands of Armenia in the late 1040s. Eager for plunder and distinction in the path of jihad, they began raiding the Byzantine provinces in Armenia. At the same time, the eastern defences of the Byzantine Empire had been weakened by Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos (r. 1042–1055), who allowed the thematic troops (provincial levies) of Iberia and Mesopotamia to relinquish their military obligations in favour of tax payments.
The Seljuq expansion westward was a confused affair, as it was accompanied by a mass migration of Turkish tribes. These tribes were only nominally subjects of the Seljuq rulers, and their relations were dominated by a complex dynamic: while the Seljuqs aimed at establishing a state with an orderly administration, the tribes were more interested in plunder and new pasture lands, and launched raids independently of the Seljuq court. The latter tolerated this phenomenon, as it helped to defuse tensions in the Seljuq heartlands.
A first large-scale raid against the eastern Byzantine province of Vaspurakan may have been undertaken around 1045 by Qutalmish, a cousin of the Seljuq ruler Tughril Beg. Qutalmish defeated and captured the local Byzantine commander, Stephen Leichoudes. Another large-scale invasion, under Tughril's nephew, Hasan the Deaf, was launched soon after from Tabriz into Georgia. Returning via Vaspurakan, Hasan's army was ambushed and destroyed east of Lake Van by the local Byzantine commanders, the katepano of Vaspurakan, Aaron, and the katepano of Ani and Iberia, Katakalon Kekaumenos. This first raid is variously dated either to 1045/46 or 1048.
An even larger invasion followed, under Ibrahim Inal, the half-brother of Tughril Beg. The Byzantine sources regard this as a retaliation for Hasan's defeat, but as Anthony Kaldellis points out, there were other factors at play as well: Ibn al-Athir reports that Ibrahim had at this time received a large number of recent Oghuz arrivals from Transoxiana, and that, unable to provide for them, sent them to raid the Byzantine provinces of Armenia, promising that he would soon follow with his own troops.
The events of this campaign are well attested through the histories of the Armenian historians Aristakes Lastivertsi and Matthew of Edessa, and the Byzantine official John Skylitzes. Ibrahim's invasion is usually dated by modern sources to 1048 although some date it to 1049.
Skylitzes reports, with obvious exaggeration, that the invaders numbered 100,000 men, or five times as many as Hasan's force. He also adds the detail that alongside the Turks, the Seljuq army also counted many "Dilimnites" (Daylamites) and "Kabeiroi" (probably Khurasani Iranians). Indeed, Skylitzes mentions that Ibrahim had two lieutenants, one "Chorosantes" (possibly a corruption of Khurasani), who likely commanded the Khurasani contingent, and "Aspan Salarios", clearly a hellenisation of the Persian military rank ispahsalar.