On Friday morning, August 26 , Alp Arslan emerged from his tent and saw the enemy troops spread across the Malazgirt Plain between Malazgirt and Ahlat, 7–8 km away from his own camp. To avoid war, he sent envoys to the emperor offering peace. The emperor interpreted the Sultan's proposal as cowardice in the face of the size of his army and rejected the offer. He sent the envoys back, each holding a cross , to persuade their kinsmen to convert to Christianity . Seeing that the enemy army was larger than his own, Sultan Alp Arslan sensed that his chances of surviving the battle were slim. Noticing that his soldiers were also apprehensive due to the enemy's numerical superiority, the Sultan, in keeping with a Turkish-Islamic custom, donned white garments resembling a shroud. He also had his horse's tail tied. He instructed those around him that if he were to be martyred, he should be buried where he fell. Understanding that their commander would not flee the battlefield, the soldiers' morale increased. The Sultan, who led his soldiers in Friday prayers, mounted his horse and rode to the front of his army, delivering a short but effective speech to boost morale and increase spirits. He recited verses from the Quran in which God promised victory. He spoke of the attainment of martyrdom and heroism . The Seljuk army, composed of Muslim Oghuz Turks , took up battle positions. The battle began at midday with a mass arrow charge by the Turkish cavalry. Since the vast majority of the Turkish army consisted of cavalry units, almost all of whom were armed with bows, this attack caused significant Byzantine casualties. Nevertheless, the Byzantine army maintained its formation. Alp Arslan then gave a deceptive order to retreat, withdrawing towards the small, hidden units he had concealed in the rear. These hidden units consisted of a small number of organized soldiers. The Turkish army was spread out in a crescent shape in the rear. Seeing the rapid retreat of the Turks, Romanos Diogenes believed that the Turks had lost their offensive power and were fleeing out of fear of the numerically superior Byzantine army. The emperor, who had been convinced of defeating the Turks from the beginning, fell for this steppe tactic and ordered his army to attack the fleeing Turks. The Turks, with their minimal armor, were able to retreat quickly, too fast to be caught by the heavily armored Byzantine cavalry. Nevertheless, the Byzantine army began to pursue them. Skillfully struck by Turkish archers ambushing them in the side passes, the Byzantine army continued its attack, undeterred. Unable to catch the Turks and becoming exhausted (the heavy armor played a significant role), the Byzantine army's momentum came to a standstill. Romanos Diogenes, who had relentlessly pursued the Turks and failed to recognize his army's exhaustion, still attempted to follow. However, realizing too late that they had advanced too far from their position and were surrounded by Turkish archers attacking from the flanks, Diogenes was faced with the dilemma of ordering a retreat. Just as he was about to do so, the retreating Turkish cavalry turned directly towards the Byzantine army and launched an attack, blocking their retreat routes. Seeing this, Diogenes panicked and ordered a withdrawal. However, before his army could break through the surrounding Turkish lines, the main forces of the approaching Turkish army caused complete panic in the Byzantine army. Seeing their generals attempting to flee, the Byzantine soldiers, even more panicked, threw away their armor—their greatest defensive asset—and tried to escape. Then, finding themselves on equal footing with the skillfully swordsman Turkish forces, the vast majority were annihilated.#History #seljukempire #byzantine #selçuklu #fyp - @xpassassin