BattlefieldsClan Mackenzie Seizure of Dingwall from Ross 1479
Medieval

Clan Mackenzie Seizure of Dingwall from Ross 1479

1479
Scotland
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Earl of Ross
Forces
residual Ross earldom garrison and rival claimants to Dingwall
VS
Victor
Clan Mackenzie
Forces
Kenneth Mackenzie warband
Outcome
Mackenzie forces occupied Dingwall following Ross earldom forfeiture; Dingwall castle garrisoned by Mackenzie; control of Easter Ross approaches established.
The Battle

History & Significance

The Mackenzies exploited the forfeiture of the Earldom of Ross in 1476 to seize Dingwall, the principal town and castle of Easter Ross. Control of Dingwall gave the Mackenzies command of the Cromarty Firth and the eastern approaches to their heartland territory. The seizure of Dingwall was the most important single step in Mackenzie expansion from a western Highland clan to a power spanning all of Ross-shire.

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