Project description
How Manzikert shaped a continent
The 1071 Battle of Manzikert was more than a clash between Byzantium and the Seljuks. It was a historical rupture that shaped the medieval Mediterranean. The Byzantine Emperor’s capture, Turkic migrations, and the First Crusade were only the beginning. Today, memories of that battle still echo in regional identities and conflicts. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the MEMANZ project dives into how writers across four cultures (Byzantine, Latin, Seljuk-Arabic, and Armenian) reframed Manzikert. From Anna Komnene’s political rallying cry to Ibn al-Athīr’s praise of Ayyūbid power, MEMANZ reveals how trauma, triumph and loss were woven into competing narratives. It uncovers forgotten connections, showing how one battle became many stories, and how the past is constantly rewritten to serve the present.
Objective
MEMANZ investigates the construction of the memory of the battle of Manzikert in different literary discourses of the Medieval Mediterranean. The battle took place in the eleventh century between the sultan Alp Arslan of the Great Seljuks and emperor Romanos Diogenes of Byzantium. The capture of Romanos and the Byzantine defeat, the battle precipitated a chain of events that led to the civil war in Byzantium, a Turkic migration to Anatolia and the First Crusade.
MEMANZ uses notions of “triumph”, “trauma” and “loss” to demonstrate how educated literati from Eastern Roman, Latin, Seljuk-Arabic and Armenian linguistic spheres constructed the memory of the battle for their own aims and means. A Byzantine princess Anna Komnene used Manzikert to rally Byzantine nobles around the flag of her family. A Crusader bishop William of Tyre used it to justify the onset of the Crusades. A Seljuk-Arabic intellectual Ibn al-Athir used the battle to highlight the agenda of his Ayyubid rulers. Finally, a set of three Armenian historians depicted the battle as a meaningful event in the history of the Armenian community.
The project reveals many unknown connections between different narratives about the battle. It demonstrates how a single event produced several cycles of interpretations in four different cultures, and how the later generations of educated people re-shaped the memory for their audiences. MEMANZ demonstrates the multipolarity of collective memory in the Medieval Mediterranean that is not limited to the dichotomy of “East” and “West”. The analysis of the construction of the battle allows better understanding of the nature of ideological dichotomies in the European Mediterranean. It opens a new path for the analysis of ongoing confrontations, some of which still deploy memories of Manzikert in everyday discourse. In collective memory of several groups the battle remains a traumatic event and the understanding of it is important for the future of EU and it’s neighbors
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
KY16 9AJ ST ANDREWS
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.