Battle of Dyrrhachium

A 1081 battle near Dyrrhachium in which Norman forces under Robert Guiscard defeated the Byzantine army of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.

Siege of Dyrrhachium: The Norman siege of the Byzantine-held Adriatic port of Dyrrhachium in 1081. The siege created the crisis that brought Alexios I’s field army to confront Guiscard.
Robert Guiscard: A Norman ruler of southern Italy who conquered much of Apulia and Calabria and invaded Byzantine territory. Guiscard led the Norman invasion and commanded its forces at Dyrrhachium.
Battle of Larissa: A 1083 battle in which Alexios I’s forces defeated the Normans near Larissa in Thessaly. Alexios recovered from Dyrrhachium by defeating the Norman army farther east.
Anna Komnene: A Byzantine princess and historian who wrote the Alexiad, a history of Alexios I’s reign. Her account is the fullest Byzantine narrative of Alexios’s defeat at Dyrrhachium.
Norman cavalry: Mounted troops used by Norman armies, including heavily armed knights trained to fight in close formation. Norman cavalry helped exploit the Byzantine line’s disorder during the battle.
Alexios I Komnenos: Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118 who restored imperial power after decades of political and military crisis. Alexios personally led the Byzantine army against Guiscard.
Venetian–Byzantine relations: The shifting political and commercial relationship between the Republic of Venice and the Byzantine Empire. Venetian naval assistance helped Byzantium challenge Norman control of the Adriatic campaign.
Bohemond I of Antioch: A Norman prince who participated in his father Robert Guiscard’s Balkan campaign and later ruled Antioch. Bohemond commanded forces in the campaign and became a leading Norman antagonist of Byzantium.
Varangian Guard: An elite Byzantine imperial guard whose members were chiefly recruited from northern Europe. The Guard fought at Dyrrhachium and was destroyed after pursuing the retreating Normans.
Norman conquest of southern Italy: The gradual Norman seizure of territories in southern Italy and Sicily during the eleventh century. The conquest gave Guiscard the power base for his invasion across the Adriatic.

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