Battle of Bathys Ryax
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Bathys Ryax was fought in 872 or 878 between the Byzantine Empire
and the Paulicians. The Paulicians were a Christian sect which—persecuted by the Byzantine state—had established a separate principality at Tephrike on Byzantium's eastern border and collaborated with the Muslim emirates of the Thughur, the Abbasid Caliphate's borderlands, against the Empire. The battle was a decisive Byzantine victory, resulting in the rout of the Paulician army and the death of its leader, Chrysocheir. This event destroyed the power of the Paulician state and removed a major threat to Byzantium, heralding the fall of Tephrike itself and the annexation of the Paulician principality shortly after.
sect. The Paulicians were fiercely iconoclastic
, adhered to a very distinct Christology
and rejected the authority and practices of the official Byzantine Church, following their own leaders. Consequently, they were persecuted by the Byzantine state as early as 813, despite the emperors' official support for iconoclasm. After the definitive end of Byzantine Iconoclasm in 843, that persecution was intensified: in an attempt, unique in Byzantine history, to eradicate an entire "heretical" sect, orders were sent out to kill anyone who would not recant. According to the chroniclers, up to 100,000 Paulicians were massacred, while the remnants fled from their strongholds in east-central Anatolia
, and found refuge among the Empire's Muslim enemies, the Arab emirates of the Thughur, the Byzantine–Arab frontier zone along the Taurus
–Antitaurus
mountain ranges. With support from the emir of Melitene, Umar al-Aqta
, the Paulician leader Karbeas
founded a separate principality at Tephrike, and for the next decades, the Paulicians campaigned alongside the Arabs against Byzantium.
The Arabs and Paulicians suffered a critical blow in 863 with the defeat and death of Umar at the Battle of Lalakaon and the death of Karbeas in the same year, but under their new leader, Chrysocheir, the Paulicians resumed their raids deep into Byzantine Anatolia, raiding as far as Nicaea
and sacking Ephesus
in 869/970. The new Byzantine emperor, Basil I the Macedonian (r. 867–886), sent an embassy for negotiations to Tephrike. After the talks failed, Basil led a campaign against the Paulician state in the spring of 871, but was defeated and only narrowly managed to escape himself.
Encouraged by this success, Chrysocheir then staged another deep raid into Anatolia, reaching Ancyra and ravaging southern Galatia
. Basil reacted by sending his brother-in-law, the Domestic of the Schools
Christopher, against them. The Paulicians managed to avoid a clash, and as the campaigning season drew to a close, they began retiring towards their own territory. They encamped at Agranai (modern Muşalem Kalesı) in the theme of Charsianon
, with the shadowing Byzantine army making their camp at nearby Siboron (Σίβορον, modern Karamadara) to the west. From there, the Paulicians marched northeast to the pass of Bathys Ryax or Bathyryax (Βαθυρύαξ, "Deep Stream", modern Kalınırmak pass west of Sivas in Turkey
), a location of strategic importance, as indicated by the fact that it served as a fortified assembly point (aplekton
) for Byzantine expeditions to the East. Christopher sent the strategoi
of the themes of Armeniakon and Charsianon ahead with some four to five thousand men, to make contact with the Paulician army, shadow it as far as the pass and report on its intentions, i.e. whether it intended to double back westwards to resume raiding Byzantine territory or whether it headed back to Tephrike, in which case they would have to rejoin the Domestic's forces.
When the two generals with their men reached the pass, night had fallen, and the Paulicians, apparently unaware that they were being followed, had made camp in the valley of the pass. The Byzantines took up position in a wooded hill called Zogoloenos that overlooked the Paulician encampment, which further concealed them from their enemy. At this point, the sources record that a dispute broke out between the men of the two thematic corps as to who was the bravest; the two generals decided to take advantage of their troops' high morale and impetuousness to attack, despite their orders. A picked detachment of 600 men from both divisions launched a surprise attack at dawn, while the rest of the army remained behind and made loud clamour with trumpets and drums, so as to suggest the imminent arrival of the entire Byzantine field army under Christopher. The ruse worked perfectly: the Paulicians, taken by surprise, panicked and dispersed without offering any serious resistance. The Paulician rout was completed as they fell upon the main Byzantine army while fleeing. Their remnants were pursued by the victorious Byzantines up to a distance of 50 km. Chrysocheir himself managed to escape with a small detachment of bodyguards, but he was brought at bay at Konstantinou Bounos (probably modern Yildiz Dagı). In the ensuing engagement, he was wounded by Poulades, a Byzantine soldier who had been formerly a captive of the Paulicians, and fell from his horse. He was then captured and beheaded by the advancing Byzantines, and his head was sent to Emperor Basil in Constantinople
.
