The siege of Manzikert in 1054 was a successful defense of the city of

Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, theme of Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and th ...

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

forces under

Basil Apokapes Basil Apokapes (or Apocapes) (b 924-977) ( el, ) was a Byzantine general of the 11th century. A descendant of the Apokapai family, an Armeno-Georgian noble clan, he was the son of the patrician Michael Apokapes or Abu K’ab, who had once serv ...

against the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

led by

Toğrül Abu Talib Muhammad Tughril ibn Mika'il ( fa, ابوطالب محمد تغریل بن میکائیل), better known as Tughril (; also spelled Toghril), was a Turkmen"The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

Siege

besieged Manzikert for thirty days using all sorts of siege machines but the city held. A historical account cited the successful defense against the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

use of light type of tortoises, the mobile shelters that protected men and siege weapons from missile fire. Basil is said to have stored sharpened large beams, which were thrown at the advancing tortoises, overturning them in the process. The city itself was able to withstand the onslaught due to its triple wall and access to spring water. Seventeen years later, the Turks would experience greater success against

Romanus Diogenes Romanos IV Diogenes (Greek: Ρωμανός Διογένης), Latinized as Romanus IV Diogenes, was a member of the Byzantine military aristocracy who, after his marriage to the widowed empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa, was crowned Byzantine Em ...

under

Alp Arslan Alp Arslan was the second Sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. He greatly expanded the Seljuk territory and consolidated his power, defeating rivals to the south and northwest, and his v ...

at the same place, with the city falling alongside the famous Byzantine defeat in 1071.

References

Manzikert 1054 Manzikert 1054 1050s in the Byzantine Empire Conflicts in 1054 1054 in Asia Sieges of the Byzantine–Seljuk wars 11th century in the Seljuk Empire {{Battle-stub