Following the betrayal which happened in Matzikert, the start of the end for the Empire, Romanos Diogenes soon realised after he was set free that his throne had been taken over. He gathered armies from the lands as he approached the battlefield that awaited him, securing the local support in soldiers enlisting and also in wealth granted.
"πέμπων εἰς τὰς ἀπανταχοῦ πόλεις καὶ χώρας στρατεύματά τε συνήθροιζε καὶ χρήματα εἰσεπράττετο".
While the decisive battle was in the region of Cilicia, Romanos first seems to have been stopped in Dokeia. Turning to the south lands of Byzantine Asia he had the support of the local ducas, Χατατούριος (i suspect his name in latin would be spelled like his future countryman, the famous armenian composer Chatzatourian?), who was made the regional ruler by Romanos D' himself, in 1068.
Chatzatourian lost the battle in Tyre, where he was killed. Romanos retreated to Antioch, from where he negotiated an end to the war with the false emperor. The false emperor agreed to spare his life, and then ordered his blinding. Romanos died from the wounds from the blinding, which were left as they were, soon after. Thus the Empire's fate was sealed, through the disgusting schemes of vermin such as Michael Psellos, false-emperor Michael Z "the parapinakes" Doucas, and their jesters in court.
I would like to learn more about the battles in this campaign. One was fought between Romanos D' and Constantine Doucas (at Dokeia). The other between Chatzatourian and Andronikos Doucas, the traitor in Matzikert. So if you have any info on that, please help
[on a sidenote: it would be great to know if the guard of Romanos D' in Matzikert had many anglo-saxons. I read that the bulk of anglo-saxons in the Varangian guard came after 1066 (battle at Hastings), and some claim that they were a majority by 1204. ].
"πέμπων εἰς τὰς ἀπανταχοῦ πόλεις καὶ χώρας στρατεύματά τε συνήθροιζε καὶ χρήματα εἰσεπράττετο".
While the decisive battle was in the region of Cilicia, Romanos first seems to have been stopped in Dokeia. Turning to the south lands of Byzantine Asia he had the support of the local ducas, Χατατούριος (i suspect his name in latin would be spelled like his future countryman, the famous armenian composer Chatzatourian?), who was made the regional ruler by Romanos D' himself, in 1068.
Chatzatourian lost the battle in Tyre, where he was killed. Romanos retreated to Antioch, from where he negotiated an end to the war with the false emperor. The false emperor agreed to spare his life, and then ordered his blinding. Romanos died from the wounds from the blinding, which were left as they were, soon after. Thus the Empire's fate was sealed, through the disgusting schemes of vermin such as Michael Psellos, false-emperor Michael Z "the parapinakes" Doucas, and their jesters in court.
I would like to learn more about the battles in this campaign. One was fought between Romanos D' and Constantine Doucas (at Dokeia). The other between Chatzatourian and Andronikos Doucas, the traitor in Matzikert. So if you have any info on that, please help
[on a sidenote: it would be great to know if the guard of Romanos D' in Matzikert had many anglo-saxons. I read that the bulk of anglo-saxons in the Varangian guard came after 1066 (battle at Hastings), and some claim that they were a majority by 1204. ].