, while a large contingent was shipped off to Southern Italy to fight for the Empire under Nikephoros Phokas the Elder
.
, followed by other scholars like Mark Whittow and Warren Treadgold, placed the battle in 872 and the final subjugation of Tephrike years later, in 878 (Treadgold in 879).
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and the Paulicians. The Paulicians were a Christian sect which—persecuted by the Byzantine state—had established a separate principality at Tephrike on Byzantium's eastern border and collaborated with the Muslim emirates of the Thughur, the Abbasid Caliphate's borderlands, against the Empire. The battle was a decisive Byzantine victory, resulting in the rout of the Paulician army and the death of its leader, Chrysocheir. This event destroyed the power of the Paulician state and removed a major threat to Byzantium, heralding the fall of Tephrike itself and the annexation of the Paulician principality shortly after.
Background
The Paulicians were a Christian sect of Armenian origin. The sect's precise origins and beliefs are somewhat obscure: Byzantine sources portray them as dualists, while Armenian sources maintain that they were an adoptionistAdoptionism
Adoptionism, sometimes called dynamic monarchianism, is a minority Christian belief that Jesus was adopted as God's son at his baptism...
sect. The Paulicians were fiercely iconoclastic
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
, adhered to a very distinct Christology
Christology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
and rejected the authority and practices of the official Byzantine Church, following their own leaders. Consequently, they were persecuted by the Byzantine state as early as 813, despite the emperors' official support for iconoclasm. After the definitive end of Byzantine Iconoclasm in 843, that persecution was intensified: in an attempt, unique in Byzantine history, to eradicate an entire "heretical" sect, orders were sent out to kill anyone who would not recant. According to the chroniclers, up to 100,000 Paulicians were massacred, while the remnants fled from their strongholds in east-central Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, and found refuge among the Empire's Muslim enemies, the Arab emirates of the Thughur, the Byzantine–Arab frontier zone along the Taurus
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
–Antitaurus
Anti-Taurus Mountains
Anti-Taurus is a mountain range in southern and eastern Turkey, curving northeast from the Taurus Mountains. The tallest mountain in the range is Mount Erciyes,...
mountain ranges. With support from the emir of Melitene, Umar al-Aqta
Umar al-Aqta
‘Umar ibn ‘Abdallah ibn Marwan , surnamed al-Aqta’, "the one-handed", and found as Amer or Ambros in Byzantine sources, was the Arab emir of Malatya from the 830s until his death in battle in 863...
, the Paulician leader Karbeas
Karbeas
Karbeas was a Paulician leader, founder and ruler of the Paulician principality of Tephrike from ca. 843 until his death in 863.He was initially a protomandator at the service of Theodotos Melissenos, the Byzantine strategos of the Anatolic theme...
founded a separate principality at Tephrike, and for the next decades, the Paulicians campaigned alongside the Arabs against Byzantium.
The Arabs and Paulicians suffered a critical blow in 863 with the defeat and death of Umar at the Battle of Lalakaon and the death of Karbeas in the same year, but under their new leader, Chrysocheir, the Paulicians resumed their raids deep into Byzantine Anatolia, raiding as far as Nicaea
Iznik
İznik is a city in Turkey which is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea, the first and seventh Ecumenical councils in the early history of the Church, the Nicene Creed, and as the capital city of the Empire of Nicaea...
and sacking Ephesus
Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
in 869/970. The new Byzantine emperor, Basil I the Macedonian (r. 867–886), sent an embassy for negotiations to Tephrike. After the talks failed, Basil led a campaign against the Paulician state in the spring of 871, but was defeated and only narrowly managed to escape himself.
Battle
Galatia
Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace , who settled here and became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. It has been called the "Gallia" of...
. Basil reacted by sending his brother-in-law, the Domestic of the Schools
Domestic of the Schools
The Domestic of the Schools was a senior Byzantine military office, extant from the 8th century until at least the early 14th century. Originally simply the commander of the Scholai, the senior of the elite tagmata regiments, the Domestic quickly rose in prominence: by the mid-9th century, its...
