Atlas of Battles

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Battle of Manzikert

Battle of Manzikert was a battle fought on 26 August 1071 at Malazgirt, in what is now Turkey. It was part of the Byzantine–Seljuq Wars, which ran from 1048 to 1308. The recorded result: Seljuk victory.

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مُنمنمة إفرنجيَّة تُصوِّرُ وقعة ملاذكرد بين البيزنطيين والمُسلمين تحت راية السلاجقة.
مُنمنمة إفرنجيَّة تُصوِّرُ وقعة ملاذكرد بين البيزنطيين والمُسلمين تحت راية السلاجقة.. Rohan Master, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought26 August 1071
WhereMalazgirt, Turkey39.100N, 42.590E
OutcomeSeljuk victory
BelligerentsByzantine Empire; Regulars and provincial troops; Feudal levies of frontier land owners; Latin, Alanian, Georgian, Armenian, Bulgarian, Turkic mercenariesagainstSeljuk Empire; Turkic mercenaries
Casualties and losses2,000–8,000 killed; 4,000 captured; 20,000 desertedandUnknown
Part ofByzantine–Seljuq Wars1048 to 1308

Where it sits in the Byzantine–Seljuq Wars

Battle of Ganja, 1046Battle of Vaspurakan, 1046Battle of the Stragna River, 1048Battle of Kapetron, 1048Siege of Manzikert, 1054Alp Arslan's raids into Anatolia, 1063Siege of Ani, 1064Afshin Bey's invasion of Anatolia, 1066Battle of Caesarea, 1067Battle of Iconium, 1069Battle of Sebastia, 1070Battle of Manzikert, 1071Battle of Caesarea, 1073Siege of Antioch, 1084Siege of Antioch, 1084Siege of Nicaea, 1113Battle of Cotyaeum, 1113Battle of Philomelion, 1116Battle of Bolvadin, 1116Battle of Şiran, 1120Siege of Gangra, 1135Siege of Neocaesarea, 1140Battle of Acroënus, 1146Fall of Turbessel, 1151Battle of Myriokephalon, 1176Battle of Hyelion and Leimocheir, 1177Siege of Cotyaeum, 1182Siege of Trebizond, 1205Siege of Antalya, 1207Battle of Antioch on the Meander, 1211Siege of Sinope, 1214Battle of Sudak, 1221Siege of Kalonoros, 1221Siege of Karacahisar, 123210461232Battle of Manzikert, 1071
34 placed engagements of the Byzantine–Seljuq Wars in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date26 August 1071
PlaceMalazgirt, Turkey
39.100N, 42.590E
KindBattle, medieval
Territorial changeBeginning of Turkic rule and settlement in Anatolia
Strength40,000 (Close to half deserted before the battle and Turkic mercenaries defected to the Seljuk side); 200,000+ (Matthew of Edessa and Muslim sources)35,000–50,000
Casualties and losses2,000–8,000 killed; 4,000 captured; 20,000 desertedUnknown
Commanders
  • Romanos IV
  • Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder
  • Theodore Alyates
  • Andronikos Doukas (cousin of Michael VII)
  • Alp Arslan
Battle of ManzikertBattle of ManzikertBattle of ManzikertSiege of ManzikertBattle of Qara DarraBattle of Kara KillisseBattle of BitlisBattle of ManzikertBattle of Qara DarraBattle of Kara KillisseBattle of BitlisYerevanErzurumVanBatmanMuşTatvanSiirtBingöl100 km39.100N, 42.590E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Manzikert
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Manzikert today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-06-27. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 1,623 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 1,502 to 1,771 m, 269 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 77% cropland, 23% grassland.

cropland: 77%grassland: 23%cropland 77%grassland 23%
west to east, 10.0 km1,598 to 1,642 mnorth to south, 10.0 km1,596 to 1,718 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1071

Battle of Manzikert is one of 334 engagements of the 11th century in the atlas and one of 687 in present-day Turkey.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q200032, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Manzikert, revision 1371431660, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.