Malazgirt

Template: Infobox city in Turkey / Maintenance / County

Malazgirt ( ancient name Man ( t) zikert, Kurdish Milazgir or Kele ) is a city in the eastern Turkish province of Muş with about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies on the River Murat, 50 km north of Lake Van. From the plateau it is separated by the 4058 m high mountains of Suphan Dagi.

The town was an important trading center already in the Kingdom of Armenia. In 1071 the Battle of Manzikert took place here in the Seljuk Turks under Alp Arslan defeated the Byzantine Empire. Through the treachery of Andronikos Dukas panic was triggered in rows of the Byzantine army and the Byzantine Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes was captured.

With this battle, the slow decline of Byzantium and the de-Hellenization of Asia Minor began. The had advanced in 1060 Turkmen Seljuk submitted in consequence large parts of Anatolia; from 1300 ruled their relatives the Ottomans. In the 12th century Byzantium was able to conquer the western coastal regions and part of the core country for several decades as a result of the Crusades.