1.
Muslim conquests
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The early Muslim conquests also referred to as the Arab conquests and early Islamic conquests began with the Islamic Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun, the resulting empire stretched from the borders of China and the Indian subcontinent, across Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Sicily, and the Iberian Peninsula, to the Pyrenees. The Muslim conquests brought about the collapse of the Sassanid Empire, the reasons for the Muslim success are hard to reconstruct in hindsight, primarily because only fragmentary sources from the period have survived. Most historians agree that the Sassanid Persian and Byzantine Roman empires were militarily and economically exhausted from decades of fighting one another, in the case of Byzantine Egypt, Palestine and Syria, these lands had only a few years before being reclaimed from the Persians. The estimates for the size of the Islamic Caliphate suggest it was more than thirteen million square kilometers, the last of these wars ended with victory for the Byzantines, Emperor Heraclius regained all lost territories, and restored the True Cross to Jerusalem in 629. According to George Liska, the unnecessarily prolonged Byzantine–Persian conflict opened the way for Islam, in late 620s Muhammad had already managed to conquer and unify much of Arabia under Muslim rule, and it was under his leadership that the first Muslim-Byzantine skirmishes took place. The province of Syria was the first to be wrested from Byzantine control, on the heels of their victory, the Arab armies took Damascus in 636, with Baalbek, Homs, and Hama to follow soon afterwards. However, other fortified towns continued to resist despite the rout of the army and had to be conquered individually. Jerusalem fell in 638, Caesarea in 640, while others held out until 641, the Byzantine province of Egypt held strategic importance for its grain production, naval yards, and as a base for further conquests in Africa. The Muslim general Amr ibn al-As began the conquest of the province on his own initiative in 639, nevertheless, the province was scarcely urbanized and the defenders lost hope of receiving reinforcements from Constantinople when the emperor Heraclius died in 641. The last major center to fall into Arab hands was Alexandria, according to Hugh Kennedy, Of all the early Muslim conquests, that of Egypt was the swiftest and most complete. Seldom in history can so massive a political change have happened so swiftly, after an Arab incursion into Sasanian territories, the energetic king Yazdgerd III, who had just ascended the Persian throne, raised an army to resist the invasion. However, the Persians suffered a defeat at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah in 636. As a result, the Arab-Muslims gained control over the whole of Iraq, including Ctesiphon, the Persian forces withdrew over the Zagros mountains and the Arab army pursued them across the Iranian plateau, where the fate of the Sasanian empire was sealed at the Battle of Nahavand. In the aftermath of their victory over the army, the invaders still had to contend with a collection of militarily weak. It took decades to bring all under control of the caliphate. The rapidity of the early conquests has received various explanations, contemporary Christian writers conceived them as Gods punishment visited on their fellow Christians for their sins. Early Muslim historians viewed them as a reflection of religious zeal of the conquerors, according to Chase F. Robinson, it is likely that Muslim forces were often outnumbered, but, unlike their opponents, they were fast, well coordinated and highly motivated
2.
Greek fire
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Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantines typically used it in battles to great effect. The impression made by Greek fire on the western European Crusaders was such that the name was applied to any sort of weapon, including those used by Arabs, the Chinese. These, however, were different mixtures and not the Byzantine formula, Byzantine use of incendiary mixtures was distinguished by the use of pressurized nozzles or siphōn to project the liquid onto the enemy. The composition of Greek fire is unknown and it remains a matter of speculation and debate, with various proposals including combinations of pine resin, naphtha, quicklime, calcium phosphide, sulfur, or niter. Incendiary and flaming weapons were used in warfare for centuries prior to the invention of Greek fire and they included a number of sulfur-, petroleum-, and bitumen-based mixtures. Incendiary arrows and pots containing combustible substances were used as early as the 9th century BC by the Assyrians and were used in the Greco-Roman world as well. Furthermore, Thucydides mentions that in the siege of Delium in 424 BC a long tube on wheels was used which blew flames forward using a large bellows, Greek fire proper, however, was developed in c. He had devised a sea fire which ignited the Arab ships, thus it was that the Romans returned with victory and discovered the sea fire. If this is not due to confusion of the events of the siege. Indeed, the 11th-century chronicler George Kedrenos records that Kallinikos came from Heliopolis in Egypt, within a generation, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt had fallen to the Arabs, who in c. 672 set out to conquer the imperial capital of Constantinople. Greek fire was used to great effect against the Muslim fleets, helping to repel the Muslims at the first and second Arab sieges of the city. Utilisation of the substance was prominent in Byzantine civil wars, chiefly the revolt of the fleets in 727. In both cases, the fleets were defeated by the Constantinopolitan Imperial Fleet through the use of Greek fire. The importance placed on Greek fire during the Empires struggle against the Arabs would lead to its discovery being ascribed to divine intervention. As a warning, he adds that one official, who was bribed into handing some of it over to the Empires enemies, was struck down by a flame from heaven as he was about to enter a church. This, however, was not enough to allow their enemies to copy it. Greek fire continued to be mentioned during the 12th century, however, although the use of hastily improvised fireships is mentioned during the 1203 siege of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade, no report confirms the use of the actual Greek fire
3.
Byzantine Navy
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The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a continuation from its Imperial Roman predecessor. The first threat to Roman hegemony in the Mediterranean was posed by the Vandals in the 5th century and this process would be furthered with the onset of the Muslim conquests in the 7th century. Following the loss of the Levant and later Africa, the Mediterranean Sea was transformed from a Roman lake into a battleground between Byzantines and Arabs, initially, the defence of the Byzantine coasts and the approaches to Constantinople was borne by the great fleet of the Karabisianoi. Progressively however it was split up into several regional fleets, while a central Imperial Fleet was maintained at Constantinople, guarding the city, by the late 8th century, the Byzantine navy, a well-organized and maintained force, was again the dominant maritime power in the Mediterranean. The antagonism with the Muslim navies continued with alternating success, but in the 10th century, during the 11th century, the navy, like the Empire itself, began to decline. A period of recovery under the Komnenians was followed by period of decline. After the Empire was restored in 1261, several emperors of the Palaiologan dynasty tried to revive the navy, the diminished navy, however, continued to be active until the fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans in 1453. The Byzantine navy, like the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire itself, was a continuation of the Roman Empire, after the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, in the absence of any external threat in the Mediterranean, the Roman navy performed mostly policing and escort duties. Massive sea battles, like those fought in the Punic Wars, no longer occurred, the civil wars of the 4th and early 5th centuries, however, did spur a revival of naval activity, with fleets mostly employed to transport armies. The new Vandalic Kingdom of Carthage, under the capable king Geiseric, immediately launched raids against the coasts of Italy and Greece, the Vandal raids continued unabated over the next two decades, despite repeated Roman attempts to defeat them. The Western Empire was impotent, its navy having dwindled to almost nothing, a first Eastern expedition in 448, however, went no further than Sicily, and in 460, the Vandals attacked and destroyed a Western Roman invasion fleet at Cartagena in Spain. Finally, in 468, a huge Eastern expedition was assembled under Basiliscus, reputedly numbering 1,113 ships and 100,000 men, but it failed disastrously. About 600 ships were lost to ships, and the financial cost of 130,000 pounds of gold and 700000 pounds of silver nearly bankrupted the Empire. This forced the Romans to come to terms with Geiseric and sign a peace treaty, after Geiserics death in 477, however, the Vandal threat receded. The 6th century marked the rebirth of Roman naval power, in 508, as antagonism with the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Theodoric flared up, the Emperor Anastasius I is reported to have sent a fleet of 100 warships to raid the coasts of Italy. In 513, the general Vitalian revolted against Anastasius, the rebels assembled a fleet of 200 ships which, despite some initial successes, were destroyed by admiral Marinus, who employed a sulphur-based incendiary substance to defeat them. This fact was not lost on the Byzantines enemies, already in the 520s, Theodoric had planned to build a massive fleet directed against the Byzantines and the Vandals, but his death in 526 limited the extent to which these plans were realized
4.
Levant
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The Levant is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean. The term Levant entered English in the late 15th century from French and it derives from the Italian Levante, meaning rising, implying the rising of the sun in the east. As such, it is equivalent to the Arabic term Mashriq. Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine, in 1581, England set up the Levant Company to monopolize commerce with the Ottoman Empire. The name Levant States was used to refer to the French mandate over Syria and this is probably the reason why the term Levant has come to be used synonymously with Syria-Palestine. Some scholars misunderstood the term thinking that it derives from the name of Lebanon, today the term is typically used in conjunction with prehistoric or ancient historical references. It does not include Anatolia, the Caucasus Mountains, or any part of the Arabian Peninsula proper, the Sinai Peninsula is sometimes included. The Levant has been described as the crossroads of western Asia, the eastern Mediterranean, and northeast Africa, the populations of the Levant share not only the geographic position, but cuisine, some customs, and a very long history. They are often referred to as Levantines, the term Levant, which appeared in English in 1497, originally meant the East in general or Mediterranean lands east of Italy. It is borrowed from the French levant rising, referring to the rising of the sun in the east, the phrase is ultimately from the Latin word levare, meaning lift, raise. Similar etymologies are found in Greek Ἀνατολή, in Germanic Morgenland, in Italian, in Hungarian Kelet, in Spanish and Catalan Levante and Llevant, most notably, Orient and its Latin source oriens meaning east, is literally rising, deriving from Latin orior rise. The notion of the Levant has undergone a process of historical evolution in usage, meaning. While the term Levantine originally referred to the European residents of the eastern Mediterranean region, it came to refer to regional native. The English Levant Company was founded in 1581 to trade with the Ottoman Empire, at this time, the Far East was known as the Upper Levant. In early 19th-century travel writing, the term sometimes incorporated certain Mediterranean provinces of the Ottoman empire, in 19th-century archaeology, it referred to overlapping cultures in this region during and after prehistoric times, intending to reference the place instead of any one culture. The French mandate of Syria and Lebanon was called the Levant states, today, Levant is the term typically used by archaeologists and historians with reference to the history of the region. Scholars have adopted the term Levant to identify the region due to it being a wider, yet relevant, archaeologists seeking a neutral orientation that is neither biblical nor national have used terms such as Levantine archaeology and archaeology of the Southern Levant. Two academic journals were launched, Journal of Levantine Studies, published by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and The Levantine Review
5.
Mesopotamia
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In the Iron Age, it was controlled by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires. The Sumerians and Akkadians dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of history to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC. It fell to Alexander the Great in 332 BC, and after his death, around 150 BC, Mesopotamia was under the control of the Parthian Empire. Mesopotamia became a battleground between the Romans and Parthians, with parts of Mesopotamia coming under ephemeral Roman control. In AD226, eastern part of it fell to the Sassanid Persians, division of Mesopotamia between Roman and Sassanid Empires lasted until the 7th century Muslim conquest of Persia of the Sasanian Empire and Muslim conquest of the Levant from Byzantines. A number of primarily neo-Assyrian and Christian native Mesopotamian states existed between the 1st century BC and 3rd century AD, including Adiabene, Osroene, and Hatra, Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution from around 10,000 BC. The regional toponym Mesopotamia comes from the ancient Greek root words μέσος middle and ποταμός river and it is used throughout the Greek Septuagint to translate the Hebrew equivalent Naharaim. In the Anabasis, Mesopotamia was used to designate the land east of the Euphrates in north Syria, the Aramaic term biritum/birit narim corresponded to a similar geographical concept. The neighbouring steppes to the west of the Euphrates and the part of the Zagros Mountains are also often included under the wider term Mesopotamia. A further distinction is made between Northern or Upper Mesopotamia and Southern or Lower Mesopotamia. Upper Mesopotamia, also known as the Jazira, is the area between the Euphrates and the Tigris from their sources down to Baghdad, Lower Mesopotamia is the area from Baghdad to the Persian Gulf and includes Kuwait and parts of western Iran. In modern academic usage, the term Mesopotamia often also has a chronological connotation and it is usually used to designate the area until the Muslim conquests, with names like Syria, Jazirah, and Iraq being used to describe the region after that date. It has been argued that these later euphemisms are Eurocentric terms attributed to the region in the midst of various 19th-century Western encroachments, Mesopotamia encompasses the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, both of which have their headwaters in the Armenian Highlands. Both rivers are fed by tributaries, and the entire river system drains a vast mountainous region. Overland routes in Mesopotamia usually follow the Euphrates because the banks of the Tigris are frequently steep and difficult. The climate of the region is semi-arid with a vast desert expanse in the north which gives way to a 15,000 square kilometres region of marshes, lagoons, mud flats, in the extreme south, the Euphrates and the Tigris unite and empty into the Persian Gulf. In the marshlands to the south of the area, a complex water-borne fishing culture has existed since prehistoric times, periodic breakdowns in the cultural system have occurred for a number of reasons. Alternatively, military vulnerability to invasion from marginal hill tribes or nomadic pastoralists has led to periods of trade collapse and these trends have continued to the present day in Iraq
6.
