The Battle of Manzikert in 1071 is mentioned only in a single paragraph by Psellos, who chiefly comments that Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes should have better studied strategy; however, Attaleiates devotes an entire chapter to the details of the decisive battle, including the events before and after the battle, while also giving his own commentary and anecdotes of the actions and mistakes which were made. Attaleiates is invaluable in providing an understanding of what the populace of the Byzantine Empire, outside of the nobles of Constantinople, thought of the Turkish invasion of Anatolia. These opinions explain why Attaleiates is so condemning of Michael VII and so praising of Nikephoros: in the view of the average Byzantine, Michael was primarily at fault for the loss of Byzantine Anatolia, Attaleiatess homeland, whereas Nikephoros, a fellow Anatolian, actively worked to prevent the further collapse of the Byzantine Empire.