- Battle of Pankalia
The Battle of Pankalia (Pancalia) was fought between the army loyal to the
Byzantine emperor Basil II and the forces of the rebel generalBardas Skleros . It took place to the west of Caesarea, in thethema ofCharsianon onMarch 24 ,979 . In a surprise attack, the emperor's army commanded byBardas Phocas and reinforced by the Georgian cavalry underTornikios inflicted a crushing defeat on the rebels. Skleros himself was wounded by Phocas in a single combat, but managed to escape toMuslim territory. His army was scattered and the rebellion was soon put down, thus eliminating a major threat to Basil II's early reign.References
*Reuter, T (editor) (
1999 ), "The New Cambridge Medieval History", Cambridge University Press (UK) ISBN 0521364477, p. 596.
*Bradbury, J. (2004 ), "The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare", Routledge (UK) ISBN 0415221269, p. 14.
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