A 1329 battle marked the final attempt by Byzantium to save its eastern lands
The Battle of Pelekanon in 1329 stood as the final desperate attempt by the Byzantine Empire to defend its Anatolian territories from the rising tide of the Ottoman Turks.
In June 1329, Emperor Andronikos III led a heavily armored Byzantine force into a decisive confrontation at Pelekanon. They hoped to relieve the besieged city of Nicaea, but the tactical brilliance of Sultan Orhan I proved overwhelming. The Byzantine defeat was a crushing blow that effectively ended their presence in Asia Minor, leaving their remaining eastern cities to fall like dominoes.
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