North Africa
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North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of Africa. The United Nationss definition of Northern Africa is, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, the countries of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya are often collectively referred to as the Maghreb, which is the Arabic word for sunset. Egypt lies to the northeast and encompasses part of West Asia, while Sudan is situated on the edge of the Sahel, Egypt is a transcontinental country because of the Sinai Peninsula, which geographically lies in Western Asia. North Africa also includes a number of Spanish possessions, the Canary Islands and Madeira in the North Atlantic Ocean northwest of the African mainland are included in considerations of the region. From 3500 BC, following the abrupt desertification of the Sahara due to changes in the Earths orbit. The Islamic influence in the area is significant, and North Africa is a major part of the Muslim world. Some researchers have postulated that North Africa rather than East Africa served as the point for the modern humans who first trekked out of the continent in the Out of Africa migration. The Atlas Mountains extend across much of Morocco, northern Algeria and Tunisia, are part of the mountain system that also runs through much of Southern Europe. They recede to the south and east, becoming a steppe landscape before meeting the Sahara desert, the sediments of the Sahara overlie an ancient plateau of crystalline rock, some of which is more than four billion years old. Sheltered valleys in the Atlas Mountains, the Nile Valley and Delta, a wide variety of valuable crops including cereals, rice and cotton, and woods such as cedar and cork, are grown. Typical Mediterranean crops, such as olives, figs, dates and citrus fruits, the Nile Valley is particularly fertile, and most of the population in Egypt and Sudan live close to the river. Elsewhere, irrigation is essential to improve yields on the desert margins. The inhabitants of Saharan Africa are generally divided in a manner corresponding to the principal geographic regions of North Africa, the Maghreb, the Nile valley. The edge of the Sahel, to the south of Egypt has mainly been inhabited by Nubians, Ancient Egyptians record extensive contact in their Western desert with people that appear to have been Berber or proto-Berber, as well as Nubians from the south. They have contributed to the Arabized Berber populations, the official language or one of the official languages in all of the countries in North Africa is Arabic. The people of the Maghreb and the Sahara regions speak Berber languages and several varieties of Arabic, the Arabic and Berber languages are distantly related, both being members of the Afroasiatic language family. The Tuareg Berber languages are more conservative than those of the coastal cities. Over the years, Berbers have been influenced by contact with cultures, Greeks, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, Europeans
7.
Sicily
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Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous Region of Italy, along with surrounding minor islands, Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, the island has a typical Mediterranean climate. The earliest archaeological evidence of activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC. It became part of Italy in 1860 following the Expedition of the Thousand, a revolt led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unification, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region after the Italian constitutional referendum of 1946. Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine. It is also home to important archaeological and ancient sites, such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Temples, Sicily has a roughly triangular shape, earning it the name Trinacria. To the east, it is separated from the Italian mainland by the Strait of Messina, about 3 km wide in the north, and about 16 km wide in the southern part. The northern and southern coasts are each about 280 km long measured as a line, while the eastern coast measures around 180 km. The total area of the island is 25,711 km2, the terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly and is intensively cultivated wherever possible. Along the northern coast, the ranges of Madonie,2,000 m, Nebrodi,1,800 m. The cone of Mount Etna dominates the eastern coast, in the southeast lie the lower Hyblaean Mountains,1,000 m. The mines of the Enna and Caltanissetta districts were part of a leading sulphur-producing area throughout the 19th century, Sicily and its surrounding small islands have some highly active volcanoes. Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still casts black ash over the island with its ever-present eruptions and it currently stands 3,329 metres high, though this varies with summit eruptions, the mountain is 21 m lower now than it was in 1981. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps, Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under the mountain by Zeus, Mount Etna is widely regarded as a cultural symbol and icon of Sicily. The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the northeast of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, the three volcanoes of Vulcano, Vulcanello and Lipari are also currently active, although the latter is usually dormant
8.
Anatolia
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Anatolia, in geography known as Asia Minor, Asian Turkey, Anatolian peninsula, or Anatolian plateau, is the westernmost protrusion of Asia, which makes up the majority of modern-day Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Sea of Marmara forms a connection between the Black and Aegean Seas through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits and separates Anatolia from Thrace on the European mainland. Traditionally, Anatolia is considered to extend in the east to a line between the Gulf of Alexandretta and the Black Sea to the Armenian Highlands, thus, traditionally Anatolia is the territory that comprises approximately the western two-thirds of the Asian part of Turkey. The Turkification of Anatolia began under the Seljuk Empire in the late 11th century, however, various non-Turkic languages continue to be spoken by minorities in Anatolia today, including Kurdish, Assyrian, Armenian, Arabic, Laz, Georgian, and Greek. Traditionally, Anatolia is considered to extend in the east to a line running from the Gulf of Alexandretta to the Black Sea. This traditional geographical definition is used, for example, in the latest edition of Merriam-Websters Geographical Dictionary, under this definition, Anatolia is bounded to the east by the Armenian Highlands, and the Euphrates before that river bends to the southeast to enter Mesopotamia. To the southeast, it is bounded by the ranges that separate it from the Orontes valley in Syria, the first name the Greeks used for the Anatolian peninsula was Ἀσία, presumably after the name of the Assuwa league in western Anatolia. As the name of Asia came to be extended to areas east of the Mediterranean. The name Anatolia derives from the Greek ἀνατολή meaning “the East” or more literally “sunrise”, the precise reference of this term has varied over time, perhaps originally referring to the Aeolian, Ionian and Dorian colonies on the west coast of Asia Minor. In the Byzantine Empire, the Anatolic Theme was a theme covering the western, the modern Turkish form of Anatolia is Anadolu, which again derives from the Greek name Aνατολή. The Russian male name Anatoly and the French Anatole share the same linguistic origin, in English the name of Turkey for ancient Anatolia first appeared c. It is derived from the Medieval Latin Turchia, which was used by the Europeans to define the Seljuk controlled parts of Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert. Human habitation in Anatolia dates back to the Paleolithic, neolithic Anatolia has been proposed as the homeland of the Indo-European language family, although linguists tend to favour a later origin in the steppes north of the Black Sea. However, it is clear that the Anatolian languages, the oldest branch of Indo-European, have spoken in Anatolia since at least the 19th century BC. The earliest historical records of Anatolia stem from the southeast of the region and are from the Mesopotamian-based Akkadian Empire during the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the 24th century BC, scholars generally believe the earliest indigenous populations of Anatolia were the Hattians and Hurrians. The region was famous for exporting raw materials, and areas of Hattian-, one of the numerous cuneiform records dated circa 20th century BC, found in Anatolia at the Assyrian colony of Kanesh, uses an advanced system of trading computations and credit lines. They were speakers of an Indo-European language, the Hittite language, originating from Nesa, they conquered Hattusa in the 18th century BC, imposing themselves over Hattian- and Hurrian-speaking populations. According to the most widely accepted Kurgan theory on the Proto-Indo-European homeland, however, the Hittites adopted the cuneiform script, invented in Mesopotamia
9.
Greater Armenia
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Greater Armenia is the name given to the state of Armenia that emerged on the Armenian Highlands under the reign of King Artaxias I at the turn of the second century BC. The term was used to refer to Armenian kingdoms throughout the classical, late antique, to the Romans it was known as Armenia Maior and to the Greek-speaking peoples as Ἀρμενία Μεγάλη, to differentiate it with Lesser Armenia. It would later be used to distinguish it from the kingdom that was established in Cilicia. Armenia in the Period of Justinian, The Political Conditions Based on the Naxarar System, hewsen, Robert H. Armenia, A Historical Atlas
10.
Southern Italy
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It generally coincides with the administrative regions of Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, Molise, Sicily, and Sardinia. Some also include the most southern and eastern parts of Lazio within the Mezzogiorno, Southern Italy carries a unique legacy of culture. It features many major tourist attractions, such as the Palace of Caserta, there are also many ancient Greek cities in Southern Italy, such as Sybaris, which were founded several centuries before the start of the Roman Republic. These same subdivisions are at the bottom of the Italian First level NUTS of the European Union, the term Mezzogiorno first came into use in the 18th century and is an Italian rendition of meridies. The term was popularised by Giuseppe Garibaldi and it eventually came into vogue after the Italian unification. In a similar manner, Southern France is colloquially known as le Midi, Southern Italy forms the lower part of the Italian boot, containing the ankle, the toe, the arch, and the heel, along with the island of Sicily. Separating the heel and the boot is the Gulf of Taranto, named after the city of Taranto and it is an arm of the Ionian Sea. The island of Sardinia, right below the French island of Corsica, on the eastern coast is the Adriatic Sea, leading into the rest of the Mediterranean through the Strait of Otranto. Along the northern coast of the Salernitan Gulf and on the south of the Sorrentine Peninsula runs the Amalfi Coast, off the tip of the peninsula is the isle of Capri. The climate is mainly Mediterranean, except at the highest elevations and the eastern stretches in Apulia, along the Ionian Sea in Calabria. The largest city of Southern Italy is Naples, a name from the Greek that it has maintained for millennia. Bari, Taranto, Reggio Calabria, Foggia, and Salerno are the next largest cities in the area. The region is very active and highly seismic, the 1980 Irpinia earthquake killed 2,914 people, injured more than 10,000. Also during this period, Greek colonies were established in places as widely separated as the eastern coast of the Black Sea, Eastern Libya and they included settlements in Sicily and the southern part of the Italian Peninsula. The Romans called the area of Sicily and the foot of Italy, Magna Graecia, the ancient geographers differed on whether the term included Sicily or merely Apulia and Calabria—Strabo being the most prominent advocate of the wider definitions. With this colonisation, Greek culture was exported to Italy, in its dialects of the Ancient Greek language, its religious rites, an original Hellenic civilization soon developed, later interacting with the native Italic and Latin civilisations. Many of the new Hellenic cities became very rich and powerful, like Neapolis, Syracuse, Acragas, other cities in Magna Graecia included Tarentum, Epizephyrian Locri, Rhegium, Croton, Thurii, Elea, Nola, Syessa, Bari, and others. After Pyrrhus of Epirus failed in his attempt to stop the spread of Roman hegemony in 282 BCE, from then to the Norman conquest of the 11th century, the south of the peninsula was constantly plunged into wars between Greece, Lombardy, and the Islamic Caliphate
11.
Crete
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Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, 88th-largest island in the world and the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica. Crete and a number of surrounding islands and islets constitute the region of Crete, the capital and the largest city is Heraklion. As of 2011, the region had a population of 623,065, Crete forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece, while retaining its own local cultural traits. It was once the centre of the Minoan civilization, which is regarded as the earliest recorded civilization in Europe. The island is first referred to as Kaptara in texts from the Syrian city of Mari dating from the 18th century BC, repeated later in Neo-Assyrian records and it was also known in ancient Egyptian as Keftiu, strongly suggesting a similar Minoan name for the island. The current name of Crete is thought to be first attested in Mycenaean Greek texts written in Linear B, through the words
12.
Byzantine Empire
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It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
13.
Ghassanids
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After settling in the Levant, the Ghassanids became a client state to the Eastern Roman Empire and fought alongside the Byzantine Empire against the Persian Sassanids and Arab Lakhmids. The lands of the Ghassanids also acted as a buffer zone protecting lands that had been annexed by the Romans against raids by Bedouin tribes, oral tradition holds that the Ghassanids came from the city of Marib in South Arabia and its surrounding cities and towns, modern day Yemen. Tradition holds that their exodus from the area was due to the destruction of the Marib Dam. The Arabic proverb “They were scattered like the people of Saba” refers to that exodus in history. The date of the migration to the Levant is unclear, and he apparently became Chalcedonian at this time. By the year 510, the Ghassanids were no longer Monophysite and they became the leading tribe among the Arab foederati, such as Banu Amela and Banu Judham. After originally settling in the Levant, the Ghassanids became a client state to the Eastern Roman Empire, the Romans found a powerful ally in the Ghassanids who acted as a buffer zone against the Lakhmids. In addition, as kings of their own people, they were also phylarchs, the capital was at Jabiyah in the Golan Heights. Geographically, it occupied much of the eastern Levant, and its authority extended via tribal alliances with other Azdi tribes all the way to the northern Hijaz as far south as Yathrib, the Ghassanids fought alongside the Byzantine Empire against the Persian Sassanids and Arab Lakhmids. The lands of the Ghassanids also continually acted as a buffer zone, among their Arab allies were the Banu Judham and Banu Amela. The Byzantine Empire was focused more on the East and a war with the Persians was always their main concern. The Ghassanids maintained their rule as the guardian of trade routes, in addition to that, al-Harith ibn Jabalah was given the rule over all the Arab allies of the Byzantine Empire. Al-Harith was a Miaphysite Christian, he helped to revive the Syrian Miaphysite Church, later Byzantine mistrust and persecution of such religious unorthodoxy brought down his successors, al-Mundhir and Numan. After the fall of the first kingdom of Ghassan, King Jabalah ibn-al-Aiham established a Government-in-exile in Byzantium. The Ghassanids remained a Byzantine vassal state until its rulers and the eastern Byzantine Empire were overthrown by the Muslims in the 7th century and it is worth noting that a significant percentage of the Muslim armies in the Battle of Mutah were Christian Arabs. Several of those Christian Arab tribes in todays modern Jordan who sided with the Muslim armies were recognized by exempting them from paying jizya, jizya is a form of tax paid by non-Muslims - Muslims paid another form of tax called Zakah. Later those who remained Christian joined Melkite Syriac communities, the remnants of the Ghassanids were dispersed throughout Asia Minor. There are different opinions why Jabalah and his followers didnt convert to Islam, some opinions go along the general idea that the Ghassanids were not interested yet in giving up their status as the lords and nobility of Syria
14.
