Portal:Military of Greece/Selected article/16

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The Battle of Dyrrhachium or Siege of Durazzo took place on October 18, 1081 between the Byzantine Empire, led by the Emperor Alexius I, and the Normans of Southern Italy under Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia & Calabria. The battle was fought outside the city of Dyrrhachium, 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 October 18, 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. Varangians 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 flee.

After the capture of Dyrrhachium in February 1082, the Normans advanced inland capturing most of Macedonia and Thessaly. However, Robert was forced to leave Greece following 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. However, he was defeated by Alexius outside Larissa and was forced to retreat to Italy losing all the Norman conquests.