Battle of Vaspurakan | |||||||
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Part of the Byzantine–Seljuq wars | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Seljuk Empire | Byzantine Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Qutalmish | Stephanos ( POW) | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
10.000 | 45.000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown |
The Battle of Vaspurakan took place between Seljuk and Byzantine forces in 1046 during which the Turks raided Vaspurakan and then defeated and captured its governor. [1] [3] [2]
The Seljuk ruler Tughril Bey sent Ibrahim Yinal and Qutalmish to Azerbaijan, they advanced towards the lands inhabited by the Armenians and Georgians. [2] The son of Chaghri Bey, Yakuti, conquered al-Jebel, Daylem and parts of Azerbaijan. [2] The Seljuk advance had therefore reached the Aras river. In 1046 the Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantines in the Battle of Ganja. [2] Following this battle the Seljuk Turks entered into another conflict with the Byzantines. [2]
In 1046 Qutalmish initiated a conflict with the Byzantines, this was because the Seljuks were denied permission to cross Lake Van by the regent of Vaspurakan, Stephanos. [4] As a result, a battle ensued and Qutalmish emerged victorious over the Byzantine regent. [1] [4] [2] [5] Stephanos was taken captive by the Seljuks and sold in a slave market in Tabriz. [2]