Siege of Constantinople (717–718)
| Second Arab siege of Constantinople | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Islamic conquests | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Arab Empire | Byzantine Empire, First Bulgarian Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Maslama | Leo III and Khan Tervel | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 160,000-200,000 men, 2,000 ships | 30,000 Greeks, 50,000 Bulgars | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 130,000-170,000 men, 2,000 ships | Low | ||||||
The Second Arab siege of Constantinople (717-718), was a combined land and sea effort by the Arabs to take the capital city of the Roman Empire, Constantinople. The Arab ground forces, led by Maslama, were defeated by Constantinople's impregnable walls and Bulgarian attacks while their naval fleet was defeated by Greek Fire and the remnants of it subsequently sunk in a storm on its return home. It is often compared to the more widely studied Battle of Tours in the fact that it halted Islamic expansion into Europe from the East for almost 700 years.
Initial Stages
After the first Arab siege of Constantinople (674-678) the Arabs attempted a second decisive attack on the city. An 80,000 strong army led by Maslama, the brother of Caliph Umar II, crossed the Bosporus from Anatolia to besiege Constantinople by land, while a massive fleet of Arab war galleys, estimated to initially number 1,800, sailed into the Sea of Marmara to the south of the city. Emperor Leo III was able to use the famed Walls of Constantinople to his advantage and the Arab army was unable to breach them, whilst the Arab galleys were unable to sail up the Bosporus as they were under constant attack and harassment by the Greek fleet, who used Greek fire to great effect.
Winter and Spring
Constantinople was supplied via the Black Sea and did not suffer much hardship, in contrast to the Arab besiegers on land, who suffered immense losses due to disease and starvation during the winter, as they were not able to supply adequate provisions and were forced to eat their camels, horses, donkeys and even small rocks and the bodies of their dead. An Egyptian fleet arrived in the spring with fresh reinforcements but successive assaults on the city were unable to cause a breach in its defenses. Many of the sailors who manned the Arab fleets were Christians who also deserted en masse.
Bulgarian Aid
The Bulgarians, who had established friendly relations with the Byzantines a year earlier under Khan Tervel, ostensibly because of the looming Arab threat, came to the aid of the besieged city in the fall of 717. The Arabs were surprised by the new and unexpected enemy and his attack on their own camp, followed by a horrible massacre. Encouraged by this, the Byzantines opened the gates and attempted to break the siege, but were stopped at the Arab trenches and had to retreat back behind the city walls because of the following Arab counter-attack. This scene was repeated several times during the siege with the same ill success for both sides. The incessant Bulgar attacks in the rear of the Arabs forced them to build trenches also against the Bulgars. This way, however, the Arabs found themselves in a thin line between two fortifications, which were attacked both by Bulgars and Byzantines. After an unusually harsh winter, weary from the long attrition of siege warfare, thinned out by disease and hunger, and demoralized by the lack of success in assaulting the city, the Arabs attempted to retreat to their ships in July, but were devastated by a Bulgarian attack against their land forces. Contemporary chroniclers report at least 30,000 Arabs died in the first Bulgar attack.
Arab Retreat
Unable to continue the siege in the face of the Bulgarian onslaught and lack of successes, the Arabs were forced to abandon their ambitions on Constantinople in August. Part of the Arab army attempted to withdraw back through Anatolia while the rest attempted to withdraw by sea in the remaining Arab vessels. A devastating storm wracked the Arab fleet on its way back, destroying all but five galleys and drowning the men who had retreated by sea.
Historical Significance
This battle was a severe blow to Caliph Umar II and the expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate was severely stunted during his reign. It has macrohistorical importance in that, had Constantinople fallen to this massive force of invaders, the Byzantine Empire most likely would have disintegrated and opened up new opportunities for Islamic expansion into Europe 700 years ahead of the Ottoman invasions. Many contemporary Arab and Western historians look at the Second Arab siege of Constantinople in the same light that modern Western historians look at the Battle of Tours, as a pivotal milestone in history that turned back the tide of Islamic incursions into Europe, ensuring Christianity would be the dominant religion at a time when Europe was in a state of disarray following the Decline of the Roman Empire.
Contemporary Sources
„Then the whole army of the Arabs was positioned on the western coast against the Golden Gates. He [Maslama] ordered that a ditch be made around the camp - one between it and the city and another one behind them [the Arabs], from the side of the Bulgars. From the left and from the right the camp was abut upon the sea, in which were the ships, loaded with an army - from ten thousand of Arabs and Egyptian soldiers, - them he placed at the sea to fight the Roman ships; he sent a 20 000 strong army to guard the camp against the Bulgars; and he placed that much from the Syrians. The Arabs were attacked by land both by the people from the city [Constantinople] and by the Bulgars, and in the sea - by the Roman ships, and on the other side of the sea [on the coast of Asia Minor] by the Roman vanguard. They couldn't get out of the camp to a distance greater than two miles, while they were forced to search for wheat. The Bulgars attacked the Arabs and slew them; those latter [the Arabs] feared the Bulgars more than they feared the besieged Romans. The winter came, but the Arabs were afraid of retreating: first - because of their king, second - because of the sea and third - because of the Bulgars. The wind of death grabbed them. Maslama lied to them, as he was saying that soon reinforcements from their king would arrive. The Romans were besieged, but the Arabs were no better than them. The hunger oppressed them so much that they were eating the corpses of the dead, each other's faeces and filths. They were forced to exterminate themselves, so that they could eat. One modius of wheat was worth then ten denarii. They were looking for small rocks, they were eating them to satisfy their hunger. They ate the rubbish from their ships.
"Chronicle" of Michael of Syria Byzantine chronicler
References
Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat (R.G. Grant)