Medieval Armenia
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Western Armenia had been under Byzantine control since the partition of the Kingdom of Armenia in AD387, while Eastern Armenia had been under the occupation of the Sassanid Empire starting 428. Regardless of religious disputes, many Armenians became successful in the Byzantine Empire, in Sassanid-occupied Armenia, the people struggled to preserve their Christian religion. This struggle reached its culmination in the Battle of Avarayr, although the battle was a military defeat, Vartan Mamigonians successor, Vahan, succeeded to force the Persians to grant religious freedom to the Christian Armenians in the Nvarsak Treaty of 484. After the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in 632, the Arabs expanded their religion throughout the Middle East, in 639, with a force of 18,000 warriors, Abd‑er‑Rahman took Taron and sacked the country. In 642, the Muslims took Dvin, slaughtered 12,000 of its inhabitants, prince Theodoros Rshtuni organized resistance and liberated the enslaved Armenians. However, Theodoros eventually accepted Arab rule of Armenia, thus, in 645, the entirety of Armenia fell under Islamic rule. This period of 200 years was interrupted by a few restricted revolts, most petty Armenian families were weakened in favor of the Bagratunis and Artsrunis. As Islamic power was waning, Ashot I of the Bagratuni family got more influence in Armenia. He became prince of princes in 861, and after a war against nearby Arab emirs, in 885, after more than 450 years of foreign occupation, Armenians finally reasserted their sovereignty in their ancestral lands. Despite Bagratid efforts to control all Armenian noble families, the Artsrunis and Siunis eventually broke off from central rule, Ashot III transferred the capital from Kars to Ani, which came to be known as the city of 1001 churches. Ani became an important cultural and economic center in the whole region, Bagratid Armenia fell in 1045 to the Byzantines and then in 1064 to Seljuk Turks. The Kingdom of Cilicia was founded by the Rubenian dynasty, an offshoot of the larger Bagratid family that at times held the thrones of Armenia and Georgia. Cilicia was an ally of the European Crusaders, and saw itself as a bastion of Christendom in the East. It also served as a focus for Armenian nationalism and culture, Cilicia remained as a Mongol vassal until it too was destroyed in the mid-14th century by the Egyptian Mamluks. Marzpanate Period Mongol invasions of Georgia and Armenia
15.
First Bulgarian Empire
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The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state that existed in southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded circa 681 when Bulgar tribes led by Asparukh moved to the north-eastern Balkans, there they secured Byzantine recognition of their right to settle south of the Danube by defeating – possibly with the help of local South Slavic tribes – the Byzantine army led by Constantine IV. At the height of its power, Bulgaria spread from the Danube Bend to the Black Sea, as the state solidified its position in the Balkans, it entered into a centuries-long interaction, sometimes friendly and sometimes hostile, with the Byzantine Empire. Bulgaria emerged as Byzantiums chief antagonist to its north, resulting in several wars, Byzantium had a strong cultural influence on Bulgaria, which also led to the eventual adoption of Christianity in 864. After the disintegration of the Avar Khaganate, the country expanded its territory northwest to the Pannonian Plain, later the Bulgarians confronted the advance of the Pechenegs and Cumans, and achieved a decisive victory over the Magyars, forcing them to establish themselves permanently in Pannonia. During the late 9th and early 10th centuries, Simeon I achieved a string of victories over the Byzantines, thereafter, he was recognized with the title of Emperor, and proceeded to expand the state to its greatest extent. After the annihilation of the Byzantine army in the battle of Anchialus in 917, the Byzantines, however, eventually recovered, and in 1014, under Basil II, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Bulgarians at the Battle of Kleidion. By 1018, the last Bulgarian strongholds had surrendered to the Byzantine Empire, and it was succeeded by the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1185. After the adoption of Christianity, Bulgaria became the center of Slavic Europe. Old Bulgarian became the lingua franca of much of Eastern Europe, in 927, the fully independent Bulgarian Patriarchate was officially recognized. The Bulgars and other tribes in the empire gradually adopted an essentially foreign Slavic language. Since the late 9th century, the names Bulgarians and Bulgarian gained prevalence and became permanent designations for the local population, the First Bulgarian Empire became known simply as Bulgaria since its recognition by the Byzantine Empire in 681. Some historians use the terms Danube Bulgaria, First Bulgarian State, during its early existence, the country was also called the Bulgar state or Bulgar qaghanate. Between 864 and 917/927, the country was known as the Principality of Bulgaria or Knyazhestvo Bulgaria, in English language sources, the country is often known as the Bulgarian Empire. The eastern Balkan Peninsula was originally inhabited by the Thracians who were a group of Proto-Indo-European tribes, the whole region as far north as the Danube River was gradually incorporated into the Roman Empire by the 1st century AD. The decline of the Roman Empire after the 3rd century AD, nonetheless, it never relinquished the claim to the whole region up to the Danube. A series of administrative, legislative, military and economic reforms somewhat improved the situation, the group of Slavs that came to be known as the South Slavs was divided into Antes and Sclaveni who spoke the same language. The Slavic incursions in the Balkans increased during the half of Justinian Is reign and while these were initially pillaging raids
16.
Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
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The Kingdom of Italy was one of the constituent kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire, along with the kingdoms of Germany, Bohemia, and Burgundy. It comprised northern and central Italy, but excluded the Republic of Venice and its original capital was Pavia until the 11th century. In June 774, the collapsed and the Franks became masters of northern Italy. The southern areas remained under Lombard control in the Duchy of Benevento, Charlemagne adopted the title King of the Lombards and in 800 had himself crowned Emperor of the Romans in Rome. Members of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule Italy until the deposition of Charles the Fat in 887, until 961, the rule of Italy was continually contested by several aristocratic families from both within and without the kingdom. In 961, King Otto I of Germany, already married to Adelaide, widow of a king of Italy. He continued on to Rome, where he had himself crowned emperor on 7 February 962, the union of the crowns of Italy and Germany with that of the so-called Empire of the Romans created the Holy Roman Empire, to which Burgundy was added in 1032. The resulting wars between Guelphs and Ghibellines, the anti-imperialist and imperialist factions, respectively, were characteristic of Italian politics in the 12th–14th centuries. The Lombard League was the most famous example of this situation, though not a declared separatist movement, by the 15th century, the power of the city-states was largely broken. A series of wars in Lombardy from 1423 to 1454 further reduced the number of competing states in Italy, the next forty years were relatively peaceful in Italy, but in 1494 the peninsula was invaded by France. The resulting Great Italian Wars lasted until 1559 as control of most of the Italian states passed to King Philip II of Spain. The Spanish branch of the Habsburg dynasty—the same dynasty of which another branch provided the Emperors—continued to rule most of imperial Italy down to the War of the Spanish Succession, after the Imperial Reform of 1495–1512, the Italian kingdom corresponded to the unencircled territories south of the Alps. The Imperial rule in Italy came to an end with the campaigns of the French Revolutionaries in 1792–97, in 1806, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by the last emperor, Francis II, after its defeat by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz. After the Battle of Taginae, in which the Ostrogoth king Totila was killed, the battle lasted two days and Teia was killed in the fighting. The Kings of the Lombards ruled that Germanic people from their invasion of Italy in 567–68 until the Lombardic identity became lost in the ninth and tenth centuries, after 568, the Lombard kings sometimes styled themselves Kings of Italy. Upon the Lombard defeat at the 774 Siege of Pavia, the kingdom came under the Frankish domination of Charlemagne, the Iron Crown of Lombardy was used for the coronation of the Lombard kings, and the kings of Italy thereafter, for centuries. The primary sources for the Lombard kings before the Frankish conquest are the anonymous 7th-century Origo Gentis Langobardorum, the earliest kings listed in the Origo are almost certainly legendary. They purportedly reigned during the Migration Period, the first ruler attested independently of Lombard tradition is Tato, an initial phase of strong autonomy of the many constituent duchies developed over time with growing regal authority, even if the dukes desires for autonomy were never fully achieved
17.
Italian city-states
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The Italian city-states were a political phenomenon of small independent states mostly in the central and northern Italian peninsula between the 9th and 15th centuries. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, urban settlements in Italy generally enjoyed a greater continuity than in the rest of western Europe, many of these towns were survivors of earlier Etruscan, Umbrian and Roman towns which had existed within the Roman Empire. The republican institutions of Rome had also survived, the very first Italian city-state can be considered the Republic of Venice, which de facto broke apart from Byzantine Empire since 742, becoming also de jure independent in the following centuries. The other first Italian city-states appeared in northern Italy as a result of a struggle to gain greater autonomy when not independent from the German Holy Roman Empire, other city-states were associated to these commune cities, like Genoa, Turin and, in the Adriatic, Ragusa. It is important to say that Venice was never subjected to the Holy Roman Empire, around 1100, Genoa and Venice emerged as independent Maritime republics. For Genoa – nominally – the Holy Roman Emperor was sovereign, pisa and Amalfi also emerged as maritime republics, trade, shipbuilding and banking helped support their powerful navies in the Mediterranean in those medieval centuries. Between the 12th and 13th centuries, Italy was vastly different from feudal Europe north of the Alps, the Peninsula was a melange of political and cultural elements, not a unified state. Marc Bloch and Fernand Braudel have argued that geography determined the history of the region, the very mountainous nature of Italys landscape was a barrier to effective inter-city communication. The Po plain, however, was an exception, it was the large contiguous area. Those that survived the longest were in the more rugged regions, such as Florence or Venice, while those Roman, urban, republican sensibilities persisted, there were many movements and changes afoot. Italy first felt the changes in Europe from the 11th to the 13th centuries and he argues that these states were mostly republics, unlike the great European monarchies of France and Spain, where absolute power was vested in rulers who could and did stifle commerce. Even northern cities and states were also notable for their merchant republics, geographically, and because of trade, Italian cities such as Venice became international trading and banking hubs and intellectual crossroads. It is estimated that the per capita income of northern Italy nearly tripled from the 11th century to the 15th century and this was a highly mobile, demographically expanding society, fueled by the rapidly expanding Renaissance commerce. In the 14th century, just as the Italian Renaissance was beginning, Italy was the capital of Western Europe. However, with the Bubonic Plague in 1348, the birth of the English woolen industry and general warfare, however, by the late 15th century Italy was again in control of trade along the Mediterranean Sea. It found a new niche in luxury items like ceramics, glassware, lace, however, Italy would never regain its strong hold on textiles. And though it was the birthplace of banking, by the 16th century German, by the 13th century, northern and central Italy had become the most literate society in the world. More than one third of the population could read in the vernacular, as could a small
18.
