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History
Siege of Constantinople (717–718)
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The second Arab siege of Constantinople was a combined land and sea offensive in 717–718 by the Muslim Arabs of the Umayyad Caliphate against the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople. The campaign marked the culmination of twenty years of attacks and progressive Arab occupation of the Byzantine borderlands, while Byzantine strength was sapped by prolonged internal turmoil. In 716, after years of preparations, the Arabs, led by Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik, invaded Byzantine Asia Minor. The Arabs initially hoped to exploit Byzantine civil strife and made common cause with the general Leo III the Isaurian, who had risen up against Emperor Theodosius III. Leo, however, tricked them and secured the Byzantine throne for himself.
The second Arab siege of Constantinople, as depicted in the 14th-century Bulgarian translation of the Manasses Chronicle
The second Arab siege of Constantinople, as depicted in the 14th-century Bulgarian translation of the Manasses Chronicle
Gold solidus of Leo III
Gold solidus of Leo III
Photo of a restored section of the triple Theodosian Walls protecting Constantinople from its land side
Photo of a restored section of the triple Theodosian Walls protecting Constantinople from its land side
Depiction of the use of Greek fire, miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes
Depiction of the use of Greek fire, miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes
Umayyad Caliphate
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The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member of the clan. The family established dynastic, hereditary rule with Mu'awiya I, the long-time governor of Greater Syria, who became caliph after the end of the First Fitna in 661. After Mu'awiya's death in 680, conflicts over the succession resulted in the Second Fitna, and power eventually fell to Marwan I, from another branch of the clan. Syria remained the Umayyads' main power base thereafter, with Damascus as their capital.
Arab-Sasanian-style Umayyad coin minted under Mu'awiya I rule in Basra in 675/76 in the name of the Umayyad governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad. The latter
Arab-Sasanian-style Umayyad coin minted under Mu'awiya I rule in Basra in 675/76 in the name of the Umayyad governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad. The latter's governorship later spanned all of the eastern caliphate. His father Ziyad ibn Abihi was adopted as a half-brother by Mu'awiya I, who made him his practical viceroy over the eastern caliphate.
Abd al-Malik introduced an independent Islamic currency, the gold dinar, in 693, which originally depicted a human figure, likely the caliph, as shown
Abd al-Malik introduced an independent Islamic currency, the gold dinar, in 693, which originally depicted a human figure, likely the caliph, as shown in this coin minted in 695. In 697, the figural depictions were replaced solely by Qur'anic and other Islamic inscriptions
The expansion of the Muslim Caliphate until 750, from William R. Shepherd's Historical Atlas. Muslim state at the death of Muhammad Expansion under th
The expansion of the Muslim Caliphate until 750, from William R. Shepherd's Historical Atlas. Muslim state at the death of Muhammad Expansion under the Rashidun Caliphate Expansion under the Umayyad Caliphate Byzantine Empire
A 14th-century illustration of the siege of Constantinople
A 14th-century illustration of the siege of Constantinople