Byzantine Battles: Battle of Kapetron

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Battle of Kapetron (Kapetron)	year: 1049 18 September 1049
The first major conflict with the Seljuks. Without a winner	★ ★ ★ ★ ★

enemy: Seljuk Turks	location: Modern Pasinler in Erzurum Province, in northeastern Turkey	accuracy: ●●●●●
battle type: Night Battle	war: Seljuk Wars	modern country: Turkey

	▼ The Byzantines(emperor: Constantine IX Monomachos)	▼ The Enemies
Commander:	Radomir, Kekaumenos, Liparit	Ibrahim Yinal
Forces:	50,000	Unknown
Losses:

Background story:

In their first appearance in the Byzantine history, the Seljuk Turks invaded Anatolia under Ibrahim Yinal, half-brother of the Sultan Tugrul (or Toghril).
The emperor Constantine IX sent to the Georgian warlord Liparit IV, Duke of Meschia, whom the Byzantines had aided in his struggle against the Georgian king Bagrat IV, to unite against the advancing Seljuk Turks. The Seljuks, in the meantime had destroyed Anzen, a vibrant commercial center in the Byzantine-administered thema of Iberia.

The Battle:

Togrul in Turkmenistan banknote

A combined Byzantine-Georgian army of 50,000, under the command of Byzantine Generals Aaronios Radomiros and Katakalon Kekaumenos and the Georgian Liparit, met the Seljuks head-on at Kapetron (modern-day Pasinler). In a fierce nocturnal battle, the Christian allies failed to achieve any serious success, and Ibrahim Yinal was able to safely leave the Byzantine territory, laden with spoils and captives, including the Georgian commander Liparit.
The emperor sent an embassy with gifts and a ransom for the release of Liparit to the Seljuk sultan. However, the sultan magnanimously set free Liparit on condition that he would never again fight the Seljuks and was handed back the ransom.

Noteworthy:

The Arab chronicler Ibn al-Athir reports that Ibrahim brought back 100,000 captives and a vast booty loaded on the backs of ten thousand camels.

Aftermath:

The Seljuks left the area but took with them many prisoners and spoils. They attacked again in 1054. This was the first encounter of the Byzantines with the Seljuks, who in the next decades would become their major enemy.

Byzantine Battles

Battle of Kapetron

1049