Rashidun Caliphate
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The Rashidun Caliphate was the Islamic caliphate in the earliest period of Islam, comprising the first five caliphs—the Rightly Guided or Rashidun caliphs. It was founded after Muhammads death in 632 CE, after Muhammads death in 632 CE, the Medinan Ansar debated which of them should succeed him in running the affairs of the Muslims while Muhammads household was busy with his burial. Umar and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, with the Ansar, Abu Bakr thus became the first Khalīfatu Rasūli l-Lāh successor of the Messenger of God, or caliph, and embarked on campaigns to propagate Islam. First he would have to subdue the Arabian tribes which had claimed that although they pledged allegiance to Muhammad and accepted Islam, as a caliph, Abu Bakr was not a monarch and never claimed such a title, nor did any of his three successors. Rather, their election and leadership were based upon merit, as for the fifth Caliph, ‘Alis son Al-Hasan, as a son of Fatimah, he was a grandson of Muhammad. Furthermore, according to other hadiths in Sunan Abu Dawood and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, towards the end times, Abu Bakr, the oldest companion of Muhammad, was caliph for only 2 years before he died. When Muhammad died, Abu Bakr and Umar, his two companions, were in the Saqifah meeting to select his successor while the family of Muhammad was busy with his funeral, controversy among the Muslims emerged about whom to name as Caliph. There was disagreement between the Meccan followers of Muhammad who had emigrated with him in 622 and the Medinans who had become followers, the Ansar, considering themselves being the hosts and loyal companions of Muhammad, nominated Sad bin Ubadah as their candidate for the Caliphate. In the end, however, Muhammads closest friend, Abu Bakr, was named the khalifa or Successor of Muhammad, a new circumstance had formed a new, untried political formation, the caliphate. Troubles emerged soon after Muhammads death, threatening the unity and stability of the new community, Apostasy spread to every tribe in the Arabian Peninsula with the exception of the people in Mecca and Medina, the Banu Thaqif in Taif and the Bani Abdul Qais of Oman. In some cases, entire tribes apostatised, others merely withheld zakat, the alms tax, without formally challenging Islam. Many tribal leaders made claims to prophethood, some made it during the lifetime of Muhammad, the news of his death reached Medina shortly after the death of Muhammad. The apostasy of al-Yamama was led by another supposed prophet, Musaylimah, many tribes claimed that they had submitted to Muhammad and that with Muhammads death, their allegiance was ended. Caliph Abu Bakr insisted that they had not just submitted to a leader, the result of this situation was the Ridda wars. Abu Bakr planned his strategy accordingly and he divided the Muslim army into several corps. The strongest corps, and the force of the Muslims, was the corps of Khalid ibn al-Walid. This corps was used to fight the most powerful of the rebel forces, other corps were given areas of secondary importance in which to bring the less dangerous apostate tribes to submission. After a series of successful campaigns Khalid ibn Walid defeated Musaylimah in the Battle of Yamama, the Campaign on the Apostasy was fought and completed during the eleventh year of the Hijri
19.
Umayyad Caliphate
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The Umayyad Caliphate, also spelled Omayyad, was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. This caliphate was centred on the Umayyad dynasty, hailing from Mecca, Syria remained the Umayyads main power base thereafter, and Damascus was their capital. The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, incorporating the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula into the Muslim world. At its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate covered 11,100,000 km2 and 62 million people, the Umayyad Caliphate was secular by nature. At the time, the Umayyad taxation and administrative practice were perceived as unjust by some Muslims, Muhammad had stated explicitly during his lifetime that Abrahamic religious groups, should be allowed to practice their own religion, provided that they paid the jizya taxation. The welfare state of both the Muslim and the poor started by Umar ibn al Khattab had also continued, financed by the zakat tax levied only on Muslims. Muawiyas wife Maysum was also a Christian, the relations between the Muslims and the Christians in the state were stable in this time. Prominent positions were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments, the employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious assimilation that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, as in Syria. This policy also boosted Muawiyas popularity and solidified Syria as his power base, the rivalries between the Arab tribes had caused unrest in the provinces outside Syria, most notably in the Second Muslim Civil War of AD 680–692 and the Berber Revolt of 740–743. During the Second Civil War, leadership of the Umayyad clan shifted from the Sufyanid branch of the family to the Marwanid branch. A branch of the family fled across North Africa to Al-Andalus, where they established the Caliphate of Córdoba, according to tradition, the Umayyad family and Muhammad both descended from a common ancestor, Abd Manaf ibn Qusai, and they originally came from the city of Mecca. Muhammad descended from Abd Manāf via his son Hashim, while the Umayyads descended from Abd Manaf via a different son, Abd-Shams, the two families are therefore considered to be different clans of the same tribe. However Muslim Shia historians suspect that Umayya was a son of Abd Shams so he was not a blood relative of Abd Manaf ibn Qusai. Umayya was later discarded from the noble family, Sunni historians disagree with this and view Shia claims as nothing more than outright polemics due to their hostility to the Umayyad family in general. While the Umayyads and the Hashimites may have had bitterness between the two clans before Muhammad, the rivalry turned into a case of tribal animosity after the Battle of Badr. The battle saw three top leaders of the Umayyad clan killed by Hashimites in a three-on-three melee and this fueled the opposition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, the grandson of Umayya, to Muhammad and to Islam. Abu Sufyan sought to exterminate the adherents of the new religion by waging another battle with Muslims based in Medina only a year after the Battle of Badr and he did this to avenge the defeat at Badr. The Battle of Uhud is generally believed by scholars to be the first defeat for the Muslims, as they had incurred greater losses than the Meccans
20.
Abbasid Caliphate
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The Abbasid Caliphate was the third of the Islamic caliphates to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The Abbasid dynasty descended from Muhammads youngest uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib and they ruled as caliphs, for most of their period from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after assuming authority over the Muslim empire from the Umayyads in 750 CE. The Abbasid caliphate first centered its government in Kufa, but in 762 the caliph Al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad, the political power of the caliphs largely ended with the rise of the Buyids and the Seljuq Turks. Although Abbasid leadership over the vast Islamic empire was reduced to a ceremonial religious function. The capital city of Baghdad became a center of science, culture, philosophy and this period of cultural fruition ended in 1258 with the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan. The Abbasid line of rulers, and Muslim culture in general, though lacking in political power, the dynasty continued to claim authority in religious matters until after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt. The Abbasid caliphs were Arabs descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, one of the youngest uncles of Muhammad, the Abbasids claimed to be the true successors of Prophet Muhammad in replacing the Umayyad descendants of Banu Umayya by virtue of their closer bloodline to Muhammad. The Abbasids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking their moral character, according to Ira Lapidus, The Abbasid revolt was supported largely by Arabs, mainly the aggrieved settlers of Marw with the addition of the Yemeni faction and their Mawali. The Abbasids also appealed to non-Arab Muslims, known as mawali, Muhammad ibn Ali, a great-grandson of Abbas, began to campaign for the return of power to the family of Prophet Muhammad, the Hashimites, in Persia during the reign of Umar II. During the reign of Marwan II, this culminated in the rebellion of Ibrahim the Imam. On 9 June 747, Abu Muslim successfully initiated a revolt against Umayyad rule. Close to 10,000 soldiers were under Abu Muslims command when the hostilities began in Merv. General Qahtaba followed the fleeing governor Nasr ibn Sayyar west defeating the Umayyads at the Battle of Nishapur, the Battle of Gorgan, after this loss, Marwan fled to Egypt, where he was subsequently assassinated. The remainder of his family, barring one male, were also eliminated, immediately after their victory, As-Saffah sent his forces to Central Asia, where his forces fought against Tang expansion during the Battle of Talas. Barmakids, who were instrumental in building Baghdad, introduced the worlds first recorded paper mill in Baghdad, As-Saffah focused on putting down numerous rebellions in Syria and Mesopotamia. The Byzantines conducted raids during these early distractions, the first change the Abbasids, under Al-Mansur, made was to move the empires capital from Damascus, in Syria, to Baghdad in Iraq. Baghdad was established on the Tigris River in 762, a new position, that of the vizier, was also established to delegate central authority, and even greater authority was delegated to local emirs. During Al-Mansurs time control of Al-Andalus was lost, and the Shiites revolted and were defeated a year later at the Battle of Bakhamra, the Abbasids had depended heavily on the support of Persians in their overthrow of the Umayyads
21.
Aghlabids
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The Aghlabids were an Arab dynasty of emirs from Banu Tamim, who ruled Ifriqiya, nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, for about a century, until overthrown by the new power of the Fatimids. At that time there were perhaps 100,000 Arabs living in Ifriqiya, Ibrahim was to control an area that encompassed eastern Algeria, Tunisia and Tripolitania. Although independent in all but name, his dynasty never ceased to recognise Abbasid overlordship, the Aghlabids paid an annual tribute to the Abbasid Caliph and their suzerainty was referenced in the khutba at Friday prayers. Additionally, border defenses were set up in Sousse and Monastir, the Aghlabids also built up the irrigation of the area and enhanced the public buildings and mosques of al-Abbasiya. Ibn Kathir recorded that a joint force of 300 Umayyad and Aghlabid ships were present, Theodotus retreated to Enna and the siege of Mineo was broken. The combined Ifriqiyan and Andalusian army then torched Mineo and laid siege to another town, however, a plague broke out in their camp causing the death of Asbagh and many others. The town fell later, in autumn, but the Arabs numbers were depleted subsequently they had to abandon it, Theodotus launched a pursuit and inflicted heavy casualties, so that most of the Andalusians departed the island. However, Theodotus too was killed at this time, possibly in one of these skirmishes, under Ziyadat Allah I came the crisis of a revolt of Arab troops in 824, which was not quelled until 836 with the help of the Berbers. Plundering raids into mainland Italy, which included the sack of the Roman basilicas in 846, gradually the Aghlabids lost control of the Arab forces in Sicily and a new dynasty, the Kalbids, emerged there. The Aghlabid kingdom reached its high point under Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Aghlabi, Ifriqiya was a significant economic power thanks to its fertile agriculture, aided by the expansion of the Roman irrigation system. It became the point of trade between the Islamic world and Byzantium and Italy, especially the lucrative slave trade. Kairuan became the most important centre of learning in the Maghreb, most notably in the field of Theology and Law, the decline of the dynasty began under Ibrahim II ibn Ahmad. An attack by the Tulunids of Egypt had to be repelled, in addition, in 893 there began amongst the Kutama Berbers the movement of the Shiite Fatimids to overthrow the Aghlabids. Ubaydalla Said captured the cities of Qairawan and Raqqada and took an oath of allegiance from the people, by 909, the Aghlabid Dynasty was overthrown and replaced with the Fatimids. Mohamed Talbi, Emirat Aghlabide, Paris, Adrien Maisonneuve,1967, maurice Vonderheyden, La Berbérie orientale sous la dynastie des Benoû l-Aṛlab, 800-909, Paris, Geuthner,1927
22.
Emirate of Sicily
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The Emirate of Sicily was an Islamic state on the island of Sicily which existed from 831 to 1072. Muslims, who first invaded in 652, seized control of the island from the Byzantine Empire in a prolonged series of conflicts from 827 to 902. An Arab-Byzantine culture developed, producing a multiconfessional and multilingual state, the Emirate was conquered by Christian Norman mercenaries under Roger I of Sicily, who founded the County of Sicily in 1071. Sicilian Muslims remained citizens of the multi-ethnic County and subsequent Kingdom of Sicily, until the late 12th century, and probably as late as the 1220s, Muslims formed the majority of the islands population. Their influence remains in some elements of the Sicilian language, as well as surnames, in 535, Emperor Justinian I returned Sicily to the Roman Empire, now ruled from Constantinople exclusively. As the power of what is now known as the Byzantine Empire waned in the West, however, this first invasion was short-lived, and the Arabs left soon after. Around 700, the island of Pantelleria was captured by Arabs, instead, trading agreements were arranged with the Byzantines, and Arab merchants were allowed to trade goods at the Sicilian ports. Attacks from Muslim fleets were repeated in 703,728,729,730,731,733 and 734, the first true conquest expedition was launched in 740, in that year the Muslim prince Habib, who had participated on the 728 attack, successfully captured Syracuse. Ready to conquer the island, they were however forced to return to Tunisia by a Berber revolt. A second attack in 752 aimed only to sack the same city, in 826 Euphemius, the commander of the Byzantine fleet of Sicily, forced a nun to marry him. Emperor Michael II caught wind of the matter and ordered that General Constantine end the marriage, Euphemius rose up, killed Constantine and then occupied Syracuse, he in turn was defeated and driven out to North Africa. He offered rule of Sicily over to Ziyadat Allah the Aghlabid Emir of Tunisia in return for a place as a general and safety, an Arab army was sent. The latter agreed to conquer Sicily, promising to give it to Euphemius in exchange for a yearly tribute, the Muslim force counted 10,000 infantry,700 cavalry and 100 ships, reinforced by Euphemius ships and, after the landing at Mazara del Vallo. A first battle against the loyal Byzantine troops occurred on July 15,827, near Mazara, Asad subsequently conquered the southern shore of the island and laid siege to Syracuse. After a year of siege, and a mutiny, his troops were however able to defeat a large army sent from Palermo. But when a plague killed many of the Muslim troops, as well as Asad himself, later they returned to the offensive, but failed to conquer Castrogiovanni and retreated back to Mazara. In 830 they received a reinforcement of 30,000 Ifriqiyan and Andalusian troops. The Iberian Muslims defeated the Byzantine commander Teodotus in July–August of that year, the Ifriqiyan units sent to besiege Palermo managed to capture it after a year long siege in September 831
23.
