Battle of Kalavrye The Battle of Kalavrye ( also Kalavryai or Kalavryta ) was fought in 1078 between the Byzantine imperial forces of general ( and future emperor ) Alexios Komnenos and the rebellious governor of Dyrrhachium , Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder . Bryennios had rebelled against Michael VII Doukas ( r . 1071 – 1078 ) and had won over the allegiance of the Byzantine army ' s regular regiments in the Balkans . Even after Doukas ' s overthrow by Nikephoros III Botaneiates ( r . 1078 – 1081 ) , Bryennios continued his revolt , and threatened Constantinople . After failed negotiations , Botaneiates sent the young general Alexios Komnenos with whatever forces he could gather to confront him . The two armies clashed at Kalavrye on the Halmyros river . Alexios Komnenos , whose army was considerably smaller and far less experienced , tried to ambush Bryennios ' s army . The ambush failed , and the wings of his own army were driven back by the rebels . Alexios himself barely managed to break through with his personal retinue , but succeeded in regrouping his scattered men . At the same time , Bryennios ' s army fell into disorder after having seemingly won the battle , and due to the attack on its camp by its own Pecheneg allies . Reinforced by Turkish mercenaries , Alexios lured the troops of Bryennios into another ambush through a feigned retreat . The rebel army broke , and Bryennios himself was captured . The battle is known through two detailed accounts , Anna Komnene ' s " Alexiad " , and her husband Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger ' s " Material for History " , on which Anna ' s own account relies to a large degree . It is one of the few Byzantine battles described in detail , and hence a valuable source for studying the tactics of the Byzantine army of the late 11th century . Background . After the defeat at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 against the Seljuk Turks and the deposition of Romanos IV Diogenes ( r . 1068 – 1071 ) , the Byzantine Empire experienced a decade of near - continuous internal turmoil and rebellions . The constant warfare depleted the Empire ' s armies , devastated Asia Minor and left it defenceless to the increasing encroachment of the Turks . In the Balkans , invasions by the Pechenegs and the Cumans devastated Bulgaria , and the Serbian princes renounced their allegiance to the Empire . The government of Michael VII Doukas ( r . 1071 – 1078 ) failed to deal with the situation effectively , and rapidly lost support among the military aristocracy . In late 1077 , two of the Empire ' s leading generals , Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder , the " doux " of Dyrrhachium in the western Balkans , and Nikephoros Botaneiates , the " strategos " of the Anatolic Theme in central Asia Minor , were proclaimed emperors by their troops . Bryennios set out from Dyrrhachium towards the imperial capital Constantinople , winning widespread support along his way and the loyalty of most of the Empire ' s Balkan field army . Bryennios nevertheless preferred to negotiate at first , but Michael VII rebuffed his offers , and Bryennios sent his brother John to lay siege to Constantinople . Unable to overcome its fortifications , however , the rebel forces soon retired . This failure led the capital ' s nobility to turn to Botaneiates instead : in March 1078 Michael VII was forced to abdicate and retire as a monk , and Nikephoros Botaneiates was accepted into the city as emperor . At first , Botaneiates lacked any substantial number of troops to oppose Bryennios , who in the meantime had consolidated his control over his native Thrace , effectively isolating the capital from the remaining imperial territory in the Balkans . At first , Botaneiates sent an embassy under the " proedros " Constantine Choirosphaktes , a veteran diplomat , to conduct negotiations with Bryennios . At the same time he appointed the young Alexios Komnenos as his Domestic of the Schools ( commander - in - chief ) , and sought aid from the Seljuk Sultan Suleyman , who sent 2 , 000 warriors and promised even more . In his message to Bryennios , the aged Botaneiates ( he was 76 years old at his accession ) offered him the rank of " Caesar " and his nomination as heir to the throne . Bryennios agreed in principle , but added a few conditions of his own , and sent the ambassadors back to Constantinople for confirmation . Botaneiates , who likely had initiated negotiations only to gain time , rejected Bryennios ' s conditions , and