Christopher, against them. The Paulicians managed to avoid a clash, and as the campaigning season drew to a close, they began retiring towards their own territory. They encamped at Agranai (modern Muşalem Kalesı) in the theme of Charsianon
Charsianon
Charsianon was the name of a Byzantine fortress and the corresponding theme in the region of Cappadocia in central Anatolia .-History:...
, with the shadowing Byzantine army making their camp at nearby Siboron (Σίβορον, modern Karamadara) to the west. From there, the Paulicians marched northeast to the pass of Bathys Ryax or Bathyryax (Βαθυρύαξ, "Deep Stream", modern Kalınırmak pass west of Sivas in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
), a location of strategic importance, as indicated by the fact that it served as a fortified assembly point (aplekton
Aplekton
Aplekton was a Byzantine term used in the 10th–14th centuries for a fortified army base and later in the Palaiologan period for the obligation of billeting soldiers....
) for Byzantine expeditions to the East. Christopher sent the strategoi
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
of the themes of Armeniakon and Charsianon ahead with some four to five thousand men, to make contact with the Paulician army, shadow it as far as the pass and report on its intentions, i.e. whether it intended to double back westwards to resume raiding Byzantine territory or whether it headed back to Tephrike, in which case they would have to rejoin the Domestic's forces.
When the two generals with their men reached the pass, night had fallen, and the Paulicians, apparently unaware that they were being followed, had made camp in the valley of the pass. The Byzantines took up position in a wooded hill called Zogoloenos that overlooked the Paulician encampment, which further concealed them from their enemy. At this point, the sources record that a dispute broke out between the men of the two thematic corps as to who was the bravest; the two generals decided to take advantage of their troops' high morale and impetuousness to attack, despite their orders. A picked detachment of 600 men from both divisions launched a surprise attack at dawn, while the rest of the army remained behind and made loud clamour with trumpets and drums, so as to suggest the imminent arrival of the entire Byzantine field army under Christopher. The ruse worked perfectly: the Paulicians, taken by surprise, panicked and dispersed without offering any serious resistance. The Paulician rout was completed as they fell upon the main Byzantine army while fleeing. Their remnants were pursued by the victorious Byzantines up to a distance of 50 km. Chrysocheir himself managed to escape with a small detachment of bodyguards, but he was brought at bay at Konstantinou Bounos (probably modern Yildiz Dagı). In the ensuing engagement, he was wounded by Poulades, a Byzantine soldier who had been formerly a captive of the Paulicians, and fell from his horse. He was then captured and beheaded by the advancing Byzantines, and his head was sent to Emperor Basil in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
.
Aftermath
The defeat at Bathys Ryax signalled the end of the Paulicians as a military power and a threat to Byzantium. Basil followed this success by a series of campaigns in the East against the Paulician strongholds and the Arab emirates. Tephrike itself was taken in 878 and razed to the ground. The remaining Paulicians were resettled in the BalkansBalkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, while a large contingent was shipped off to Southern Italy to fight for the Empire under Nikephoros Phokas the Elder
Nikephoros Phokas the Elder
Nikephoros Phokas the Elder was one of the great generals in the service of the Eastern Roman Emperor Basil I.Descended from the Phokas family, one of the large land-holding families of Anatolia, Nikephoros Phokas rose to the positions of patrikios and domestikos ton scholon. He succeeded in...
.
Questions of chronology
The chronology and sequence of events regarding the battle and the fall of the Paulician state is unclear, since the Byzantine sources are contradictory: a number of scholars place the battle in 872, others in 878, in both cases either before or after the capture and razing of Tephrike itself by the Byzantines. Thus Alexander Vasiliev proposed a first victorious battle for the Byzantines, followed by the sack of Tephrike and the final Paulician defeat at Bathys Ryax, all in 872. Most recent historians place the battle before the sack of the city, but disagree in the dates of the two events. Some, like Nina Garsoïan or John Haldon, place both events in 878; the French Byzantinist Paul LemerlePaul Lemerle
Paul Lemerle was a French Byzantinist.Lemerle taught at the École française d’Athènes , at the Faculté des Lettres of the University of Burgundy at Dijon , at the École Pratique des Hautes Études , at the Sorbonne and at the Collège de France...
, followed by other scholars like Mark Whittow and Warren Treadgold, placed the battle in 872 and the final subjugation of Tephrike years later, in 878 (Treadgold in 879).