Battle of Lacirima

Battle of Lacirima
Part of the Fourth Valerian Uprising
"The Battle of Lacirima", from the 19th-century Tyranian artist Luca Zonaras.
Date 04 July 1136 Location La Lacirima, Federal Province of Cyrendor, Tyrandor Result Valerian victory
Belligerents
Valerian rebels	Abbasid Caliphate
Commanders and leaders
Valerian Excelsior Leonidas Excelsior † Lukas of Cyrene	Ali ibn al-Qatab † Satyrus Barsa † Abbas al-Nasir
Strength
~15,000 men 10,000 infantry 2,000 men-at-arms 2,500 cavalry 500 turcopoles	25,000-30,000 men 18,000-23,000 infantry 6,000 regular cavalry 1,000 horse archers
Casualties and losses
~7,500	~21,000 Captured nobles ransomed Captured infantrymen recruited or enslaved

The Battle of Lacirima was a major military engagement that took place on 04 July 1136, between Tyranian rebels under Valerian and the forces of the Abbasid governor of Tyran, Ali ibn al-Qatab. Known in Tyrandor as 'Leonidas' Masterpiece', it is regarded as the encounter that secured Tyrandor's independence from the Abbasid Caliphate, and is often seen as Tyrandor's greatest military achievement.

Location

The location and namesake of the battle is La Lacirima, "the teardrop"-- a wide hill towering over the surrounding Cyrenian Plain, just south of the Apex Hastam in the federal province of Cyrendor, Tyrandor. A Romanyan road connecting Cyrendor to Tyran passes south of the hill and runs through an old, preserved town of the same name on the west side of the battle site.

Due to the prominence of the hill on the open plain, it is visible from all directions. In clear weather, it is faintly identifiable from the Apex Hastam.

La Lacirima in 2016, facing north down the hill.

Background

After achieving much more significant results during his fourth uprising and forcing the surrender of Abbasid-held Cyrene, Valerian

Aftermath

Due to the sensitivity to the dead buried nearby, the town of Lacirima was relocated to a new site ~2km south, where it was renamed Nova Lacirima. The old town, since abandoned, is preserved and maintained as part of the Lacirima War Memorial.