The Battle of Olivento was fought on 17 March 1041 between the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

of southern Italy and their Lombard allies near the Olivento river, between the actual

Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

and

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

, southern Italy.

History

The battle had its origin in the decision of

Arduin the Lombard Arduin the Lombard (or Arduin of Melfi; it, Arduino di Melfi; el, Αρντουίνος του Μέλφι, translit=Ardouinos ton Mélfi) was a Greek-speaking Lombard nobleman who fought originally for the Byzantines on Sicily and later agains ...

, a Greek-speaking Lombard who had fought for the Byzantines, to change sides and form a coalition with the Normans

Rainulf Drengot Rainulf Drengot (also Ranulph, Ranulf, or Rannulf; died June 1045) was a Norman adventurer and mercenary in southern Italy. In 1030 he became the first count of Aversa. He was a member of the Drengot family. Early life and arrival in Italy When Ra ...

and the Hauteville brothers (

William Iron Arm William I of Hauteville (before 1010 – 1046), known as William Iron Arm,Guillaume Bras-de-fer in French, Guglielmo Braccio di Ferro in Italian and Gugghiermu Vrazzu di Ferru in Sicilian. was a Norman adventurer who was the founder of the ...

, Drogo,

Humphrey Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Medieval period :''Ordered chronologically'' *Hunfrid of P ...

), and the Lombards Atenulf of Benevento and

Argyrus of Bari Argyrus (or ''Argyros''; c. 1000–1068) was a Lombard nobleman and Byzantine general, son of the Lombard hero Melus. He was born in Bari. Upon the defeat of Melus, who had rebelled against the Byzantines, at the battle of Cannae in 1018, Argyru ...

. Once having defeated the imperial armies, they would take for themselves the conquered lands. The Byzantine

catepan of Italy The Catepanate (or Catapanate) of Italy ( el, ''Katepaníkion Italías'') was a province of the Byzantine Empire from 965 until 1071. At its greatest extent, it comprised mainland Italy south of a line drawn from Monte Gargano to the Gulf of S ...

Michael Dokeianos Michael Dokeianos ( el, Μιχαήλ Δοκειανός), erroneously called Doukeianos by some modern writers, was a Byzantine nobleman and military leader, who married into the Komnenos family. He was active in Sicily under George Maniakes befo ...

, moved from

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

with the few troops he could muster, including some

Varangians The Varangians (; non, Væringjar; gkm, Βάραγγοι, ''Várangoi'';Varangian
" Online Etymo ...

, troops from the

Opsikion The Opsician Theme ( gr, θέμα Ὀψικίου, ''thema Opsikiou'') or simply Opsikion (Greek: , from la, Obsequium) was a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Theme (country subdivision), theme (a military-civilian province) located in northwestern As ...

'' tagma'' and several Thracesians. He was able to defeat the first rebel troops he met, and he pursued them at

Ascoli Satriano Ascoli Satriano (; nap, label= Foggiano, Àsculë) is a town and ''comune ''in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It is located on the edge of a large plain in Northern Apulia known as the Tavoliere delle Puglie.Cur ...

. Here he was met by an army of 300 Norman Knights and 600 infantry under Rainulf Drengot, Arduin and William Iron Arm. Prior to the battle Dokeianos sent an envoy to the Lombard-Norman army to give them a choice of returning to Lombard territory or to fight the numerically superior Byzantine Army. Once the envoy was done giving the terms, Hugh Touboeuf, the Norman knight who had been holding the reins to the envoy's mount-killed the horse by hitting it in the back of the head with his gauntlet. After the envoy was given another horse he was sent back to Dokeianos with the Normans' reply choosing battle. The rebels had deployed the cavalry in the centre, with the infantry on the wings. The Byzantines launched several waves of attacks against the Norman cavalry. However, the Normans resisted and counter-attacked, defeating the Byzantines with a decisive cavalry charge. The Greek troops fled, and many of them drowned in the river. The catepan himself was barely able to escape alive. The battle of Olivento was the first of the numerous successes scored by the Normans in their conquest of southern Italy. After the battle, they conquered Ascoli,

Venosa Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervasio, ...

Gravina di Puglia Gravina in Puglia (; nap, label= Barese, Gravéine ; la, Silvium; grc, Σιλούϊον, Siloúïon) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. The word ''gravina'' comes from the Latin ''grava'' or from ...

. It was followed by other Normans victories over the Byzantines in the battles of Montemaggiore and

Montepeloso Irsina, until 1895 called Montepeloso (in local dialect: or ), is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former Latin bishopric in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. The town Irsina is an agricultural town pe ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 1041 in Europe 1040s in the Byzantine Empire Olivento Olivento Olivento Olivento Catepanate of Italy Olivento