Emirate of Bari
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The Emirate of Bari was a short-lived Arab state ruled by non-Arabs centred on the south Italian city of Bari from 847 to 871. It was the most lasting episode in the history of Islam in peninsular southern Italy, Bari first became the object of Arab or Berber raids in late 840 or early 841, when it was briefly occupied. According to Al-Baladhuri, Bari was conquered from the Byzantine Empire by Kalfün, Kalfün was probably of Berber stock, possibly from the Emirate of Sicily originally. The conquest was seen by contemporary Muslims as unimportant, having carried out by a minor figure without the support of any other Muslim state. Mufarrag expanded Muslim influence and enlarged the territory of the emirate, the third and last emir of Bari was Sawdan, who came to power around 857 after the murder of his predecessor Mufarrag. He invaded the lands of the Lombard Principality of Benevento, forcing Prince Adelchis to pay tribute, in 864 he finally obtained the official investiture requested initially by Mufarrag. In the middle of the 860s, a Frankish monk named Bernard and they successfully petitioned Sawdan for letters of safe-conduct all the way through Egypt and the Holy Land. According to the Itinerarium Bernardi, Bernards record of the event, Bari, the Hebrew Chronicle of Ahimaaz records that Sawdan, the last emir of Bari, ruled the city wisely and was on good terms with the eminent Jewish scholar Abu Aaron. Christian monastic chronicles, however, portray the emir as nequissimus ac sceleratissimus, most impossible, certainly Muslims raids on Christians did not cease during Sawdans reign. There is evidence for high civilisation in Bari at this point, giosuè Musca suggests that the emirate was a boon to the regional economy, and that during this time the slave trade, wine trade, and trade in pottery flourished. Under Sawdan the city of Bari was embellished with a mosque, palaces, despite a bloody battle, the emir successfully entered his capital. The emirate of Bari lasted long enough to enter into relations with its Christian neighbours, according to the Chronicon Salernitanum, ambassadors were sent to Salerno where they stayed in the episcopal palace, much to the dismay of the bishop. Bari also served as a refuge for at least one rival of the Emperor Louis II. It was not until the spring of 867 that Louis took action against the emirate and he immediately besieged Matera and Oria, recently conquered, and burnt the former. Oria was a prosperous locale before the Muslim conquest, Barbara Kreutz thus conjectures that Matera resisted Louis while Oria welcomed him and this may have severed communications between Bari and Taranto, the other pole of Muslim power in southern Italy. Louis established a garrison at Canosa on the frontier between Benevento and Bari, but retired to the former by March 868 and it was probably at about this time that Louis entered into negotiations with the new Byzantine emperor, Basil I. A marriage between Louiss daughter and Basils eldest son, Constantine, was discussed in return for Byzantine naval assistance in the taking of Bari. The Chronicon Salernitanum inconsistently attaches the initiative for such talks to Louis, the joint attack was projected for late in the summer of 869 and Louis remained at Benevento planning as late as June
24.
Emirate of Crete
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The Emirate of Crete was a Muslim state that existed on the Mediterranean island of Crete from the late 820s to the Byzantine reconquest of the island in 961. Although the emirate recognized the suzerainty of the Abbasid Caliphate and maintained ties with Tulunid Egypt. A group of Andalusian exiles conquered Crete in c.824 or in 827/828, the Byzantines launched a campaign that took most of the island back in 842 and 843 under Theoktistos, but the reconquest was not completed and was soon reversed. Later attempts by the Byzantine Empire to recover the island failed, and for the approximately 135 years of its existence, the emirate was one of the major foes of Byzantium. Crete commanded the sea lanes of the Eastern Mediterranean and functioned as a forward base, the emirates internal history is less well-known, but all accounts point to considerable prosperity deriving not only from piracy but also from extensive trade and agriculture. The emirate was brought to an end by Nikephoros Phokas, who launched a campaign against it in 960–961. Crete had been the target of Muslim attacks since the first wave of the Muslim conquests in the mid-7th century and it had suffered a first raid in 654 and again in 674/675, and parts of the island were temporarily occupied during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph al-Walid I. At some point in the half of the reign of Byzantine Emperor Michael II. These exiles had a history of wanderings behind them. Traditionally they have described as the survivors of a failed revolt against the emir al-Hakam I of Córdoba in 818. In the aftermath of its suppression, the citizens of the Córdoban suburb of al-Rabad were exiled en masse, the exact chronology of the Andalusians landing in Crete is uncertain. Following the Muslim sources, it is dated to 827 or 828. Byzantine sources however seem to contradict this, placing their landing soon after the suppression of the revolt of Thomas the Slav. Under the terms of their agreement with Ibn Tahir, the Andalusians, historian Warren Treadgold estimates them at some 12,000 people, of whom about 3,000 would be fighting men. According to Byzantine historians, the Andalusians were already familiar with Crete and they also claim that the Muslim landing was initially intended as a raid, and was transformed into a bid for conquest when Abu Hafs himself set fire to their ships. However, as the Andalusian exiles had brought their families along, the first expedition, under Photeinos, strategos of the Anatolic Theme, and Damian, Count of the Stable, was defeated in open battle, where Damian was killed. The next expedition was sent a year later and comprised 70 ships under the strategos of the Cibyrrhaeots Krateros and it was initially victorious, but the overconfident Byzantines were then routed in a night attack. Krateros managed to flee to Kos, but there he was captured by the Arabs, makrypoulias suggests that these campaigns must have taken place before the Andalusians completed their construction of Chandax, where they transferred the capital from the inland site of Gortyn
25.
Hamdanid dynasty
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The Hamdanid dynasty was a Shia Muslim Arab dynasty of northern Iraq and Syria. They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia, the Hamdanid dynasty was founded by Hamdan ibn Hamdun, when he was appointed governor of Mardin in SE Anatolia by the Abbasid Caliphs in 890. His son Abdallah was in turn appointed governor of Mosul in northern Iraq and his sons were installed as governors in Mosul and Aleppo. The rule of Hassan Nasir al-Dawla, governor of Mosul and Diyar Bakr, was sufficiently tyrannical to cause him to be deposed by his own family and his lineage still ruled in Mosul, a heavy defeat by the Buyids in 979 notwithstanding, until 990. After this, their area of control in northern Iraq was divided between the Uqaylids and the Marwanids, ali Sayf al-Dawla Sword of the State ruled Northern Syria from Aleppo, and became the most important opponent of the Christian Byzantine Empires re-expansion. His court was a centre of culture, thanks to its nurturing of Arabic literature, to stop the Byzantine advance, Aleppo was put under the suzerainty of the Fatimids in Egypt, but in 1003 the Fatimids deposed the Hamdanids anyway. The Hamdanid Dynasty of Mesopotamia and North Syria 254–404/868–1014, histoire de la dynastie des Hamdanides de Jazîra et de Syrie. Freytag, G. W. Geschichte der Dynastien der Hamdaniden in Mosul und Aleppo, freytag, G. W. Geschichte der Dynastien der Hamdaniden in Mosul und Aleppo. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates, The Islamic Near East from the 6th to the 11th Century
26.
Aleppo
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Aleppo is a city in Syria, serving as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,132,100, Aleppo was the largest Syrian city before the Syrian Civil War, however, now Aleppo is likely the second-largest city in Syria after the capital Damascus. Aleppo is an ancient city, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, such a long history is attributed to its strategic location as a trading center midway between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia. For centuries, Aleppo was the largest city in the Syrian region, and it was also one of the largest cities in the Levant before the advent of the Syrian Civil War. The citys significance in history has been its location at one end of the Silk Road, when the Suez Canal was inaugurated in 1869, trade was diverted to sea and Aleppo began its slow decline. At the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Aleppo ceded its northern hinterland to modern Turkey, in the 1940s, it lost its main access to the sea, Antakya and İskenderun, also to Turkey. Finally, the isolation of Syria in the past few decades further exacerbated the situation and this decline may have helped to preserve the old city of Aleppo, its medieval architecture and traditional heritage. It won the title of the Islamic Capital of Culture 2006, during the Battle of Aleppo the city suffered massive destruction, and has been the worst-hit city in the Syrian Civil War. In December 2016, the Syrian government achieved full control of Aleppo following a successful offensive, modern-day English-speakers commonly refer to the city as Aleppo. It was known in antiquity as Khalpe, Khalibon, and to the Greeks, during the Crusades, and again during the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon of 1923–1946, the name Alep was used. Aleppo represents the Italianised version of this, the original ancient name, Halab, has survived as the current Arabic name of the city. Some have proposed that halab means iron or copper in Amorite languages, the modern-day Arabic nickname of the city, ash-Shahbaa, which means the white-colored, also allegedly derives from the famous white marble of Aleppo. From the 11th century it was common usage to apply the term Aram-Zobah to the area of Aleppo. Aleppo has scarcely been touched by archaeologists, since the city occupies its ancient site. The site has been occupied from around 5000 BC, as shown by excavations in Tallet Alsauda, Aleppo appears in historical records as an important city much earlier than Damascus. The first record of Aleppo comes from the third millennium BC, some historians, such as Wayne Horowitz, identify Aleppo with the capital of an independent kingdom closely related to Ebla, known as Armi, although this identification is contested. The main temple of the storm god Hadad was located on the hill in the center of the city. In the Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian Empire period, Aleppos name appears in its form as Ḥalab for the first time
27.
Fatimid Caliphate
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The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shia Islamic caliphate that spanned a large area of North Africa, from the Red Sea in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The dynasty ruled across the Mediterranean coast of Africa and ultimately made Egypt the centre of the caliphate, at its height the caliphate included in addition to Egypt varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz. The Fatimids claimed descent from Fatima bint Muhammad, the daughter of Islamic prophet Muhammad, in 921 the Fatimids established the Tunisian city of Mahdia as their new capital. In 948 they shifted their capital to Al-Mansuriya, near Kairouan in Tunisia, in 969 they conquered Egypt and established Cairo as the capital of their caliphate, Egypt became the political, cultural, and religious centre of their empire. The ruling class belonged to the Ismaili branch of Shiism, as did the leaders of the dynasty, the existence of the caliphate marked the only time the descendants of Ali through Fatimah were united to any degree and the name Fatimid refers to Fatimah. The different term Fatimite is sometimes used to refer to the caliphates subjects, after the initial conquests, the caliphate often allowed a degree of religious tolerance towards non-Ismaili sects of Islam, as well as to Jews, Maltese Christians, and Egyptian Coptic Christians. The Fatimid caliphate was also distinguished by the role of Berbers in its initial establishment and in helping its development, especially on the military. During the late eleventh and twelfth centuries the Fatimid caliphate declined rapidly and he founded the Ayyubid dynasty and incorporated the Fatimid state into the Abbasid Caliphate. The Fatimid regime lasted until the twelfth century, though its leaders made little headway in persuading the Egyptian population. The Fatimid Caliphates religious ideology originated in an Ismaili Shia movement launched in the 9th century in Salamiyah, Syria by their eighth Imam and he claimed descent through Ismail, the seventh Ismaili Imam, from Fatimah and her husband ʻAlī ibn-Abī-Tālib, the first Shīʻa Imām. Thus his name was al-Fātimiyyūn Fatimid, the eighth to tenth Imams, remained hidden and worked for the movement against the periods times rulers. According to legend, Abdullah and his son were fulfilling a prophecy that the mahdi would come from Mesopotamia to Sijilmasa. They hid among the population of Sijilmasa, then an independent emirate, for four years under the countenance of the Midrar rulers, al-Mahdi was supported by dedicated Shiite Abu Abdullah al-Shii, and al-Shii started his preaching after he encountered a group of Muslim North African during his hajj. These men bragged about the country of the Kutama in western Ifriqiya, and the hostility of the Kutama towards, and their independence from. This triggered al-Shii to travel to the region, where he started to preach the Ismaili doctrine, the Berber peasants, who had been oppressed for decades by the corrupt Aghlabid rule, would prove themselves to be a perfect basis for sedition. Instantly, al-Shii began conquering cities in the region, first Mila, then Sétif, Kairouan, and eventually Raqqada, in 909 Al-Shii sent a large expedition force to rescue the Mahdi, conquering the Khariji state of Tahert on its way there. After gaining his freedom, Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah became the leader of the state and assumed the position of imam. The Fatimids existed during the Islamic Golden Age, the dynasty was founded in 909 by the eleventh Imam ʻAbdullāh al-Mahdī Billah
28.
