History of the Byzantine Empire: Umayyad Sieges of Constantinople Part Five

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Byzantium lost its prosperous Near East and African provinces. The once gleaming gem of Constantinople was facing food shortages as grain from Egypt was cut off. The last great Emperor, Heraclius, was a feeble man by the time he died. The Roman Empire had not been in this precarious of a situation ever since Hannibal was defeated at the Battle of Zama. All Byzantium could do was hold on as their empire crumbled.

The borderlands of Eastern Anatolia became ravaged as raiding parties from all sides attacked. The Balkans became a battleground between the Bulgarians and the Byzantines with significant losses for all parties. The splotches of Italy under Byzantine authority were left to their own devices as the dying empire could give little to help. This disastrous situation left Byzantium vulnerable, and the new Umayyad Caliphate took action with this decline of Byzantium.

674-678 The First Arab Siege of Constantinople

• In 673, Arab forces invaded Byzantine territory taking the city of Tarus in Anatolia and the island of Rhodes (Gary).

• The Arabs seized coastal regions leading up to Constantinople.

• The Arabs made winter camp at the peninsula of Cyzicus (Admin).

• During the warm seasons, the Arabs would come out raiding the land around Constantinople and would siege Constantinople itself.

• The Byzantine Empire was attacked by Slavs with the second greatest city of Byzantium, Thessalonika, being put under siege (Gary).

• Lombards attacked Byzantine holdings in Italy (Arabska).

• One significant advantage for the Byzantine Empire was Greek fire.

• Greek fire burned on water and was essential in Byzantine Naval warfare.

• Constantine IV faced an everlasting siege as no lasting results occurred from the Arabs sporadic summertime warfare.

• In response to this, Constantine IV led a naval attack against the Arabs in 678.Using Greek fire, Constantine IV defeated the Arab naval strength (Arabska).

• On land, the Byzantine generals Phloros, Petron, and Cyprian defeated the Arab commander Sufyan ibn 'Awf.

• The Arabs lost over thirty thousand men (Arabska).

• These outcomes led to the retreat of the Umayyad Caliphate.

• This successful defense saved Byzantium from being destroyed and stalled the expansion of Islam into Christian Europe until the Ottoman Empire.

717-718 The Second Arab Siege of Constantinople

• Emperor Leo III revolted against emperor Theodosius III, securing the help of the Umayyad Caliphate with the promises of subjugating Byzantium to them once he gained the throne (Kaegi).

• The Umayyad Caliphate sent troops to Western Anatolia after Emperor Leo III broke a deal to become the vassal of Caliph Umar II (Ewhelan & Admin).

• Masalama, the brother of the Caliph, led 80,000 troops into Byzantine Thrace (SIEGE).

• Approximately 1,800 war galleys from the Umayyad Caliphate entered into the Sea of Marmara, south of Constantinople.

• Sulayman led the Arab navy but eventually died from disease on the campaign (Arabs).

• The Byzantine navy harassed the Arab fleet with Greek fire.

• When winter came, the Arabs faced immense hardships with a substantial loss in manpower and resources.

• In comparison, the Byzantines were well prepared for winter with supplies being brought into Constantinople from the Black Sea.

• The following summer the Byzantines enlisted the help of the Bulgarian Khan Tervel with the promise of Gold and fear of Islam.

• The Bulgarian forces relieved Constantinople killing around 30,000 Caliphate forces until they retreated (Ewhelan & Admin).

• The defeat of the Umayyad Caliphate for a second time secured the Byzantine Empires position.

• The Caliphate's expansionary stage at the expense of Byzantium was done, and Byzantium would experience a resurgence eventually leading to the recapture of much of Eastern Anatolia and Western Armenia.

Next Piece: The Macedonian resurgence

Sources:

Admin. “Cyzicus.” Turkish Archaeological News, 25 Oct. 2013, 20:51, turkisharchaeonews.net/site/cyzicus.

“Arabs Fail in the Second Siege of Constantinople.” Amazing Bible Timeline with World History, 16 Sept. 2016, amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/arabs-fail-in-the-second-siege-of-constantinople/.

Arabska, Anna. The Clash of Civilizations. Publisher Not Identified, 1947.

Ewhelan, and Admin. “How Did the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople 717-718, Change World History?” How Did the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople 717-

718, Change World History? - DailyHistory.org, 2 May 2018, dailyhistory.org/How_did_the_Second_Arab_Siege_of_Constantinople_717-718,_change_world_history%3F.

Gary. “Byzantine Military.” The Siege of Constantinople, 1 Jan. 1970, byzantinemilitary.blogspot.com/2011/10/siege-of-constantinople.html.

Kaegi, Walter Emil. “Leo III.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 14 June 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Leo-III.

“SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE (717-718).” Siege of Constantinople (717-718), www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/notes/constantinoplesiege.html.