Battle of Anzen 838
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 838 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Turkey | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Arab–Byzantine wars | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Abbasids, Byzantine Empire | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 40.3900, 36.0900 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Anzen or Dazimon was fought on 22 July 838 at Anzen or Dazimon (now Dazmana (Akçatarla), Turkey) between the Byzantine Empire and the forces of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Abbasids had launched a massive expedition with two separate armies in retaliation for the Byzantine emperor Theophilos's successes the previous year, and aimed to sack Amorion, one of Byzantium's largest cities. Theophilos with his army confronted the smaller Muslim army, under the Iranian vassal prince Afshin, at Dazimon.
The numerically superior Byzantine army was initially successful, but when Theophilos resolved to lead an attack in person, his absence from his usual post caused panic among the Byzantine troops, who feared that he had been killed. Coupled with a counterattack by Afshin's Turkish horse-archers, the Byzantine army broke and fled. Theophilos and his guard were surrounded on a hill, but managed to escape. The defeat opened the way for the sack of Amorion a few weeks later, one of the most serious blows Byzantium suffered in the centuries-long Arab–Byzantine wars.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Anzen (revision 1370432202), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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- Battle of Bathys Ryax 872 · 81 km
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Other battles of the Arab–Byzantine wars
- Siege of Constantinople (717–718) 717
- Siege of Nicaea (727) 727
- Battle of Akroinon 740
- Siege of Kamacha 766
- Battle of Kopidnadon 788
- Sack of Amorium 838
- Siege of Samosata (859) 859
- Capture of Faruriyyah 862
- Siege of Ragusa (866–868) 866
- Battle of Bathys Ryax 872
All 34 battles of the Arab–Byzantine wars →
Browse more: battles in Turkey · Asia · Medieval battles