User:Laacklyn/sandbox

Avar-Slavic Siege of Constantinople
Part of Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602–628
Date June-July 626 Location Constantinople, Byzantine Empire Result Byzantine victory
Belligerents
Byzantine Empire	Avar Khaganate Sassanid Empire
Commanders and leaders
Patriarch Sergius Magister Bonus	Unnamed Avar khagan Shahrbaraz Kardarigan
Strength
12,000 men	80,000 Avars and Slavs, Persian allies

The Siege of Constantinople in 626 by the Avars, aided by large numbers of allied Slavs and the Sassanid Persians, ended in a strategic victory for the Byzantines. The failure of the siege saved the Empire from collapse, and, combined with other victories achieved by Emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641) the previous year and in 627, enabled Byzantium to regain her territories and end the destructive Roman-Persian Wars by enforcing a favorable treaty with borders status quo circa 590.

Background

Main article: Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628

At the turn of the seventh century several military coups tried to capture the throne of the Roman Empire. In 602, Phocas overthrew Maurice (r. 582–602). The Sassanid king Khosrau II attacked, using the coup as a pretext for war. The incumbent Byzantine emperor, and established a reign of terror and incompetence, leading the Empire into anarchy. Laws were passed condemning Jews whilst religious and administrative mishandling left the Empire in a sorry state when the Sassanid king Khosrau II (r. 590–628) attacked, using the coup as a pretext for war. The Persians military expeditions were successfu, until only Anatolia remained in Roman hands. Later, Phocas was overthrown by the son of the then Exarch of Carthage, Heraclius. A general of astounding energy yet limited experience, Heraclius immediately began undoing much of Phocas's damaging work that he had procured whilst Emperor. Yet, despite his offensives into Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) Heraclius was unable to stop his Persian enemies from laying siege to his capital where from Chalcedon they were able to launch their attack. From 14–15 May 626, riots in Constantinople against John Seismos occurred because he wanted to cancel the bread rations of the scholae or imperial guards and raise the cost of bread from 3 to 8 folles. He did this conserve government resources, but he was removed. However, there were further disturbances in the city.

Siege

Also assisting in the siege was a host of 80,000 Avars, bent on removing all Roman/Byzantine imperial rule over Europe. The Persians had arrived in Chalcedon before Phocas was overthrown. However, it was only when the Avars began moving forward heavy siege equipment towards the Theodosian Walls that a siege became clear.

Fortunately for the defenders, the soldiers of the capital numbered some 12,000 and consisted of cavalry - normally a well-trained arm of the Greco-Roman army at the time. Adding no small bonus was the Patriarch of Constantinople whose cries for religious zeal among the peasantry around Constantinople was made ever more effective by the fact that they were facing heathens. Consequently, every assault became a doomed effort. When the Avar fleet and the Persian fleet were sunk in two different naval engagements, the attackers panicked and fled abandoning the siege apparently under the belief that divine intervention had won the day for Byzantium.

Religious Interpretation

Shortly after the Siege of 626, historians started attributing the victory to the aid of Mother Mary, the Virgin Mother of God. The fact that the Church of St. Mary of Blachernae was across from where the Byzantine fleet defeated the Slavs has led historians such as the author of the Chronicon Paschale to speculate that the Slavic ships were sank by the mercy of the Virgin Mary. The anonymous author of the Chronicon Paschale wrote, “God by the welcome intercession of his undefiled Mother, who is in truth our Lady Mother of God and ever-Virgin Mary, with his mighty hand saved this humble city of his from the utterly godless enemies who encircled it.” The author of the Chronicon Paschale records the Avar ruler as having said, “I see a woman in stately dress running about on the wall all alone.” The context implies that it was the Virgin Mary defending the city. The ninth century historian, Theophanes the Confessor, wrote, “For ten days they besieged the city by land and sea, but were defeated by God’s power and cooperation and intercession of His immaculate Virgin Mother.” The importance placed on the role of the Virgin Mary in the defense of the city has led modern historians to contemplate the role that religious symbols played in the city’s defenses. Historian Bissera V. Pentcheva argues that at the time of the Avar siege of 626, worshipers of the Virgin Mary placed importance on religious relics, not images. In opposition, historian Paul Speck argues that images of the Virgin Mary were used in the cities defenses during the Siege of 626.

