The Battle of Adramyttion occurred on 19 March 1205 between the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

and the

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...

Empire of Nicaea The Empire of Nicaea or the Nicene Empire is the conventional historiographic name for the largest of the three Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C. M. Woodhouse ...

, one of the kingdoms established after the fall of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

to the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

in 1204. It resulted in a comprehensive victory for the Latins. There are two accounts of the battle, one by Geoffrey de Villehardouin, and the other by

Nicetas Choniates Niketas or Nicetas Choniates ( el, Νικήτας Χωνιάτης; c. 1155 – 1217), whose actual surname was Akominatos (Ἀκομινάτος), was a Byzantine Greek government official and historian – like his brother Michael Akominatos, wh ...

, which differ significantly.

Villehardouin's account

Henry of Flanders Henry (c.1178 – 11 June 1216) was Latin emperor of Constantinople from 1205 until his death in 1216. He was one of the leaders of the Fourth Crusade in which the Byzantine Empire was conquered and Latin Empire formed. Life Henry was born i ...

, brother to Emperor

Baldwin I of Constantinople Baldwin I ( nl, Boudewijn; french: Baudouin; July 1172 – ) was the first Emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople; Count of Flanders (as Baldwin IX) from 1194 to 1205 and Count of Hainaut (as Baldwin VI) from 1195-1205. Baldwin was ...

, was encouraged by the Armenians to make an attempt on the city of

Adramyttion Adramyttium ( el, Άδραμύττιον ''Adramyttion'', Άδραμύττειον ''Adramytteion'', or Άτραμύττιον ''Atramyttion'') was an ancient city and bishopric in Aeolis, in modern-day Turkey. It was originally located at the he ...

. He left from Abydos, after leaving a garrison in the town, and rode for two days before encamping before Adramyttion. The city soon surrendered, and Henry proceeded to occupy it, using it as a base to attack the Byzantines. Theodore Laskaris, who had been troubled by his defeat at Battle of Poemanenum, collected as many people as he could from around Nicaea and assembled a large army. He gave the command of this force to his brother,

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

, who was dispatched immediately to Adramyttion. Henry of Flanders had received word from the Armenians that a large Byzantine force was marching against him, so he prepared his limited forces as best he could. On March 19, 1205, Constantine appeared before the walls of the city. Henry, refusing to remain trapped behind the walls of Adramyttion, opened the gates and rode out with his heavy cavalry. The two sides engaged in close hand-to-hand combat, with victory falling to the Franks, who killed or captured much of the Byzantine army. The Franks went on to capture a large amount of weaponry and treasure in the aftermath.

Choniates' account

According to Niketas Choniates, the commander of the Byzantine forces was not Constantine Laskaris, but

Theodore Mangaphas Theodore Mangaphas or Mankaphas ( gr, Θεόδωρος Μαγκαφᾶς, fl. c. 1188–1205) was a Greek nobleman from Philadelphia, who assumed the title of Byzantine emperor twice, first during the reign of Isaac II Angelos (r. 1185–1195 and ...

, a usurper who held the city of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Heartened by news of a victory against the Latins, Theodore marched against Henry who was at Adramyttion. At first he took Henry by surprise, causing him great consternation because of his large forces. Henry, convinced that he had to make a desperate attempt, drew up his cavalry in battle array, and raising their lances, they awaited the Byzantine attack. But the Byzantines were reluctant to undertake the initiative for battle, and were listless and sluggish in repulsing the cavalry charges. At a given signal, Henry leaped ahead of the others and rode his horse through the centre of their ranks, while his cavalry, couching their lances and raising the war cry, scattered the Byzantines and pressed upon them as they retreated. Large numbers of Byzantines were cut down, with their cavalry fleeing, abandoning the infantry to slaughter and captivity.

Reconciliation of the accounts

Subsequent historians have attempted to address the apparent discrepancies between the two sources. Mostly they have assumed that there were two separate attempts to force Henry of Flanders out of Adramyttion, the first by Laskaris which failed, and a second attempt by Mangaphas, within a very short period of time in early 1205.

References

* Geoffrey De Villehardouin, 'Memoirs Or Chronicle of the Fourth Crusade and the Conquest of Constantinople', Echo Library, 2007, pg 63 * Harry J. Magoulias, 'O city of Byzantium: annals of Niketas Choniatēs', Wayne State University Press, 1984, pg 331 * The Cambridge Medieval History IV: The Eastern Roman Empire (717-1453), Ed. J.B.Bury {{DEFAULTSORT:Adramyttion, Battle Of 1205 in Europe Adramyttion 1205 Battles in medieval Anatolia Battles involving the Empire of Nicaea Conflicts in 1205

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