Norman victory over Byzantium at Dyrrhachium opened the western Balkans to invasion and triggered the Komnenian restoration.
Key Facts
- Date
- October 18, 1081
- Norman commander
- Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria
- Byzantine commander
- Emperor Alexios I Komnenos
- Dyrrhachium captured
- February 1082 by Normans
- Norman Balkans campaign ended
- 1083, after defeat at Larissa
- Varangian fate
- Massacred after pursuit of fleeing Normans
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the Norman conquest of Byzantine Italy, Emperor Michael VII Doukas betrothed his son to Robert Guiscard's daughter. When Michael was deposed in 1078, Robert used the broken betrothal as a pretext to invade the Byzantine Empire in 1081, laying siege to the key western Balkan stronghold of Dyrrhachium. His fleet was defeated by Venetian forces before the land battle commenced.
On October 18, 1081, Norman forces under Robert Guiscard met the Byzantine army of Alexios I Komnenos outside Dyrrhachium. The Byzantine right wing initially routed the Norman left, but Varangian troops pursuing the fleeing Normans became isolated and were massacred. Norman knights then struck the Byzantine centre, routing the main Byzantine force and securing a decisive Norman victory.
After the battle, the Normans captured Dyrrhachium in February 1082 and advanced into Macedonia and Thessaly. Robert Guiscard departed to assist the Pope against Henry IV, leaving Bohemond in command. Bohemond was eventually defeated at Larissa in 1083 and retreated to Italy, surrendering all Norman gains. The failed campaign nonetheless spurred the Byzantine Komnenian restoration.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Alexios I Komnenos.
Side B
1 belligerent
Robert Guiscard.