The siege of Manzikert in 1054 was a successful defense of the city of

Manzikert Malazgirt (; ; ), historically known as Manzikert (), is a town in Muş Province in Turkey. It is the seat of Malazgirt District.Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

forces under Basil Apokapes against the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

led by

Toğrül Abu Talib Muhammad Tughril ibn Mika'il (), better known as Tughril (; also spelled Toghril / Tughrul), was a Turkoman"The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turkomans at the battle of Malazgirt (Manzikert) is ...

Siege

besieged Manzikert for thirty days using all sorts of siege machines but the city held. A historical account cited the successful defense against the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of th ...

use of light type of tortoises, the mobile shelters that protected men and siege weapons from missile fire. Basil is said to have stored sharpened large beams, which were thrown at the advancing tortoises, overturning them in the process. The city itself was able to withstand the onslaught due to its triple wall and access to spring water. Seventeen years later, the Turks would experience greater success against

Romanus Diogenes Romanos IV Diogenes (; – ) was Byzantine emperor from 1068 to 1071. Determined to halt the decline of the Byzantine military and to stop Turkish incursions into the empire, he is nevertheless best known for his defeat and capture in 1071 at ...

under

Alp Arslan Alp Arslan, born Muhammad Alp Arslan bin Dawud Chaghri, was the second List of sultans of the Seljuk Empire, sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk (warlord), Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty and the empire. He g ...

at the same place, with the city falling alongside the famous Byzantine defeat in 1071.

References

Manzikert 1054 Manzikert 1054 1050s in the Byzantine Empire Conflicts in 1054 1054 in Asia Sieges of the Byzantine–Seljuk wars 11th century in the Seljuk Empire {{Battle-stub