Mirdasids
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The Mirdasid dynasty was an Arab dynasty that controlled the Emirate of Aleppo more or less continuously from 1024 until 1080. The Mirdasids were members of the Banu Kilab, an Arab tribe that had been present in northern Syria for several centuries, like the other Arab tribes of the region, the Mirdasids were Shia Muslims. Such Arab tribes were susceptible to the propaganda of the Qarmatians, as a result, they were given to Shia sympathies. However, as a result of the expansion of the Seljuk Turks into the area they were constrained to convert to Sunni Islam under Rashid al-Dawla Mahmud. Unlike other Arab tribes of Syria that managed to establish their autonomy or independence in the late 10th/early 11th centuries, as a result, Aleppo prospered during their reign. The Mirdasids demonstrated a degree of tolerance to Christians, favoring Christian merchants in their territories. This policy, no doubt influenced by good relations with the Christian Byzantine Empire. The early history of the Mirdasid dynasty is characterized by constant pressure from both the Byzantines and the Fatimids of Egypt, by mixing diplomacy and military force, the Mirdasids were able to survive against these two powers. Militarily, the Mirdasids had the advantage of light Arab cavalry, the Mirdasids had resorted to recruiting Turkish mercenaries into their armies, although this caused its own problems, as the Turks began to acquire an increased role in the government. After the overthrow of the Hamdanids in 1004, Aleppo had been ruled by several princes nominally subordinate to the Fatimids and it was from these individuals that Salih ibn Mirdas took the town in 1024. When he died fighting the Fatimids five years later, his two sons Shibl al-Daula Nasr and Muizz al-Daula Thimal succeeded him, although Nasr quickly became sole amir, despite a victory over the Byzantines in 1030, in the next year he became a Byzantine vassal. Later he transferred his allegiance to the Fatimids, however, the Fatimid governor of Damascus, Anushtakin al-Dizbari, killed Nasr in battle and took Aleppo 1038. Nasrs brother Thimal managed to recover Aleppo in 1042 and eventually made peace with the Fatimids and he was a vassal of both the Byzantine Emperor and Fatimid Caliph. Troubles with the Kilab, however, caused him to give up Aleppo to the Fatimids in exchange for several coastal towns, the Kilab threw their support behind Thimals nephew Rashid al-Daula Mahmud, who took Aleppo in 1060. Thimal returned and in 1061 regained Aleppo from Mahmud, but died a year later, after Thimals death a succession dispute emerged between Mahmud and Thimals brother Atiyya ibn Salih, leading to a split in the Mirdasid domains. Mahmud controlled the western half, while Atiyya controlled the east, in order to gain an edge over Mahmud, Atiyya recruited a band of Turks, but they later defected to Mahmud, forcing Atiyya to give up Aleppo in 1065. The Turks began moving into northern Syria in greater numbers, forcing Mahmud to convert to Sunni Islam, mahmuds death in 1075, followed by that of his son and successor Jalal al-Daula Nasr in 1076, resulted in Nasrs brother Sabiq ibn Mahmud becoming amir. The Mirdasids maintained a level of influence in the region after the loss of Aleppo, Banu Amir Jarrahids Jarwanid dynasty Kalbids List of Shia Muslims dynasties Uqailids Usfurids The Shia Rulers of Banu Ammar, Banu Mardas and the Mazidi Bianquis, Thierry
29.
Heraclius
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Heraclius was the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 610 to 641. He was responsible for introducing Greek as the Eastern Roman Empires official language and his rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas. Heracliuss reign was marked by military campaigns. The year Heraclius came to power, the empire was threatened on multiple frontiers, Heraclius immediately took charge of the Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628. Soon after, he initiated reforms to rebuild and strengthen the military, Heraclius drove the Persians out of Asia Minor and pushed deep into their territory, defeating them decisively in 627 at the Battle of Nineveh. The Persian king Khosrau II was overthrown and executed by his son Kavadh II and this way peaceful relations were restored to the two deeply strained empires. Heraclius soon experienced a new event, the Muslim conquests, emerging from the Arabian Peninsula, the Muslims quickly conquered the Sassanid empire. In 634 the Muslims marched into Roman Syria, defeating Heracliuss brother Theodore, within a short period of time, the Arabs conquered Mesopotamia, Armenia and Egypt. Heraclius entered diplomatic relations with the Croats and Serbs in the Balkans and he tried to repair the schism in the Christian church in regard to the Monophysites, by promoting a compromise doctrine called Monothelitism. The Church of the East was also involved in the process, eventually, however, this project of unity was rejected by all sides of the dispute. Heraclius was the eldest son of Heraclius the Elder and Epiphania, of an Armenian family from Cappadocia, beyond that, there is little specific information known about his ancestry. His father was a key general during Emperor Maurices war with Bahrām Chobin, usurper of the Sassanid Empire, after the war, Maurice appointed Heraclius the Elder to the position of Exarch of Africa. In 608, Heraclius the Elder renounced his loyalty to the Emperor Phocas, the rebels issued coins showing both Heraclii dressed as consuls, though neither of them explicitly claimed the imperial title at this time. Heracliuss younger cousin Nicetas launched an invasion of Egypt, by 609, he had defeated Phocass general Bonosus. Meanwhile, the younger Heraclius sailed eastward with another force via Sicily, when he reached the capital, the Excubitors, an elite Imperial Guard unit led by Phocass son-in-law Priscus, deserted to Heraclius, and he entered the city without serious resistance. When Heraclius captured Phocas, he asked him Is this how you have ruled, Phocass reply—And will you rule better. —so enraged Heraclius that he beheaded Phocas on the spot. He later had the genitalia removed from the body because Phocas had raped the wife of Photius, a powerful politician in the city. On October 5,610, Heraclius was crowned for a time, this time in the Chapel of St. Stephen within the Great Palace, at the same time he married Fabia
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Gregory the Patrician
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Gregory the Patrician was a Byzantine Exarch of Africa. A relative of the ruling Heraclian dynasty, Gregory was fiercely pro-Chalcedonian, soon after declaring himself emperor, he faced an Arab invasion in 647. He confronted the invaders but was defeated and killed at Sufetula. Africa returned to imperial allegiance after his death and the Arabs withdrawal, Gregory the Patrician was related by blood to Emperor Heraclius and his grandson Constans II, and was possibly the son of Heraclius cousin Niketas. Gregory is first attested as Exarch of Africa in July 645, in Africa, the latter was mostly advocated by refugees from Egypt. Gregory helped to bring about a reconciliation between the two, and Pyrrhus re-embraced the Chalcedonian position, over the next few months, several local synods in Africa proceeded to condemn Monotheletism as heresy. In 646, Gregory launched a rebellion against Constans, the obvious reason was the latters support for Monotheletism, but it undoubtedly was also a reaction to the Muslim conquest of Egypt, and the threat it presented to Byzantine Africa. Doctrinal differences, as well as the autonomy of the African exarchate. The Arab chronicler al-Tabari on the other claims that Gregorys revolt was provoked by a levy of 300 pounds of gold demanded by Constans. Arab sources claim that after he was proclaimed emperor he minted coins with his own effigy and it seems that both Maximus the Confessor and Pope Theodore I encouraged or at least supported Gregory in this venture. The revolt seems to have broad support among the populace as well, not only among the Romanized Africans. In 642–643, the Arabs had seized Cyrenaica and the half of Tripolitania. It was only an order from Caliph Umar that halted their westward expansion, in 647, however, Umars successor Uthman ordered Abdallah ibn Saad to invade the Exarchate with 20,000 men. The Muslims invaded western Tripolitania and advanced up to the boundary of the Byzantine province of Byzacena. Gregory confronted the Arabs on their return at Sufetula, but was defeated and killed, the Arab accounts also claim that the Muslims captured Gregorys daughter, who had fought at her fathers side. She was carried back to Egypt as part of the booty. After Gregorys death, the Arabs sacked Sufetula and raided across the Exarchate, unable to storm the Byzantine fortifications, and satisfied with the huge amounts of plunder they had made, the Arabs agreed to depart in exchange for the payment of a heavy tribute in gold. The Berber tribes in particular shook off their allegiance to the Empire, thus the Battle of Sufetula marked the end, more or less near, but inevitable, of Byzantine domination in Africa
31.
Constans II (Byzantine Empire)
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Constans II,7 November 630 –15 September 668), also called Constantine the Bearded, was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 641 to 668. He was the last emperor to serve as consul, in 642, Constans is a diminutive nickname given to the Emperor, who had been baptized Herakleios and reigned officially as Constantine. The nickname established itself in Byzantine texts and has become standard in modern historiography, Constans was the son of Constantine III and Gregoria. Due to the rumours that Heraklonas and Martina had poisoned Constantine III, later that same year his uncle was deposed, and Constans II was left as sole emperor. Constans owed his rise to the throne to a reaction against his uncle. In 644 Valentinus attempted to power for himself but failed. Under Constans, the Byzantines completely withdrew from Egypt in 642, a Byzantine fleet under the admiral Manuel occupied Alexandria again in 645, but after a Muslim victory the following year this had to be abandoned. The situation was complicated by the violent opposition to Monothelitism by the clergy in the west, the latter fell in battle against the army of Caliph Uthman, and the region remained a vassal state under the Caliphate until civil war broke out and imperial rule was again restored. Naturally, this compromise satisfied few passionate participants in the dispute. Meanwhile, the advance of the Caliphate continued unabated, in 647 they had entered Armenia and Cappadocia and sacked Caesarea Mazaca. In the same year, they raided Africa and killed Gregory, in 648 the Arabs raided into Phrygia, and in 649 they launched their first maritime expedition against Crete. A major Arab offensive into Cilicia and Isauria in 650–651 forced the Emperor to enter negotiations with Caliph Uthmans governor of Syria. The truce that followed allowed a respite and made it possible for Constans to hold on to the western portions of Armenia. In 654, however, Muawiyah renewed his raids by sea, Caliph Uthman was preparing to attack Constantinople, but he did not carry out the plan when the first Fitna broke out in 656. In 659 he campaigned far to the east, taking advantage of a rebellion against the Caliphate in Media, the same year he concluded peace with the Arabs. Now Constans could turn to church once again. Pope Martin I had condemned both Monothelitism and Constans attempt to halt debates over it in the Lateran Council of 649, now the Emperor ordered his Exarch of Ravenna to arrest the Pope. Exarch Olympius excused himself from this task, but his successor, Theodore I Calliopas, Pope Martin was brought to Constantinople and condemned as a criminal, ultimately being exiled to Cherson, where he died in 655
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Constantine IV
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Constantine IV, sometimes incorrectly called Pogonatos, the Bearded, out of confusion with his father, was Byzantine Emperor from 668 to 685. The eldest son of Constans II, Constantine IV had been named a co-emperor with his father in 654 and he had been given the responsibility of managing the affairs at Constantinople during his father’s extended absence in Italy and became senior Emperor when Constans was assassinated in 668. His mother was Fausta, daughter of patrician Valentinus, the first task before the new Emperor was the suppression of the military revolt in Sicily under Mezezius which had led to his fathers death. Within seven months of his accession, Constantine IV had dealt with the insurgency with the support of Pope Vitalian, but this success was overshadowed by troubles in the east. As early as 668 the Caliph Muawiyah I received an invitation from Saborios and he sent an army under his son Yazid against the Eastern Roman Empire. Yazid reached Chalcedon and took the important Byzantine center Amorion, while the city was quickly recovered, the Arabs next attacked Carthage and Sicily in 669. In 670 the Arabs captured Cyzicus and set up a base from which to further attacks into the heart of the Empire. Their fleet captured Smyrna and other cities in 672. Finally, in 672, the Arabs sent a fleet to attack Constantinople by sea. While Constantine was distracted by this, the Slavs unsuccessfully attacked Thessalonika, commencing in 674, the Arabs launched the long-awaited siege of Constantinople. Additional squadrons reinforced the forces of Abd ar-Rahman before they proceeded to the Hellespont, knowing that it was only a matter of time before Constantinople was under siege, Constantine had ensured that the city was well provisioned. He also constructed a number of fireships and fast-sailing boats provided with tubes or siphons for squirting fire. This is the first known use of Greek fire in combat, in September the Arabs, having failed in their attempts to take the city, sailed to Cyzicus, which they made their winter quarters. Over the following five years, the Arabs would return spring to continue the siege of Constantinople. The city survived, and finally in 678 the Arabs were forced to raise the siege, the Arabs withdrew and were almost simultaneously defeated on land in Lycia in Anatolia. This unexpected reverse forced Muawiyah I to seek a truce with Constantine, the raising of the siege allowed Constantine to go to the relief of Thessalonika, still under siege from the Slavs. With the temporary passing of the Arab threat, Constantine turned his attention to the Church, in November 680 Constantine convened the Sixth Ecumenical Council. Constantine presided in person during the formal aspects of the proceedings, surrounded by his court officials, the Council reaffirmed the Orthodox doctrines of the Council of Chalcedon in 451
33.
