BATTLE AT THE BRIDGE OF ZOMPE

Shortly after the defeat of emperor Romanos IV Diogenes by the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan on the Armenian plateau of Manzikert, the Byzantines had to deal with a serious menace. This was the Frankish mercenary leader Roussel de Bailleul, whose revolt initiated a series of revolutionary insurrections that paralyzed the government. While others have written about him and his role in the state’s political affairs, no in-depth study of the Battle at the Bridge of Zompe has yet been conducted. The Byzantine troops were crippled so badly by this battle that the Empire could not recover its former status. The eastern defence was left to decay, while Asia Minor was subjected to continual raids. Modern scholars see the defeat at Manzikert and this event as those that facilitated the establishment of the Seljuks beyond the borders of the Empire.

One of the most striking parallels between the two battles (at Manzikert and the Bridge of Zompe) is the betrayal and capture of the two commanders-in-chief, the emperor Romanos Diogenes and the Caesar John Doukas. The impact, especially of the second battle, was significant for the Byzantines, rendering the army incapable of defending the border provinces. The terrible situation and the condition of the imperial armies are detailed by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, the author of the Alexiad and daughter of the emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118):

The Roman [i.e. the Byzantine] empire had reached its lowest point, because