PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

Program in Hellenic Studies

Lecture

Byzantine Strategy on the Danube Frontier:

Alexios Komnenos and the Pechenegs in the Eleventh Century

Marek Meko
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Program in Hellenic Studies
Respondent: John Haldon, Department of History and Program in Hellenic Studies
During the course of their long history Byzantines encountered many nomadic peoples. One of them were the
Pechenegs. At the end of the ninth century they became Byzantine allies on the Pontic steppe. Later, in the eleventh
century, the Byzantino-Pecheneg relationship became more complicated, and Pechenegs, who were suddenly exposed
to the pressure of other nomads (Uz and Cumans), started, 1027 onwards, to raid the Byzantine territories in the
Balkans. Byzantine emperors tried to deal with this new reality on the Danube frontier in various ways. Constantine IX
Monomachos decided in favor of direct confrontation with Pechenegs of Paradounavon in order to reestablish the
original status quo, but this conflict ended in 1053 with mutual exhaustion and with confirmation of the nomadic
settlement in this area. Subsequently, the more peaceful model of coexistence prevailed until the general political
unrest in Byzantium during the 1070s enabled the Pechenegs to harass the Byzantine territories once again. It was the
new emperor from the house of the Komnenoi, Alexios, who had to react. From 1083 onwards, when a new war with
Pechenegs in Paradounavon broke out, Alexios Komnenoss main goal was to defend the Byzantine Macedonia and
Thrace in order to restore the previous status quo. The change of the Byzantine strategy comes in spring 1087 with the
repulsion of the great invasion of the Pechenegs living north of the Danube. Alexios Komnenos, impressed by this
spectacular Byzantine victory, decided it was the time to attack the Pechenegs in Paradounavon and to restore the
political control over this former Byzantine province. However, the advance of the Byzantine army north of Haemus
resulted in a serious defeat. In the period between 1088 and 1091 it was the turn of the Pechenegs to invade the
Thracian inland and to advance as far as Constantinople itself. In that way, any return to the previous ByzantinoPecheneg coexistence was no longer possible; both sides were struggling for survival, and simultaneously looking for
new allies. Finally, in spring 1091 another nomad warriors, the Cumans, joined Alexios Komnenos and his army in the
battle of Lebounion and helped to crush the Pechenegs, enabling thus the renewal of the old Byzantine frontier on the
Danube.
Marek Meko received his first degree in History (with certificates in Archaeology and History) from the University of
Komensk (2001), Bratislava, his M.A. in Byzantine History from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2007), and his
Ph.D. in Byzantine History from the University of Komensk (2008). His dissertation, entitled Byzantino-Pecheneg War
during the Reign of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1083-1091), examines the relationship of the Byzantines with
the nomad tribe of Turkic origin - the Pechenegs. His academic interests include the overall military history of
Byzantium with the main focus on the eleventh century and the period of the Comnenian dynasty. His interests include
the history of the nomadic people in interaction with Byzantium during the eleventh and twelfth centuries (Pechenegs,
Uzi, and Cumans).

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

6:00 p.m.
Scheide Caldwell House, Room 103