Battle of Thasos
| Battle of Thasos | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Arab–Byzantine Wars | |||||||
 Map of the Arab–Byzantine naval conflict in the Mediterranean, 7th–11th centuries | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Byzantine Empire | Emirate of Crete | ||||||
The Battle of Thasos was fought on October 829 between the fleets of the Byzantine Empire and the newly founded Emirate of Crete. The Cretan Arabs scored a major victory: Theophanes Continuatus records that almost the entire imperial fleet was lost. This success opened up the Aegean to the Saracens' raids. The Cyclades and other islands were pillaged, and Mount Athos was so devastated that it was deserted for a long time.
Sources
- Treadgold, Warren (1988). The Byzantine Revival, 780–842. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-8047-1462-4.
- Vasiliev, A.A. (1935), Byzance et les Arabes, Tome I: La Dynastie d'Amorium (820–867) (in French), Brussels: Éditions de l'Institut de Philologie et d'Histoire Orientales, p. 90