In 1176 Manuel made the decision to put an end to the power of the sultanate by taking Iconium and capturing the sultan, and to this purpose he levied great numbers of troops, especially Latins and Uzes from the Danubian regions. He sent one force under his nephew Andronicus Vatatzes to take Neocaesareia and the emperor himself too the major portion of the army southward. He advanced on Iconium via Phrygia and Laodiceia, stopping at Chonae to visit the church of the Archangel Michael, and afterward moved on to Lampe and Celenae-Apameia where the Meander River rises. Thence he proceeded to the recently rebuilt fortress of Choma-Soublaion and finally to the abandoned fortress of Myriokephalon. The emperor's process had been orderly but very slow, as there was a large contingent of unarmed men busy with the immense baggage train. The slowness had been enforced by the appearance of the Turkmens, numerous as locusts, who realized that the emperor had come to chase them from their habitats. The nomads harassed the army in groups of 5,000 to 10,000, and on the eve of the battle some 50,000 attempted to pillage the emperor's camp. Fortunately, the emperor Manuel was prepared and ambushed the Turkmen, decimating their forces.
The sultan, Kilidj Arslan, had made considerable preparations for the conflict by recruiting large numbers of Turks from the regions o Mesopotamia and from the regions farther to the east. As the Byzantine army had advanced, the sultan had withdrawn and scorched the earth, burning the villages and grassy plains and destroying anything that might have been of use to the advancing Byzantine army. All the wells, cisterns, and springs were contaminated with the bodies of dead asses and dogs. Though this tactic had not created the dysentery and other problems that might have been expecetd in the army of the Byzantines.
The sultan finally occupied the pass of Tzybritze, which the Greeks were about to enter as they left Myriokephalon. The battle that ensued in the difficult mountain pass could easily have been a disaster almost of the magnitude of Manzikert, instead by the providence of God the emperor's forces carried the day against the Turks. A fierce sandstorm so obscured the Turks that they were unable to act effectively, and the Greek army seemed to have evidence of many of their ploys before they even attempted them. Add to this dissension and death in the ranks of the sultan's army and it was a rout.
| Corax on patrol in the area (a normal yearly activity) was able to intervene in this battle. |
Unfortunately, the Greek army suffered heavy losses at Myriokephalon, halting their advanced. The sultan through his envoy was able to negotiate a peace, giving funds to help the newly built fortifications of Dorylaeum and Choma-Soublaion. Furthermore the Greeks caused the Turks to withdraw further from these lands in peace. This battle, the most significant event to happen on Anatolian soil since Manzikert (1071) delayed many of the Turks growth westward, reinforcing the Byzantine position both in Anatolia and elsewhere.
The sultan faced internal difficulties, compounded by the loss of his emir-as-hadig, al-Qunewi. The next two decades would see him conquering the last important vestige of Danishmenddid heritage (Melitene) in 1184, and sometime later he destroyed the walls of Kaisum, carrying off its inhabitants into captivity.
in the saga, this map is slightly different. The Byzantine's have not losta s much territory, and some of the dates for Seljuk conquests from the danishmendids should be pushed ahead a few years. But by 1195 the Seljuks have pretty much taken care of their rivals and are again turning their attentions towards the Greeks.