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Revision as of 12:20, 19 May 2009
For other sieges of Constantinople, see Sieges of Constantinople.| First Arab Siege of Constantinople | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Byzantine-Arab Wars | |||||||
 The Theodosian Walls of Constantinople, which proved impregnable during the siege | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Byzantine Empire | Umayyad Caliphate | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Constantine IV | Yazid | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| about 50,000 men |
200,000 Arabs & Egyptian allies | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| about 10,000 killed | 150,000 killed | ||||||
| Arab–Byzantine wars | |
|---|---|
Early conflicts
Border conflicts
Sicily and Southern Italy
Naval warfare
Byzantine reconquest
|
The First Arab Siege of Constantinople in 674 was a major conflict of the Byzantine-Arab Wars, and was one of the numerous times Constantinople's defences were tested. It was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Arab Umayyad Caliphate. Muawiyah I, who had emerged as the ruler of the Arab empire following a civil war, sent his son Yazid who besieged Constantinople under Constantine IV. In this battle, the Umayyads, unable to breach the Theodosian Walls, blockaded the city along the Bosporus. The approach of winter forced the besiegers to withdraw to an island 80 miles away.
Just prior to the siege, a Syrian Christian refugee named Kallinikos (Callinicus) of Heliopolis had invented for the Byzantine Empire a devastating new weapon that came to be known as "Greek fire". In 677, the Byzantine navy utilized it to decisively defeat the Umayyad navy in the Sea of Marmara, lifting the siege in 678. This victory halted the Umayyad expansion towards Europe for almost thirty years, although the Arabs would not be decisively defeated until the Second Arab siege of Constantinople.
The defeat can be attributed to two factors: the unbroken defences of the city, and the devastating winter. The naval victory that the Byzantines won ensured that the city could be resupplied by sea. Meanwhile, the Arab forces were beset with starvation in winter.
See also
References
- Jonathan Harris (2007), Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium. Hambledon/Continuum, London. ISBN 978 1847251794
- Turnbull, Stephen (2004). The Walls of Constantinople AD 413–1453. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-759-X.
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