ordered Alexios Komnenos to campaign against the rebel . Prelude . Bryennios had camped at the plain of Kedoktos ( a name deriving from the Latin " aquaeductus " ) on the road to Constantinople . His army comprised 12 , 000 mostly seasoned men from the regiments ( " tagmata " ) of Thessaly , Macedonia and Thrace , as well as Frankish mercenaries and the elite " tagma " of the " Hetaireia " . Alexios ' s forces included 2 , 000 Turkish horse - archers , 2 , 000 Chomatenoi from Asia Minor , a few hundred Frankish knights from Italy , and the newly raised regiment of the Immortals , which had been created by Michael VII ' s chief minister Nikephoritzes and intended to form the nucleus of a new army . Estimates of Alexios ' s total force vary from 5 , 500 – 6 , 500 ( Haldon ) to some 8 , 000 – 10 , 000 ( Birkenmeier ) , but it is clear that he was at a considerable disadvantage against Bryennios ; not only was his force considerably smaller , but also far less experienced than Bryennios ' s veterans . Alexios ' s forces set forth from Constantinople and camped on the shore of the river Halmyros ( west of Herakleia , modern Marmara Ereğlisi ) , near the fort of Kalavrye ( ) . Curiously , and in contravention of established practice , he did not fortify his camp , perhaps so as not to fatigue or dishearten his men with an implicit admission of weakness . He then sent his Turkish allies to scout out Bryennios ' s disposition , strength and intentions . Alexios ' s spies easily accomplished their tasks , but on the eve of the battle some were captured and Bryennios too was informed of Alexios ' s strength . Battle . Initial dispositions and plans . Bryennios arranged his army in the typical three divisions , each in two lines , as prescribed by the Byzantine military manuals . The right wing , under his brother John , was 5 , 000 strong and comprised his Frankish mercenaries , Thessalian cavalry , the " Hetaireia " , and the " Maniakatai " regiment ( descendants of the veterans of George Maniakes ' s campaign in Sicily and Italy ) . His left wing , 3 , 000 men from Thrace and Macedonia , was placed under Katakalon Tarchaneiotes , and the centre , under Bryennios himself , comprised 3 , 000 – 4 , 000 men from Thessaly , Thrace and Macedonia . Again , according to standard doctrine , on his far left , about half a kilometer ( " two " stadia " " ) from the main force , he had stationed an outflanking detachment ( " hyperkerastai " ) of Pechenegs . Alexios deployed his smaller army in waiting near Bryennios ' s camp , and divided it in two commands . The left , which confronted Bryennios ' s strongest division , was commanded by himself and contained the Frankish knights to the right and the Immortals to the Franks ' left . The right command was under Constantine Katakalon , and comprised the Chomatenoi and the Turks . The latter , according to the " Alexiad " , were given the role of flank guard ( " plagiophylakes " ) and tasked with observing and countering the Pechenegs . Conversely , on the extreme left Alexios formed his own flanking detachment ( apparently drawn from among the Immortals ) , concealed from enemy view inside a hollow . Given his inferiority , Alexios was forced to remain on the defensive . His only chance at success was that his out - flankers , concealed by the broken terrain , would surprise and create enough confusion among Bryennios ' s men for him and his strong left wing to break through their lines . Alexios ' s army collapses . As the rebel forces advanced towards his enemy ' s line , Alexios ' s flankers sprung their ambush . Their attack did indeed cause some initial confusion , but Bryennios ( or , according to the " Alexiad " , his brother John , who commanded the right wing ) rallied his men and led forth the second line . This counter - attack broke Alexios ' s flankers ; as they retreated in panic , they fell upon the Immortals , who also panicked and fled , abandoning their posts . Although they suffered some casualties from Bryennios ' s pursuing men , most managed to escape well to the rear of Alexios ' s army . Alexios , who was fighting with his retinue alongside the Franks , did not immediately realize that his left wing had collapsed . In the meantime , on his right wing , the Chomatenoi , engaged with Tarchaneiotes ' s men , were outflanked and attacked in the rear by the Pechenegs , who had somehow evaded Alexios ' s Turkish flank - guards . The Chomatenoi too broke and fled , and Alexios ' s fate seemed sealed . At this point , however , the Pechenegs failed