Battle of Cape Colonna
Coordinates: 39 ° 1 ′ 31.6 ″ N , 17 ° 12 ′ 7.8 ″ E
| date | July 15, 982 |
|---|---|
| place | Near Capo Colonna , Italy |
| output | Victory of the Saracen calbites |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
East Franconian-German Empire |
|
| Commander | |
|
Otto II |
|
| Troop strength | |
| 2100 Panzerreiter, the rest unknown | unknown |
| losses | |
|
about 4000 men |
unknown |
The Battle of Cape Colonna or the Battle of Crotone of July 15, 982 was a battle between the Ottonians and the Saracens in Italy for control of southern Italy . The battle ended with the defeat of Otto II against the Saracens under the Sicilian emir Abu al-Qasim .
prehistory
With the death of the Byzantine emperor Johannes Tzimiskes in 976, the Eastern Roman Empire was plunged into a severe government crisis that left Greek possessions in southern Italy defenseless against attacks by the Saracens. Abu al-Qasim , a nominal follower of the Fatimids ruling in Cairo , advanced from Sicily to the mainland, but was able for a time from Pandulf "Eisenkopf" , the Lombard prince of Capua , Benevento and Spoleto and then also of Salerno , in Be kept in check.
Pandulf's death in March 981 and the weakness of his sons and successors now led Emperor Otto II to intervene in the dispute. Whether this also happened under the influence of Empress Theophanu or whether she rather advised against the company is at least disputed. Otto requested 2100 tank riders with the exception of Saxony from all parts of the northern Alpine part of the empire . He tried to get the turmoil of the Lombards' succession under control, accepting the actual results of the internal struggles so as not to endanger his real goal.
Course of the battle
Although the Saracens had advanced as far as Calabria , Otto II first had to deal with the city of Taranto (he operated on nominally Byzantine territory), which he attacked with strong forces, but was unable to conquer despite the military effort. The troops of the Byzantine emperor Basil II (976-1025) repulsed the attack and inflicted a heavy defeat on the imperialists, which was only intended to complete the defeat against the Arabs that followed shortly afterwards. German chroniclers claimed that Otto had taken Taranto after a siege, but this thesis is not supported or confirmed by any other (foreign) sources, and in view of the rapid retreat of Otto’s troops after the Saracen Battle of 982 it seems relatively implausible and is almost certainly an expression political wishful thinking. This is also indicated by the fact that Otto acquired the Roman "imperial title" despite the clear failure - admittedly without any real meaning. The battle at Cape Colonna and the flight of the imperial army back north as well as the failed attempts of German kings (including Henry II ) to gain a foothold in southern Italy and attack Byzantine territory sealed the hapless move of the Ottonian army and the futile efforts of the German emperors in Italy for permanent expansion to the south.
On July 15, the army moving along the east coast met the Saracens waiting there on a plain at Cape Colonna south of Crotone . Without adequate reconnaissance, the imperial forces attacked and seemed to have won the battle when the emir fell and the Saracen center began to retreat. However, it was only a matter of the usual battle management using the crooked order of battle , which was not noticed by the advancing troops. Cavalry hidden on the left wing of the Saracens in the adjoining ravines fell on the flank of the advancing right wing of the Imperial Army. The imperial army, taken by surprise, was almost completely destroyed. The emperor himself escaped towards the coast with a handful of companions, including his Slavic bodyguard Heinrich Zolunta. Before the approaching enemy, he threw off his weapons and armor and fled into the water on a strange horse. He was fished up by the crew of a Byzantine ship and probably only released again for a large ransom.
losses
The fallen in the imperial army included:
- Heinrich I , Bishop of Augsburg
- Gunther von Merseburg , Margrave in the Diocese of Merseburg ( Ekkehardiner )
- Burkhard and Dedi, possibly brothers of Dietrich , the progenitor of the Wettins
- Otto I. Duke of Swabia and Bavaria ( Liudolfinger ) survived the battle, but died on the way back on October 31 in Lucca . His body was brought across the Alps to Aschaffenburg by his family.
- Werinheri , Abbot of Fulda , survived the battle like Otto II and died on October 30, 982 in Lucca on the way back. He was buried in Borgo San Donnino (today Fidenza ) near Parma.
- Almost the entire contingent of Abodritic Panzerreiter , which, according to Adam von Bremen, was 1000 men strong. Their leader Mistislaw returned with only a few survivors.
consequences
- Both sides had suffered such high losses that the campaign was effectively over and the Saracens withdrew to Sicily.
- This first severe defeat of a German emperor caused a tremendous sensation in the empire and had effects in Germany that may have overshadowed the consequences in southern Italy. The Reichstag in Verona on May 27, 983 - requested by the Saxon nobility - led to a weakening of the emperor's authority: the duchies of Swabia and Bavaria, freed by the death of the emperor's nephew, were no longer occupied by members of the imperial family. After all, the great elected Otto's three-year-old son Otto as co-king and brought him to Aachen for coronation and education.
- Favored by the weakening of the empire, the Lutizen uprising began on the Saxon eastern border on June 29, 983 , during which the Slavic tribes destroyed the missionary dioceses of Havelberg and Brandenburg , freed themselves from the obligation to pay tribute and the East Franconian-German expansion to the east for around 150 years Brought to a standstill.
literature
- Dirk Alvermann . La Battaglia di Ottone II contro i Saraceni nel 982. In: Archivio storico per la Calabria e la Lucania 62 (1995), pp. 115-130.
- Jacek Banaszkiewicz: A knight flees or how Emperor Otto II saved himself from the battlefield near Cotrone. In: Frühmittelalterliche Studien 40 (2006), pp. 145–165.
- Hubertus Seibert : A great father's hapless son? The new politics of Otto II. In: Bernd Schneidmüller , Stefan Weinfurter (Hrsg.): Ottonische Neuanfänge. Symposium on the exhibition "Otto the Great, Magdeburg and Europe". Von Zabern, Mainz 2001, pp. 293-320, here: pp. 310f. (with numerous other sources and references)
Remarks
- ↑ See e.g. B. Gunther Wolf: Emperor Otto II. (973-983) and the Battle of Cotrone on July 13, 982. In: Ders. (Ed.): Empress Theophanu. Cologne 1991, pp. 155-161, here: p. 155; Gunther Wolf: Theophanu and Adelheid. In the S. (Ed.): Empress Theophanu. Cologne 1991, pp. 79-96, here: pp. 86 f.
- ^ Gerd Althoff: The Ottonians, royal rule without a state. 2nd ext. Edition, Stuttgart 2005, p. 148.
- ↑ Michael Mott : Abbot Werinheri and the unfortunate campaign of 982; With 60 armored riders at Otto II's side in southern Italy , in: Buchenblätter ( Fuldaer Zeitung ), 89th volume, No. 12, June 13, 2016, pp. 45–46.
- ↑ Adam, II, 43, Scholion 21.
- ↑ On the lack of credibility of this magnitude Erich Hoffmann : Contributions to the history of the Obotrites at the time of the Naconids. In: Eckhard Hübner, Ekkehard Klug, Jan Kusber (eds.): Between Christianization and Europeanization. Contributions to the history of Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages and early modern times. Festschrift for Peter Nitsche on his 65th birthday (= sources and studies on the history of Eastern Europe. Vol. 51). Steiner, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-515-07266-7 , pp. 23–51, here p. 26, according to which the Abodritic delegation must have been of considerable size.