A Traitor In Their Midst
- Nick Holmes
- Jul 18
- 1 min read
The Battle of Manzikert is, in my opinion, one of the most important and misunderstood battles in history.
Important because it was the spark that lit the Crusades. It was also the birth of modern Turkey, and celebrated as such every year by Turks.
But it's also misunderstood because many historians regard Byzantine defeat at the battle as inevitable. An old empire like Byzantium was bound to be destroyed by the new power of the Seljuk Turks - isn't that right?
Absolutely not!
The Byzantine Empire was still very formidable. Defeat at Manzikert was in fact due to an outrageous betrayal on the battlefield by a general who wanted to overthrow the emperor Romanus Diogenes.
Discover the events that led to the battle, and why treachery was not adequately safeguarded against, in my latest podcast episode in Echoes of Empires.
NEW BOOK: THE INHERITORS OF ROME
The final book in my series on the Fall of the Roman Empire, The Inheritors of Rome, is now out in eBook and print on Amazon. Click here. The audiobook will be out next year.
Thank you again for your continued interest and support.
Have a great weekend!
Nick
PS I'd be delighted if you wanted to forward this email to a friend who might be interested.
Nick Holmes, c/o Puttenham Press Ltd, Unit 121195, PO Box 6945, London, W1A 6US
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