Battle of Pelekanon

The Battle of Pelekanon also known by its Latinised form Battle of Pelecanum occurred on June 10-11, 1329 between an expeditionary force by the Byzantines led by Andronicus III and an Ottoman army led by Orhan I. The Byzantine army was defeated, with no further attempt made at relieving the cities in Anatolia under Ottoman siege.

Clash and outcome

By the accession of Andronicus in 1328, the Imperial territories in Anatolia had dramatically shrunk from almost all of the west of modern Turkey forty years earlier to a few scattered outposts along the Aegean Sea and a small core province around Nicomedia within about 150 km of the capital city Constantinople. Everywhere the Turks were hostile and encroaching on Imperial lands. Andronicus decided to relieve the important besieged cities of Nicomedia and Nicaea and hopefully restore the frontier to a stable position^[4]. Together with the Grand Domestic John Cantacuzene, Andronicus led an army of about 4,000 men, which was the greatest he could muster along the Sea of Marmara towards Nicomedia. At Pelekanon, an Ottoman Turkish army blocked their way. Parts of each army clashed and the Turks were driven off. However, the bulk of the Turkish army withdrew into the hills north of the battlefield and Andronicus could advance no further while it was intact. Further skirmishes resulted in the emperor sustaining light wounds. A rumor was spread that he was mortally wounded and morale plummeted, resulting in panic. The Turks attacked the Byzantines, causing the heavy casualties until the Grand Domestic arranged for the army to return to Constantinople by sea.^[4]

Consequences

A campaign of restoration was aborted.^[4] Never again did a Byzantine army attempt to regain any Asian territory. The historic former capitals of Nicomedia and Nicaea were not relieved and the maintenance of Imperial control across the Bosphorus was no longer tenable. The Ottomans built up a strong base from which they eventually swept away the Byzantine Empire as a whole.

Notes

References

• Bartusis, Marc C. The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society, 1204-1453, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997.
• Treadgold, W. "A History of the BYzantine State and Society", Stanford University Press, 1997.

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