Justinian II
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Justinian II, surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus, was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711. His second reign was even more despotic than the first, and it too saw his eventual overthrow in 711, Justinian II was eldest son of Emperor Constantine IV and Anastasia. His father raised him to the throne as joint emperor in 681 on the fall of his uncles Heraclius and Tiberius, in 685, at the age of sixteen, Justinian II succeeded his father as sole emperor. Due to Constantine IVs victories, the situation in the Eastern provinces of the Empire was stable when Justinian ascended the throne. After a preliminary strike against the Arabs in Armenia, Justinian managed to augment the sum paid by the Umayyad Caliphs as an annual tribute, the incomes of the provinces of Armenia and Iberia were divided among the two empires. In 687, as part of his agreements with the Caliphate, Justinian removed from their native Lebanon 12,000 Christian Maronites, additional resettlement efforts, aimed at the Mardaites and inhabitants of Cyprus allowed Justinian to reinforce naval forces depleted by earlier conflicts. Justinian took advantage of the peace in the East to regain possession of the Balkans, in 687 Justinian transferred cavalry troops from Anatolia to Thrace. With a great campaign in 688–689, Justinian defeated the Bulgars of Macedonia and was finally able to enter Thessalonica. The subdued Slavs were resettled in Anatolia, where they were to provide a force of 30,000 men. Emboldened by the increase of his forces in Anatolia, Justinian now renewed the war against the Arabs, with the help of his new troops, Justinian won a battle against the enemy in Armenia in 693, but they were soon bribed to revolt by the Arabs. The result was that Justinian was comprehensively defeated at the Battle of Sebastopolis, caused by the defection of most of his Slavic troops, while he himself was forced to flee to the Propontis. There, according to Theophanes, he took out his frustration by slaughtering as many of the Slavs in and around Opsikion as he could lay his hands on. In the meantime, a Patrician by the name of Symbatius proceeded to rebel in Armenia, and opened up the province to the Arabs, meanwhile, the Emperors bloody persecution of the Manichaeans and suppression of popular traditions of non-Orthodox origin caused dissension within the Church. In 692 Justinian convened the so-called Quinisext Council at Constantinople to put his religious policies into effect, the emperor ordered Pope Sergius I arrested, but the militias of Rome and Ravenna rebelled and took the Popes side. If his land policies threatened the aristocracy, his tax policy was no more popular with the common people, through his agents Stephen and Theodotos, the emperor raised the funds to gratify his sumptuous tastes and his mania for erecting costly buildings. This, ongoing religious discontent, conflicts with the aristocracy, in 695 the population rose under Leontios, the strategos of Hellas, and proclaimed him Emperor. Justinian was deposed and his nose was cut off to prevent his again seeking the throne and he was exiled to Cherson in the Crimea. Leontius, after a reign of three years, was in turn dethroned and imprisoned by Tiberius Apsimarus, who assumed the throne
34.
Leontios
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Leontios was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. He came to power by overthrowing the Emperor Justinian II, but was overthrown in his turn by Tiberios III and his actual and official name was Leo, but he is known by the name used for him in Byzantine chronicles. A professional soldier from an age, he rose swiftly through the ranks and was appointed strategos of the Anatolic theme during the reign of Emperor Constantine IV. In 686 Leontios was chosen by Justinian II to lead the Byzantine army against the Arabs in Georgia and Armenia, ruthless even by the standards of the day, Leontios carried the war further into Iranian Azerbaijan and Caucasian Albania. His successes eventually forced the negotiation of a treaty between Byzantium and the Arabic Caliph Abd al-Malik with substantial Arabic concessions and tributes to the Byzantine Emperor, Leontios was less successful when war against the Arabs was renewed in 692. Leading a substantial Byzantine army, he was defeated at the Battle of Sebastopolis when a large Slavic contingent deserted, furious at the loss of the army, the Emperor Justinian imprisoned Leontius for two years. The Emperor freed Leontios in 695 and appointed him strategos of the Helladic theme, instead he organized a revolt against the emperor, led largely by his former prison comrades. With the help of the Blue charioteers faction, the Patriarch Kallinikos, justinians nose and tongue were slit and he was exiled to Cherson in the Crimea. During his unpopular reign, Leontios refrained from most military operations and this inactivity and defensive posture led to Abd al-Malik dispatching an expedition to take Carthage which fell in 697. Leontios had sent a fleet to retake the city but it failed at the Battle of Carthage, rather than return to report their failure, the Byzantine army rebelled, overthrowing their admiral and naming a Germanic sailor named Apsimaros as their leader. Apsimaros hastily changed his name to Tiberios III and the returned to Constantinople where, with the support of the Green faction. In what had by now become a tradition for deposed emperors, Leontios had his nose, when the previous Emperor Justinian returned to the throne in 705, both Tiberios and Leontios were paraded through the streets while the citizenry pelted them with ordure. They were then led to the Hippodrome where they were sentenced to death, kazhdan, Alexander, ed. Scott, Leontius, De Imperatoribus Romanis Warren Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society ISBN 0-8047-2630-2 Bury, J. B. A History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene, Vol. II, MacMillan & Co.1889 List of Byzantine emperors
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Constantine V
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Constantine V was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. Constantine was born in Constantinople, the son and successor of Emperor Leo III, in August 720 he was associated on the throne by his father, who had him marry Tzitzak, daughter of the Khazar khagan Bihar. His new bride was baptized as Irene in 732, Constantine V succeeded his father as sole emperor on 18 June 741. Artabasdos was the stratēgos of the Armeniac theme, Constantine was defeated and sought refuge in Amorion, while Artabasdos advanced on Constantinople and was accepted as Emperor. Constantine received the support of the Anatolic and Thracesian themes, Artabasdos secured the support of the themes of Thrace and Opsikion, the rival emperors bided their time making military preparations. Artabasdos marched against Constantine in May 743 but was defeated, three months later Constantine defeated Artabasdos son Niketas and headed for Constantinople. In early November Constantine was admitted into the capital and immediately turned on his opponents, the usurpation of Artabasdos was connected with restoring the veneration of images, leading Constantine to become perhaps an even more fervent iconoclast than his father. Constantines avowed enemies over this extremely emotional issue, the iconodules, using this obscene name, they spread the rumour that as an infant he had defecated in his baptismal font, or on the imperial purple cloth with which he was swaddled. Constantines position on Iconoclasm was clear, He cannot be depicted, for what is depicted in one person, and he who circumscribes that person has plainly circumscribed the divine nature which is incapable of being circumscribed. In February 754 Constantine convened a synod at Hieria, which was attended entirely by Iconoclast bishops, the council approved of Constantines religious policy and secured the election of a new Iconoclast patriarch, but refused to follow in all of Constantines views. The synod was followed by a campaign to remove images from the walls of churches and to purge the court, the repressions against the monks were largely led by the Emperors general Michael Lachanodrakon, who threatened resistant monks with blinding and exile. An iconodule abbot, Stephen Neos, was lynched by a mob at the behest of the authorities. As a result, many fled to southern Italy and Sicily. By the end of Constantines reign, Iconoclasm had gone as far as to brand relics, ultimately, iconophiles considered his death a divine punishment. In the 9th century he was disinterred, and his remains were thrown into the sea, Constantine was an able general and administrator. He reorganised the themes, the districts of the Empire. This organization was intended to minimize the threat of conspiracies and to enhance the capabilities of the Empire. With this reorganized army he embarked on campaigns on the three major frontiers, in 746, profiting by the unstable conditions in the Umayyad Caliphate, which was falling apart under Marwan II, Constantine invaded Syria and captured Germanikeia
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Leo V the Armenian
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Leo V the Armenian was Emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 813 to 820. A senior general, he forced his predecessor, Michael I Rangabe, to abdicate and he ended the decade-long war with the Bulgars, and initiated the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. He was assassinated by supporters of Michael the Amorian, one of his most trusted generals, Leo was the son of the patrician Bardas, who was of Armenian descent. Leo served in 803 under the rebel general Bardanes Tourkos, whom he deserted in favor of Emperor Nikephoros I, the Emperor rewarded Leo with two palaces, but later exiled him for marrying the daughter of another rebel, the patrician Arsaber. Punishment also included depriving of his rank, beating and hair cutting. Leo survived the Battle of Versinikia in 813 by abandoning the battlefield, in a diplomatist move, he wrote a letter to Patriarch Nikephoros in order to reassure him of his orthodoxy. One month later, during his entrance to the Palace quarter, a further step in preventing future usurpations was the castration of Michaels sons. With Krum of Bulgaria blockading Constantinople by land, Leo V had inherited a precarious situation and he offered to negotiate in person with the invader and attempted to have him killed in an ambush. The stratagem failed, and although Krum abandoned his siege of the capital, he captured and depopulated Adrianople, when Krum died in spring 814, Leo V defeated the Bulgarians in the environs of Mesembria and the two states concluded a 30-year peace in 815. According to some sources, Krum participated in the battle and abandoned the heavily injured. Leo V appointed competent military commanders from among his own comrades-in-arms, including Michael the Amorian, when Leo jailed Michael for suspicion of conspiracy, the latter organized the assassination of the Emperor in the palace chapel of St. Stephen on Christmas,820. Leo was attending the service when a group of assassins disguised as monks suddenly threw off their robes. In the dim light they mistook the officiating priest for the Emperor and his remains were dumped unceremoniously in the snow and the assassins hurried to the dungeons to free Michael II. Leos family was exiled to monasteries in Princes Islands and his four sons were castrated, a procedure so brutally carried out that one of them died during the operation. Even sources vehemently hostile to Leo acknowledge his competence in managing state affairs, unfortunately, as with all iconoclast emperors, his actions and intentions cannot be easily reconstructed due to the extreme bias of the iconodule sources. All known children of Leo V are traditionally attributed to his wife Theodosia, genesius records four sons, Symbatios, renamed Constantine, co-emperor from 814 to 820. Castrated and exiled following the assassination of his father, castrated and exiled following the assassination of his father. Still alive in 847, recorded to have supported the election of Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople, castrated and exiled following the assassination of his father
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Michael Lachanodrakon
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Michael Lachanodrakon was a distinguished Byzantine general and fanatical supporter of Byzantine Iconoclasm under Emperor Constantine V. A talented general, he led a series of campaigns against the Arabs of the Abbasid Caliphate before being dismissed from office in about 782. Restored to imperial favour in 790, he fell at the Battle of Marcellae against the Bulgars in 792, nothing is known of Lachanodrakons origins and early life. He receives a very negative treatment in the sources, which were written after the final defeat of Byzantine Iconoclasm. Their profoundly iconophile perspective means that reports of his actions, especially relating to the suppression of icon worship, are potentially untrustworthy. At the Council of Hieria in 754, Constantine V had declared the adoration of icons to be a heresy, no persecution of iconophiles was launched at first, but iconophile resistance grew, until from 765 on, Constantine began persecuting iconophiles, and especially monks. The discovery of a wide-ranging iconophile plot against him involving some of the highest civil, patriarch Constantine II and other officials were deposed, jailed, publicly humiliated, and finally executed, replaced by new, uncompromisingly iconoclast officials. In addition, the veneration of sacred relics and prayers to the saints, by 763 or 764, according to the iconophile Life of St Stephen the Younger hagiography, Lachanodrakon had already distinguished himself by his iconoclast fervour. After burning down the monastery, he took the 38 captives to Ephesus and he soon began a harsh repression of the monasteries and iconophiles. Although many resisted and became martyrs in Theophaness words, many complied, later reports of exiled monks in Cyprus becoming Arab captives seem to partly corroborate this story. Lachanodrakon allegedly had relics, holy scriptures, and monks beards set on fire, killed or tortured those who venerated relics, although highly embellished, these reports probably reflect actual events. At any rate, by 772, according to historian Warren Treadgold, Lachanodrakon was also a capable general, winning fame for his campaigns against the Abbasids on the Byzantine Empires eastern frontier. During the reign of Constantine Vs son Leo IV he seems to have been the most prominent military commander, the first such expedition occurred in 778 when, preempting an anticipated Arab raid, Lachanodrakon led a large army against Germanikeia. Although the city did not fall, the Byzantine army defeated a force, plundered the region, and took many captives, mostly Jacobites. In 780, Lachanodrakon ambushed and defeated an Arab invasion in the Armeniac Theme, in 782, however, he was defeated by the Arab general al-Barmaqi during a large-scale invasion led by the future caliph Harun al-Rashid, losing some 15,000 men according to Theophanes. In the aftermath of defeat, and likely because of his iconoclast past. Lachanodrakon reappears in 790, when the young emperor Constantine VI conspired to overturn the tutelage of Irene, the general was sent by Constantine to the Armeniac Theme to secure the allegiance of its soldiers. Constantine succeeded in toppling his mother in December 790, it was then that Lachanodrakon was rewarded with the supreme non-imperial title
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Irene of Athens