Aftermath

The loss came just after news had reached them of yet another Byzantine victory, where Heraclius's brother Theodore scored well against the Persian general Shahin. Following this, Heraclius led an invasion into Mesopotamia once again, defeating another Persian army at Nineveh. Afterwards, he marched on to Ctesiphon where anarchy reigned allowing Heraclius to extract ever more favorable terms as one Persian king was overthrown by another. Eventually, the Persians were obliged to withdraw all armed forces and return Egypt, the Levant and whatever imperial territories of Mesopotamia and Armenia were in Roman hands at the time of an earlier peace treaty in circa 595. The war over, neither the Persians nor the Byzantines would cross swords again until the Arab-Islamic invasion broke the power of both Empires.

Assessment

The siege of 626 failed because the Avars did not have the patience or technology to conquer the city. The walls of Constantinople easily defended against the siege towers and engines. Furthermore, the Persians and Slavs did not have a strong enough navy to ignore the sea walls and establish a channel of communication. The lack of supplies for the Avars eventually caused them to abandon the siege.

See also

• Bonus
• Byzantine-Sassanid Wars
• Byzantine-Arab Wars
• Siege of Constantinople (674)

References

Sources

• Gregory, Timothy E. (2010). "A History of Byzantium". Wiley- Blackwell
• Norwich, John Julius (1997). A Short History of Byzantium. New York, New York: Alfred A. Knoff. ISBN 0-679-45088-2.
• Kaegi, Walter Emil (2003). Heraclius: Emperor of Byzantium. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81459-6.
• Theophanes. (1982). "The Chronicle of Theophanes," Translated by: Harrry Turtledove |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=lK5wIPb4Vi4C%7C
• Pentcheva, Bissera V. (2002). "The Suppernatural Protector of Constantinople: the Virgin and her icons in the tradition of the Avar siege," "Byzantine and Modern Greek Stodies", 27

Further reading

• Gregory, Timothy E. (2010). "A History of Byzantium". Wiley- Blackwell
• Howard-Johnston, James (1995). "The Siege of Constantinople in 626". In Mango, Cyril; Dagron, Gilbert; Greatrex, Geoffrey (eds.). Constantinople and its Hinterland: Papers from the Twenty-seventh Spring Symposium on Byzantine Studies, Oxford, April 1993. Aldershot, Hampshire: Variorum. pp. 131–142. ISBN 0-86078-487-8.
• Kazhdan, Alexander Petrovich, ed. (1991). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. New York, New York and Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.
• Treadgold, Warren (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2630-2.

Category:626 Category:7th-century conflicts Constantinople 626 Constantinople 626 626 Category:7th century in the Byzantine Empire Category:Avar–Byzantine Wars

