Those Crazy Barbarian Muslims!

About the Battle of Manzikert, a decisive battle in which the Muslim Seljuq commander Alp Arsalan decisively checked and thwarted the Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV and his army from having a foothold in eastern Anatolia we see the following tract in the Wikipedia entry (I know it is not a very classy citation, but you'll get the point)...

"When the Emperor Romanos IV was conducted into the presence of Alp Arslan, he refused to believe that the bloodied and tattered man covered in dirt was the mighty Emperor of the Romans. After discovering the identity of the Emperor, he placed his boot on the Emperor's neck and forced him to kiss the ground.^[7] A famous conversation is also reported to have taken place^[17]:

Alp Arslan: "What would you do if I were brought before you as a prisoner?"

Romanos: "Perhaps I'd kill you, or exhibit you in the streets of Constantinople."

Alp Arslan: "My punishment is far heavier. I forgive you, and set you free."

Alp Arslan treated Romanos with considerable kindness^[18] and again offered the terms of peace which he had offered previous to the battle."

So much for the bloodthirsty "kill all the infidels" theory...