The Battle of Dyrrhachium took place on 18 October 1081, between the Byzantine Empire, led by the Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, and the Normans of Southern Italy under Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria. The battle was fought outside the city of Dyrrhachium (also known as Durazzo), the Byzantine capital of Illyria, and ended in a Norman victory.

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  • 1081-10-18 (xsd:date)
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  • 5,000 men dead
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  • 23px Duchy of
    Apulia and Calabria
  • 30px Byzantine Empire
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  • Norman victory
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  • 150 ships
  • 20,000 men
  • 30,000 men
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  • 5,000 men dead
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  • 23px Duchy of
    Apulia and Calabria
  • 30px Byzantine Empire
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  • 1081-10-18 (xsd:date)
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  • Norman victory
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  • 150 ships
  • 20,000 men
  • 30,000 men
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dbpprop:abstract
  • The Battle of Dyrrhachium took place on 18 October 1081, between the Byzantine Empire, led by the Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, and the Normans of Southern Italy under Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria. The battle was fought outside the city of Dyrrhachium (also known as Durazzo), the Byzantine capital of Illyria, and ended in a Norman victory. Following the Norman conquest of Byzantine Italy and Saracen Sicily, the Byzantine Emperor, Michael VII, betrothed his son to Robert Guiscard's daughter. When Michael was deposed, Robert took this as an excuse to invade the Byzantine Empire in 1081. His army laid siege to Dyrrhachium, but his fleet was defeated by the Venetians. On 18 October, the Normans engaged a Byzantine army under Alexius I Comnenus outside Dyrrhachium. The battle began with the Byzantine right wing routing the Norman left wing, which broke and fled. Varangian mercenaries joined in the pursuit of the fleeing Normans, but became separated from the main force and were massacred. Norman knights in the centre attacked the Byzantine centre and routed it, causing the Byzantines to run away. After this victory, the Normans took Dyrrhachium in February 1082 and advanced inland, capturing most of Macedonia and Thessaly. Robert was then forced to leave Greece to deal with an attack on his ally, the Pope by the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV. Robert left his son Bohemond in charge of the army in Greece. Bohemond was initially successful, defeating Alexius in several battles, but was defeated by Alexius outside Larissa. Forced to retreat to Italy, Bohemond lost all the territory gained by the Normans in the campaign. The Byzantine recovery began the Komnenian restoration.
  • Para la batalla entre Cneo Pompeyo Magno y Julio César, véase Batalla de Dirraquio. La Batalla de Dirraquio fue un enfrentamiento armado que tuvo lugar el 18 de octubre de 1081 entre el ejército del Imperio Bizantino, encabezado por el emperador Alejo I Comneno, y los normandos provenientes de Italia meridional capitaneados por Roberto Guiscardo, . La batalla se libró en las cercanías de la ciudad de Dirraquio, la capital bizantina de Iliria, y concluyó con una victoria normanda. Tras la conquista normanda de la Italia bizantina y la Sicilia sarracena, el emperador bizantino Miguel VII Ducas acordó con Roberto Guiscardo la boda de su primogénito con la hija de éste. Cuando Miguel fue depuesto en el 1081, el duque normando tomó aquello como un pretexto para invadir el Imperio Bizantino, por lo que tras desembarcar en el territorio de la actual Albania, su ejército asedió la ciudad de Dirraquio, siendo aprovechada la situación por los venecianos para dispersar la armada normanda como parte del acuerdo realizado por éstos con el emperador de Bizancio. El 18 de octubre del mismo año, en las afueras de Dirraquio, los normandos se enfrentaron a un ejército bizantino dirigido por Alejo I Comneno. La batalla se inició cuando la derecha bizantina marchó contra el flanco izquierdo normando, que se rompió y huyó. Los mercenarios varegos se sumaron a la persecución de los normandos en retirada, pero se separaron de la fuerza principal y fueron masacrados. Los caballeros normandos atacaron entonces el centro bizantino, causando su huida y dejando la victoria en manos de los invasores. Después de la captura de Dirraquio en febrero de 1082, los normandos avanzaron hacia el interior, haciéndose con la mayor parte de Macedonia y Tesalia. Sin embargo, Roberto se vio obligado a abandonar Grecia para defender a su aliado, el papa, de un ataque del sacro emperador romano germánico, Enrique IV. Roberto dejó a su hijo Bohemundo de Tarento a cargo del ejército en Grecia. Bohemundo disfrutó de un éxito inicial al derrotar a Alejo Comneno en varias batallas. Sin embargo, finalmente fue derrotado por Alejo cerca de Larisa y se vio obligado a retirarse a sus dominios en Italia, perdiendo todas las conquistas realizadas anteriormente.
  • La battaglia di Durazzo ebbe luogo il 18 ottobre 1081 e vide contrapposti da una parte l'Impero bizantino, guidato da Alessio I, dall'altra i Normanni di Roberto il Guiscardo.
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  • Italy and the Balkans in AD 1084.
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  • 5,000 men dead 7,000 men deserted
  • SubstantialHaldon, The Byzantine Wars, 137
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  • Battle of Dyrrhachium
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  • 18 October 1081
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  • "Alexius was undoubtedly a good tactician, but he was badly let down by the indisciplined rush to pursue the beaten enemy wings, a cardinal sin in the Byzantine tactical manuals. He failed to take adequate account of the effectiveness of the Norman heavy cavalry charge, which punched through his lines with little resistance."
  • "Not being satisfied with the men who had served in his army from the beginning and had experience in battle, he formed a new army, made up of recruits without any consideration of age. From all quarters of Lombardy and Apulia he gathered them, over age and under age, pitiable objects who had never seen armour in their dreams, but then clad in breastplates and carrying shields, awkwardly drawing bows to which they were completely unused and following flat on the ground when they were allowed to march."
dbpprop:result
dbpprop:source
  • Anna Comnena describing Robert Guiscard's conscription.quoted from Anna Comnena, The Alexiad, 1.13
  • John Haldon's assessment of the battle.
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  • 20,000 menHaldon, The Byzantine Wars, 134
  • 30,000 men 150 ships
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  • 30em
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  • The Battle of Dyrrhachium took place on 18 October 1081, between the Byzantine Empire, led by the Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, and the Normans of Southern Italy under Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria. The battle was fought outside the city of Dyrrhachium (also known as Durazzo), the Byzantine capital of Illyria, and ended in a Norman victory.
  • Para la batalla entre Cneo Pompeyo Magno y Julio César, véase Batalla de Dirraquio. La Batalla de Dirraquio fue un enfrentamiento armado que tuvo lugar el 18 de octubre de 1081 entre el ejército del Imperio Bizantino, encabezado por el emperador Alejo I Comneno, y los normandos provenientes de Italia meridional capitaneados por Roberto Guiscardo, . La batalla se libró en las cercanías de la ciudad de Dirraquio, la capital bizantina de Iliria, y concluyó con una victoria normanda.
  • La battaglia di Durazzo ebbe luogo il 18 ottobre 1081 e vide contrapposti da una parte l'Impero bizantino, guidato da Alessio I, dall'altra i Normanni di Roberto il Guiscardo.
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  • Battle of Dyrrhachium (1081)
  • Batalla de Dirraquio (1081)
  • Battaglia di Durazzo (1081)
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