military coups tried to capture the throne of the Roman Empire. In 602, Phocas overthrew emperor Maurice. The Sassanid King Khosrau II attacked, using the coup as a pretext for war. The Persians military expeditions were successful, until only Anatolia remained in Roman hands. In another coup Phocas was overthrown by the son of the Exarch of Carthage, Heraclius. Heraclius ruled Constantinople at a time when the borders of the empire were threatened by Persians, Avars, and Slavs. Despite his military expeditions into Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), Heraclius was unable to stop his Persian enemies from laying siege to his empire. Heraclius tried to make peace with the Avar Khagan before marching on Persia. Theophanes, an early ninth century historian, records, “Herakleios, who had assumed divine zeal and made peace with the Avars (as he thought), transferred his European armies to Asia,” and planned to march on Persia. Before he left for Asia, Heraclius named the Avar Khagan guardian of his son. However, the truce between Heraclius and the Avar Khagan did not last. In the summer of 626, the Avars and Slavs launched an attack on Constantinople, when the emperor was on campaign against the Persians. The “Avar-Persian” terminology used to describe the siege of 626, is misleading because the Persians never directly besieged Constantinople; but rather the Persians were simultaneously attacking the Roman empires eastern boarder. Contrary to popular opinion, the Persians did not combine their navy with the Avars; and the extent of communication between the Avars and Persians is not known . The failure of the Avar siege saved the empire from collapse, and combined with other victories achieved by Heraclius in the previous year and in 627, enabled Byzantium to regain territories and end the destructive Roman-Persian Wars by enforcing the borders of an earlier treaty from 591. Siege: The Avar Siege started on the 29th of July, and lasted for 10 days during the summer of 626. One month before the siege of Constantinople, on the 29th of June, a 30,000 Avar vanguard drove the defenders of Constantinople from the Long Wall. At this time the emperor, Herakleios, was fighting the Persians on the eastern front of the empire. Patrician Bonus and patriarch Sergios were in charge of the cities defenses; and the emperor’s brother, Theodore, was left in charge of the army. When it became apparent that the Avars had broken the peace treaty, emperor Herakleios sent a small detachment of cavalry back to help defend Constantinople, while he took the remainder of the army to attack the Persian capital of Ctesiphon. The defenders of Constantinople, under the command of patriarch Bonus, allegedly numbered 12,000. On the 29th of July, a host of reportedly 80,000 Avars moved heavy siege equipment towards Lycus Valley, a section of the Theodosian Walls. On Thursday, August 7th, the Avars and Slavs planed to simultaneously attack by sea; however, Bonus discovered the plan and had the Byzantine navy ready. The Slavic fleet was sunk near the church Blachernae. When the Avars saw that the Slavic ships had been destroyed they retreated. Before the Avars retreated to the far side of the Danube, they plundered several churches outside of Constantinople: Damian at Blachernae and the church of the Archangel.

Aftermath After the Avar defeat, Heraclius' brother, Theodore, defeated the Persian General Shahin. Following this, Heraclius led an invasion into Mesopotamia where he defeated the Persian army near Nineveh in 628. Afterwards, he marched on to Ctesiphon where one Persian King had been overthrown by another; this allowed Heraclius to obtain ever more favorable terms. Eventually, the Persians were obliged to withdraw all armed forces and return Egypt, the Levant and whatever imperial territories of Mesopotamia and Armenia were in Roman hands at the time of an earlier peace treaty of 591. The war over, neither the Persians nor the Byzantines would cross swords again until the Arab-Islamic invasion broke the power of both Empires.

Bibliography Gregory, Timothy E. A History of Byzantium. Singapore: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.

Haldon, John F. Byzantium In the Seventh Century: The Transformation of a Culture. Cambridge: University Press, 1997.

Howard-Johnston, J. D, “The Siege of Constantinople 626,” Constantinople and its 	Hinterland. Papers from the twenty-seventh Spring Symposium of Byzantine 	Studies, Oxford, (1993, April): 131-142.

Kaegi, Walter Emil. Heraclius Emperor of Byzantium. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Ostrogorsky, George. History of the Byzantine State. Translated by Joan Hussey. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1957.

Pentcheva, Bissera V. “The supernatural protector of Constantinople: the Virgin and her icons in the tradition of the Avar Siege.” Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 26 (2002): 2-41.

Speck, Paul. “The Virgin's Help for Constantinople.” Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 27 (2003): 266-271.

Tsangadas, Bryon B. C, “The Avaro-Slavonic and Persian siege of 626” in The Defense of Constantinople, pp. 80-166. New York: Columbia University Press, 1980.

Theophanes. The Chronicle of Theophanes. Translated by H. Turtledove. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982.

Whitby, Michael and Whitby, Mary, trans. The Chronicon Paschale 284-628 A.D. Cambridge: Liverpool University Press, 1989.