to follow up their success , and instead turned back and began looting Bryennios ' s own camp . After gathering what plunder they could , they left the battle and made for their homes . Nevertheless , Bryennios ' s victory seemed certain , for his wings began to envelop Alexios ' s Franks in the centre . It was then that Alexios realized his position . Despairing in the face of defeat ( and , as Bryennios the Younger records , because he had disobeyed imperial orders to wait for more Turkish reinforcements and feared punishment from Botaneiates ) , he at first resolved to attempt an all - or - nothing attack on Bryennios himself and decapitate the enemy army , but was dissuaded by his servant . With only six of his men around him , he then managed to break through the surrounding enemy soldiers and to their rear . Confusion reigned there , as a result of the Pecheneg attack on the rebel camp , and in this tumult Alexios saw Bryennios ' s imperial parade horse , with his two swords of state , being driven away to safety . Alexios and his men charged the escort , seized the horse , and rode away with it from the battlefield . Having reached a hill behind his army ' s original position , Alexios began to regroup his army from the units that had broken . He sent out messengers to rally his scattered men with news that Bryennios had been killed , and with his parade horse as evidence . At the same time , the promised Turkish reinforcements began arriving at the scene , lifting his men ' s morale . All the while , in the battlefield itself , Bryennios ' s army had closed around Alexios ' s Franks , who dismounted and offered to surrender . In the process , however , the rebel army had become totally disordered , with units mixed and their formations disordered . Bryennios ' s reserves had been thrown in confusion by the Pecheneg attack , while his front lines relaxed , thinking that the battle was over . Alexios ' s counter - attack . Having restored his surviving forces to order , and aware of the confusion in Bryennios ' s forces , Alexios decided to counter - attack . The plan he laid out made far greater use of the particular skills of his Turkish horse - archers . He divided his force into three commands , of which two were left behind in ambush . The other , formed from the Immortals and the Chomatenoi under Alexios ' s own command , was not arrayed in one continuous line , but broken up in small groups , intermingled with other groups of Turkish horse - archers . This command would advance on the rebels , attack them , then feign retreat and draw them into the ambush . The attack of Alexios ' s division initially caught Bryennios ' s men off guard , but , being veteran troops , they soon recovered and once again began to push it back . Retreating , Alexios ' s troops , and especially the Turks , employed skirmishing tactics , attacking the enemy line and then withdrawing swiftly , thus keeping their opponents at bay and weakening the coherence of their line . Some among Alexios ' s men chose to attack Bryennios himself , and the rebel general had to defend against several attacks himself . When the battle reached the place of the ambush , Alexios ' s wings , likened in the " Alexiad " to a " swarm of wasps " , attacked the rebel army on the flanks firing arrows and shouting loudly , spreading panic and confusion among Bryennios ' s men . Despite the attempts of Bryennios and his brother John to rally them , their army broke and fled , and other units , which were following behind , did likewise . The two brothers tried to put up a rear - guard defence , but they were overcome and captured . Aftermath . The battle marked the end of Bryennios ' s revolt , although Nikephoros Basilakes gathered up much of Bryennios ' s defeated army and attempted to claim the throne for himself . He too was defeated by Alexios Komnenos , who then proceeded to expel the Pechenegs from Thrace . The elder Bryennios was blinded on Botaneiates ' s orders , but the emperor later took pity on him and restored him his titles and his fortune . After Alexios Komnenos seized the throne himself in 1081 , Bryennios was further honoured with high dignities . He even held command during Alexios ' s campaigns against the Pechenegs , and defended Adrianople from a rebel attack in 1095 . His son or grandson , Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger , was married to Alexios ' s daughter Anna Komnene . He became a prominent general of Alexios ' s reign , eventually raised to the rank of " Caesar " , and a historian .