Battle of Pankalia
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Pankalia was fought between the army loyal to the Byzantine emperor Basil II
and the forces of the rebel general Bardas Skleros
. It took place to the west of Caesarea, in the thema of Charsianon
on March 24, 979. In a surprise attack, the emperor's army commanded by Bardas Phokas and reinforced by the Georgian
cavalry under Tornikios
inflicted a crushing defeat on the rebels. Skleros himself was wounded by Phokas in single combat, but managed to escape to Muslim
territory. His army was scattered and the rebellion was soon put down, thus eliminating a major threat to Basil II's early reign.
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
and the forces of the rebel general Bardas Skleros
Bardas Skleros
Bardas Skleros or Sclerus was a Byzantine general who led a wide-scale Asian rebellion against Emperor Basil II in 976–979.-Background:...
. It took place to the west of Caesarea, in the thema of Charsianon
Charsianon
Charsianon was the name of a Byzantine fortress and the corresponding theme in the region of Cappadocia in central Anatolia .-History:...
on March 24, 979. In a surprise attack, the emperor's army commanded by Bardas Phokas and reinforced by the Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
cavalry under Tornikios
Tornikios
T'ornike also known as Tornikios or Thornikios was a retired Georgian general and monk who came to be better known as a founder of the formerly Georgian Orthodox Iviron Monastery on Mt Athos in the modern-day northeastern Greece....
inflicted a crushing defeat on the rebels. Skleros himself was wounded by Phokas in single combat, but managed to escape to Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
territory. His army was scattered and the rebellion was soon put down, thus eliminating a major threat to Basil II's early reign.