Dear Jeff Kuhner
I would really love to hear you or Michael Savage talk about this but getting through on the phone with him is hard and I get nervous calling in
Battle of Manzikert 1071 AD
This is just off the top of my head from a recent book I read a month ago- The Dreadful Day; The Battle of Manzikert by Alfred Friendly 1981
Romanus Diogenes- after decades of raids by the Byzantine Emperor RD, a military emperor, deposed the anti military bureaucratic party Emperor and organized an army made up of mostly mercenaries with some native troops. The figures for the army range from 200-300,000 but this is probably inflated and a portion of that was support and not soldiers. He faced a much smaller Turkish army led by the Sultan Alps Arslan – (the lion) and faced a total rout because ….. (turks possibly 30-40,00)
The whole scenario that led to the Byzantine defeat at Manzikert really started earlier. It was after the death of the great warrior Emperor Basil II, there was a string of irresponsible weak emperors, referred to as the Playboy Emperor by historian Alfred Friendly, under the bearucratic party who hated the military; much like Progressive liberals do in America. They were threatened by the Aristocratic Land owners who controlled the military in the rural areas, whereas, the bureaucratic Emperor only had control over the imperial army in the city. They were afraid that the generals would march on the city and depose them so they, out of short sightedness, cut the military budget This destroyed a system of recruitment called the Thematic army so as the decades past the Empire was forced to relay on mercenaries who were mostly barbarians such as; pagan and Muslim Turkic tribes, the Normans, the Rus, the Franks, Germans and the list can go on. Prior to 1071 many Greeks were untrained because they relied on the mercenaries. (the slow destruction of the Thematic army was also caused by the Aristocratic land owners but it is too complicated to get into to)
Later, after Emperor Diogenes took control he recruited native troops but a bit too late to train them thoroughly so he still had to relay on mercenaries. The Empire was also financially broke and their resources overstretched, much like we are today Once his army was organized they began the march towards Manzikert but the Emperor had to suppress a group of rebellious Normans, who wanted to carve out their own kingdom. To put it in a nutshell the Greeks lost the battle, I believe, from political corruption, weak leaders, military cut backs, the unreliable mercenaries and treason in the ranks during the battle. A general named Doukas believed his family should control the throne so he held back his troops at a key point in the battle and many scholars believed if he had not done this the Byzantines would have won the battle.
I agree Obama will do anything to stay in power so that is way he has thrown his original supporters under the bus and now his is placating the likes of Wall street etc. Doukas hated the current dynasty so much that he was willing to lose the battle with hopes the Emperor would be deposed. In fact, after the battle Diogenes was captured by the Turks and eventually sent home by the Sultan, who treated the Emperor kindly. When he got back his enemies had been plotting and not only deposed him but had him blinded, often the fate of deposed Emperors. Once again weak Emperor were in control of the throne and the Greeks lost control of their borders; resulting in a flood of illegal Turkic immigrants.
History does repeat itself so with the liberal anti military attitude, weak leadership, cut backs, government corruption, our financial status as a nation, and treason in our ranks with soldiers arrested for doing their job I wonder when will we have our Manzikert. Remember, as the result of this battle the Empire eventually lost a major part of its territory. Will the unchecked flood of illegal immigrants result in the same loss? By about 1080 Turkic nomads began pouring across the Byzantine borders and as a consequence the Empire lost its major recruiting areas for troops Armenia and also they lost the Anatolia highlands a major source of wheat or grain for the Empire. Without 1071 there would not have been the First Crusade or a 1204 (Fourth Crusade) or a 1453- The Fall of Constantinople at the least, I believe, the Crusades would have been delayed. Will we lose such a battle, because of our cut backs and weak leadership, that will change the face of our map?
The Dreadful Day; The Battle of Manzikert 1071 AD by Alfred Friendly
Quotes from:
The consequence of that sudden victory by the army of the Sultan Alps Arslan over that of Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes were not confined to the combatant nations, one ancient the other in the process of being born; they spread to the entire medieval western world. A balance of power that had endured since the great days of Rome was shattered. A new force appeared to face Europe, utterly different in its culture, it religion and its values. Europe spent the next eight centuries struggling to beat it back. Will history repeat itself again?
The most immediate result of Manzikert beyond the borders of Asia Minor was its provocation of the Crusades. Had there been no Turkish triumph, no western crusade would have been possible at all. There would have been no cause for that convulsive movement with its immense revolutionary aftermath. What will be the outcome of Obama and his weak policies? He has an agenda I think!!