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Irene of Athens, also known as Irene Sarantapechaina, was Byzantine empress from 797 to 802. Before that, Irene was empress consort from 775 to 780 and she is best known for ending Iconoclasm. Irene was related to the noble Greek Sarantapechos family of Athens, although she was an orphan, her uncle or cousin Constantine Sarantapechos was a patrician and was possibly strategos of the theme of Hellas at the end of the 8th century. She was brought to Constantinople by Emperor Constantine V on 1 November 768 and was married to his son Leo IV on 17 December, on 14 January 771, Irene gave birth to a son, the future Constantine VI. When Constantine V died in September 775, Leo succeeded to the throne at the age of twenty-five years. Leo, though an iconoclast, pursued a policy of moderation towards iconodules, but his policies became much harsher in August 780, according to tradition, he discovered icons concealed among Irenes possessions and refused to share the marriage bed with her thereafter. Nevertheless, when Leo died on 8 September 780, Irene became regent for their nine-year-old son Constantine, Irene was almost immediately confronted with a conspiracy that tried to raise Caesar Nikephoros, a half-brother of Leo IV, to the throne. To overcome this challenge, she had Nikephoros and his co-conspirators ordained as priests, as early as 781, Irene began to seek a closer relationship with the Carolingian dynasty and the Papacy in Rome. She negotiated a marriage between her son Constantine and Rotrude, a daughter of Charlemagne by his third wife Hildegard, during this time Charlemagne was at war with the Saxons, and would later become the new king of the Franks. Irene went as far as to send an official to instruct the Frankish princess in Greek, however, Irene herself broke off the engagement in 787, Irene next had to subdue a rebellion led by Elpidius, the strategos of Sicily. Irene sent a fleet, which succeeded in defeating the Sicilians, Elpidius fled to Africa, where he defected to the Abbasid Caliphate. After the success of Constantine Vs general, Michael Lachanodrakon, who foiled an Abbasid attack on the eastern frontiers, Irenes most notable act was the restoration of the veneration of icons. Having chosen Tarasios, one of her partisans and her secretary, as Patriarch of Constantinople in 784. The first of these, held in 786 at Constantinople, was frustrated by the opposition of the iconoclast soldiers, the second, convened at Nicaea in 787, formally revived the veneration of icons and reunited the Eastern church with that of Rome. While this greatly improved relations with the Papacy, it did not prevent the outbreak of a war with the Franks, nevertheless, Irene was constantly harried by the Abbasids, and in 782 and 798 had to accept the terms of the respective Caliphs Al-Mahdi and Harun al-Rashid. As Constantine approached maturity he began to grow restless under her autocratic sway, an attempt to free himself by force was met and crushed by the Empress, who demanded that the oath of fidelity should thenceforward be taken in her name alone. The discontent which this occasioned swelled in 790 into open resistance, Constantine could only flee for aid to the provinces, but even there participants in the plot surrounded him. Seized by his attendants on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus and his eyes were gouged out, and he died from his wounds several days later
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Nikephoros I
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Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I, also logothetēs tou genikou, was Byzantine Emperor from 802 to 811 AD, when he was killed in the Battle of Pliska. A patrician from Seleucia Sidera, Nikephoros was appointed minister by the Empress Irene. With the help of the patricians and eunuchs he contrived to dethrone and exile Irene and he crowned his son Staurakios co-emperor in 803. But Nikephoros gained over the two, and by inducing the rebel army to disperse achieved the submission of Bardanes, who was blinded and relegated to a monastery. A conspiracy headed by the patrician Arsaber had a similar issue, Nikephoros embarked on a general reorganization of the Empire, creating new themes in the Balkans and strengthening the frontiers. Needing large sums to increase his forces, he set himself with great energy to increase the Empires revenue. By his rigorous tax imposts he alienated the favour of his subjects, and especially of the clergy, although he appointed an iconodule, Nikephoros as patriarch, Emperor Nikephoros was portrayed as a villain by ecclesiastical historians like Theophanes the Confessor. In 803 Nikephoros concluded a treaty, called the Pax Nicephori, with Charlemagne, relations deteriorated and led to a war over Venice in 806–810. In the process Nikephoros had quelled a Venetian rebellion in 807, by withholding the tribute which Irene had agreed to pay to the caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd, Nikephoros committed himself to a war against the Arabs. Compelled by Bardanes disloyalty to take the field himself, he sustained a defeat at the Battle of Krasos in Phrygia. In 806 a Muslim army of 135,000 men invaded the Empire, unable to counter the Muslim numbers, Nikephoros agreed to make peace on condition of paying 50,000 nomismata immediately and a yearly tribute of 30,000 nomismata. Nikephoros was captured during the battle and sent to Pliska, where Krum ordered his decapitation, Krum is said to have made a drinking-cup of Nikephoros skull. By an unknown wife Nikephoros I had at least two children, Staurakios, who succeeded as emperor, prokopia, who married Michael I Rangabe, emperor 811–813. List of Byzantine emperors The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ed. by Alexander Kazhdan and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed. Norwich, John J. Byzantium, The Apogee
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Theophilos (emperor)
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Theophilos was the Byzantine Emperor from 829 until his death in 842. He was the emperor of the Amorian dynasty and the last emperor to support iconoclasm. Theophilos personally led the armies in his war against the Arabs. Theophilos was the son of the Byzantine Emperor Michael II and his wife Thekla, Michael II crowned Theophilos co-emperor in 822, shortly after his own accession. Unlike his father, Theophilos received an education from John Hylilas, the grammarian. On 2 October 829, Theophilos succeeded his father as sole emperor, Theophilos continued in his predecessors iconoclasm, though without his fathers more conciliatory tone, issuing an edict in 832 forbidding the veneration of icons. He also saw himself as the champion of justice, which he served most ostentatiously by executing his fathers co-conspirators against Leo V immediately after his accession. His reputation as a judge endured, and in the literary composition Timarion Theophilos is featured as one of the judges in the Netherworld, at the time of his accession, Theophilos was obliged to wage wars against the Arabs on two fronts. Sicily was once invaded by the Arabs, who took Palermo after a year-long siege in 831, established the Emirate of Sicily. The invasion of Anatolia by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mamun in 830 was led by the Emperor himself, in 831 Theophilos retaliated by leading a large army into Cilicia and capturing Tarsus. The Emperor returned to Constantinople in triumph, but in the autumn he was defeated in Cappadocia, another defeat in the same province in 833 forced Theophilos to sue for peace, which he obtained the next year, after the death of Al-Mamun. During the respite from the war against the Abbasids, Theophilos arranged for the abduction of the Byzantine captives settled north of the Danube by Krum of Bulgaria, the rescue operation was carried out with success in c. 836, and the peace between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire was quickly restored, however, it proved impossible to maintain peace in the East. Theophilos had given asylum to a number of refugees from the east in 834, including Nasr and he baptized Theophobos, who married the Emperors aunt Irene and became one of his generals. As relations with the Abbasids deteriorated, Theophilos prepared for a new war, in 837 Theophilos led a vast army of 70,000 men towards Mesopotamia and captured Melitene and Arsamosata. The Emperor also took and destroyed Zapetra, which some sources claim as the birthplace of Caliph al-Mutasim, Theophilos returned to Constantinople in triumph. Eager for revenge, Al-Mutasim assembled a vast army and launched an invasion of Anatolia in 838. Theophilos decided to strike one division of the army before they could combine
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Manuel the Armenian
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Manuel the Armenian was a prominent Byzantine general of Armenian origin, active from circa 810 until his death. After reaching the highest military ranks, a palace conspiracy forced him to refuge in the Abbasid court in 829. He returned to Byzantine service the year, receiving the position of Domestic of the Schools from Emperor Theophilos. Manuel remained in the post throughout Theophiloss reign, and reportedly saved the life in the Battle of Anzen in 838. Manuel was of Armenian origin, and the brother of Marinos, Manuel first appears in the reign of Michael I Rangabe, when he held the post of protostrator. At the time, he must still have young, probably in his twenties. The latter post was the most senior of the Byzantine Empires thematic governors and this appointment is, however, most likely a misreading of the primary source, according to the editors of the Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit. Manuels career under Leos successor, Michael II the Amorian, is unclear, certainly at the time of the outbreak of the great rebellion of Thomas the Slav, the strategos of the Armeniacs was Olbianos, while the Anatolics joined the rebellion. Manuel himself, however, evidently remained loyal to Michael, brooks, and not around 830, as suggested by Treadgold. Using the carriages of the imperial post, he crossed Asia Minor in haste and offered his services to Caliph al-Mamun, on condition that he would not be forced to convert to Islam. Theophilos, in turn, was hesitant to believe the accusations, and was convinced by the protovestiarios Leo Chamodrakon. He therefore resolved to get Manuel to return, and sent John the Grammarian to Baghdad on a mission in the winter of 829/830. In the summer of 830, Manuel participated in an Abbasid expedition against the Khurramite rebels of Babak Khorramdin in Adharbayjan, after winning a few modest successes, the army turned back south. Manuel, who by then had won the confidence of his Arab minders, suggested that he and Abbas take a part of the army. Once across the mountains, he and the other Byzantine captives neutralized Abbas and his escort, took their arms, Abbas and his companions were left behind unmolested, and allowed to return to Abbasid territory. Theophilos welcomed Manuel with open arms, and named him Domestic of the Schools, commander of the tagma of the Scholae. Manuel would remain Theophiloss leading general for the remainder of his reign, furthermore, as the uncle of Theophiloss wife, the Empress Theodora, his position at court was now unassailable, as shown by the fact that the Emperor later served as godfather for Manuels children. The Syriac sources even report that Theophilos made Manuel governor of the regions of the Empire
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Niketas Ooryphas
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Nothing is known of Niketas Ooryphass early life. Several people surnamed Ooryphas are recorded in sources during the first half of the 9th century, all of them in high naval positions, but any family relation is conjectural. Niketas Ooryphas first appears in our sources in 860, as prefect of Constantinople. In his capacity as prefect, Ooryphas made a report to Emperor Michael III. At a subsequent date, he was appointed in a position in the Byzantine navy, as such he sailed with 100 ships in relief of Ragusa against an Arab siege which had already lasted 15 months, and restored the imperial suzerainty over the coasts of Dalmatia. It is, however, possible that Ooryphas already had naval experience, as a result of the quarrel, the main part of the Byzantine force left, without participating in the siege of the city
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John Kourkouas
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John Kourkouas, also transliterated as Kurkuas or Curcuas, was one of the most important generals of the Byzantine Empire. His success in battles against the Muslim states in the East definitively reversed the course of the centuries-long Byzantine–Arab Wars, Kourkouas belonged to a family of Armenian descent that produced several notable Byzantine generals. As commander of a bodyguard regiment, Kourkouas was among the chief supporters of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos. In 923, Kourkouas was appointed commander-in-chief of the Byzantine armies along the frontier, facing the Abbasid Caliphate. He kept this post for more than twenty years, overseeing decisive Byzantine military successes that altered the balance in the region. During the 9th century, Byzantium had gradually recovered its strength and internal stability while the Caliphate had become increasingly impotent, under Kourkouass leadership, the Byzantine armies advanced deep into Muslim territory for the first time in almost 200 years, expanding the imperial border. The emirates of Melitene and Qaliqala were conquered, extending Byzantine control to the upper Euphrates, the remaining Iberian and Armenian princes became Byzantine vassals. Kourkouas also played a role in the defeat of a major Rus raid in 941 and recovered the Mandylion of Edessa, an important and holy relic believed to depict the face of Jesus Christ. He was dismissed in 944 as a result of the machinations of Romanos Lekapenoss sons but restored to favour by Emperor Constantine VII, little is known about Johns early life. His father was an official in the imperial palace. John himself was born at Dokeia, in the region of Darbidos in the Armeniac Theme, and was educated by one of his relatives, the bishop of Gangra Christopher. In this capacity, he arrested several high officials who opposed Lekapenoss rise to power, Lekapenos gradually assumed more powers until he was crowned senior emperor in December 920. As a reward for his support, in ca,923, Romanos Lekapenos promoted Kourkouas to the post of Domestic of the Schools, in effect commander-in-chief of all the imperial armies in Anatolia. According to the chronicle of Theophanes Continuatus, Kourkouas held this post for an unparalleled continuous term of 22 years, at this time, and following the disastrous Battle of Acheloos in 917, the Byzantines were mostly occupied in the Balkans in a protracted conflict against Bulgaria. This was quickly achieved and his brother, Theophilos Kourkouas, replaced Boilas as governor of Chaldia, as commander of this northernmost sector of the eastern frontier, Theophilos proved a competent soldier and gave valuable assistance to his brothers campaigns. Until the 860s, superior Muslim armies had placed the Byzantines on the defensive, the revival of Byzantine power was further facilitated by the progressive decline of the Abbasid Caliphate itself, particularly under al-Muqtadir, when the central government faced several revolts. In the periphery of the Caliphate, the weakening of central control allowed the emergence of local dynasties. In addition, after the death of the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon in 927, by 925, Romanos Lekapenos felt himself strong enough to demand the payment of tribute from the Muslim cities on the western side of the Euphrates
