Greetings all,
On this Day - August 10th in 1030 AD, the Battle of Azaz fought
between the armies of Romanos III and the Mirdasid Emirate of Aleppo
ended with a Byzantine defeat:
Romanos III insisted on leading the Byzantine army even though he
had no military experience, and refused Arab peace envoys and even a
Mirdasid offer to pay tribute. The Arab forces were much smaller but
consisted mostly of Bedouin cavalry, which were able to destroy a
Byzantine reconnaissance force and then harass the Imperial camp. Cut
off from foraging supplies the Byzantines suffered from thirst and
hunger. They were later attacked while trying to withdraw, and the
withdrawal turned into a rout. Romanos III only barely managed to escape
through the intervention of his bodyguard.
In retrospect, he probably should have accepted the peace and
tribute. Obviously the Romans had forgotten the old lesson of Crassus'
desert defeat at Cannae!
-Marcus Cassius Julianus
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