A new probable cause of the Cuman invasion of the Byzantine Balkans in 1095
A new probable cause of the Cuman invasion of the Byzantine Balkans in 1095

Summary/Abstract: The Cuman invasion of the Byzantine Balkans is a relatively little-known historical event, to which most researchers devote only a short sentence or, at best, several brief paragraphs. With a few recent exceptions,1 it has received little attention, which is evidenced by the lack of any general consensus among researchers on its exact dating so far,2 and its course has yet to be subjected to an in-depth analysis. There are several possible causes for this condition. First of all, paradoxically, Anna Komnene’s comprehensive description of this invasion is to blame. The only Byzantine female historian offers us her account in the tenth book of the Alexiad, while describing in laudatory and excited tones the reign of her father, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1081– 1118).3 In other words, at first glance the detailed narrative of the Byzantine princess seems to satisfy the curiosity of every reader to such an extent that any deeper research appears superfluous. Another corroboration of this dazzling effect of Komnene’s account is the fact that few other Byzantine, or non-Byzantine, written sources contain references to this invasion. Moreover, these references are succinct and thus do not allow any kind of balanced confrontation with the flood of information springing from the Alexiad. For example, in Epitome Historion by the Byzantine historian John Zonaras, the Cuman invasion is described within a single paragraph. Even more laconic is the mention of this invasion that can be found in the Russian medieval chronicle Tale of the Bygone Years ascribed to Nestor (Povesť vremennykh let, hereafter PVL), containing only two short sentences dedicated to it.5 In addition, there is another fact that may have contributed to the relatively small reflection that this invasion has left in historical records.6 The Cuman attack took place just before the beginning of the First Crusade, which, with its paramount significance for the history of Byzantium, quite understandably, side-tracked it.

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