Map of Seljuk Sultanate [3190x1984]

By the battle of Manzikert huge swathes of the empire were already under Turkish occupation, being constantly raided, or both. For decades the Selkuq Sultans had been consistently directing rivals and assorted bands of restless Turkmen into Roman territory, when they weren't raiding it themselves that is. It was on one of these raids that Alp "despite his wishes" Arslan annihilated Ani, the first city of Armenia, slaughtering thousands and leading tens of thousands more into slavery. Romanos's campaign leading up to the battle itself was one of fiercely resisted reconquest where a single minor slip-up lead to Alp "they were asking for it" Arslan personally sacking Caesarea, the leading city of Roman Cappadocia. From a first hand account you get an impression of the Emperor's army marching through a desolated wasteland (Romanos had to make a detour around Antioch because its environs were too thoroughly plundered to even support his army) trying desperately to reinforce the line against the irresistible tide forcing itself into Anatolia

To try to imply that Alp Arslan was somehow justified in his actions or disconnected from the atrocities of his subordinates, not to mention those he committed on his own time, is simple whitewashing of history. He wasn't any different than most steppe conquerors in that respect, and he was a great conqueror, but that make turning him into an innocent, heroic figure acceptable.

But both Muslim and Byzantine sources show that Alp Arslan asked for very little in return for his victory. What happened next though was a civil war amongst the claimants for the Byzantine thrown, which allowed a new wave of (more or less) independent Ghuzz Turkmen to conquer the interior of Anatolia, all the way to Bithynia (which was rich pasture land).

Alp wasn't being lenient out of the good nature of his heart; he either realized or was convinced by Romanos himself that releasing the emperor after such an absence would cause chaos at home, opening up Anatolia to further conquest and raiding, and he was right. The Romans' tendency to fight among themselves was legendary, and Arslan took full advantage of this.

This had nothing to do with the 'Great Seljuk Empire' which Alp Arslan ruled. In fact it happened despite his wishes.

So I assume that the thorough sackings of multiple Anatolian cities and the desolation of the interior Anatolia countryside by the Sultan personally were simply misunderstandings as well?

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