Constantinople was besieged by the Arabs in 674–678, in what was the first culmination of the Umayyad Caliphate's expansionist strategy against the Byzantine Empire. Caliph Mu'awiya I, who had emerged
Europe, the Byzantine Empire and the Umayyad empire c. 650
Gold nomisma of Constantine IV
The Golden Gate of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople
Depiction of the use of Greek fire, from the Madrid Skylitzes. It was used for the first time during the first Arab siege of Constantinople, in 677 or 678.
Abu Ayyub al-Ansari
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Abu Ayyub al-Ansari — born Khalid ibn Zayd ibn Kulayb ibn Tha'laba in Yathrib — was from the tribe of Banu Najjar, and a close companion and the standard-bearer of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Abu Ay
Siege of Constantinople (674–678)
…of early Islam are mentioned as taking part, such as Ibn Abbas, Ibn Umar and Ibn al-Zubayr. The most prominent among them in later tradition is Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, one of the early companions (Anṣār) and standard-bearer of Muhammad, who died of illness before the city walls during the siege and was buried there…
The tomb of Abu Ayyub in Istanbul, Turkey
The türbe of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari