Emirate of Crete

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Map of the Aegean Sea, southern Crete

The Emirate of Crete was an Islamic state on the island of Crete that existed from the 820s until the Byzantine reconquest of the island in 961.

Crete was conquered by a group of exiles from al-Andalus , who landed on the island around 824 or 827/828 and established their own rule there. Several Byzantine attempts to recapture the island failed. For the approximately 135 years of its existence, the emirate of Iqritisch  /إقريطش / Iqrīṭiš one of the main enemies of the Byzantine Empire. Crete ruled the sea routes in the eastern Mediterranean and acted as a base of operations for Muslim corsairs who raided the Byzantine coastlines along the Aegean Sea . Little is known about the domestic political history of the emirate, but all reports point to a not inconsiderable level of prosperity, which can be attributed not only to piracy, but also to widespread trade and agriculture. The emirate was destroyed by Nikephoros Phokas , who recaptured the island in a campaign from 960 to 961.

history

Crete has been the target of Muslim attacks since the first wave of Islamic expansion in the middle of the 7th century. The island was sacked for the first time in 654 and again in 674/675, and parts of the island were briefly occupied under the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I (r. 705-715). Nevertheless, Crete was never completely conquered and remained under the Byzantine Empire for the entire 7th century; the island was too far from the Arab naval ports in the Levant for a large-scale conquest of the island to have succeeded.

Conquest of Crete

Around 824, during the rule of the Byzantine Emperor Michael II (r. 820–829), a group of exiled Muslims from al-Andalus landed on Crete and began to conquer the island. These exiles were the survivors of a failed revolt against al-Hakam I , the emir of Cordoba , in 818. As a result of the rebellion, the residents of the Cordoban suburb of ar-Rabad were exiled in large numbers. Some settled in Morocco , but others, around 10,000, became pirates. Some of these pirates landed under the leadership of Umar ibn Hafs ibn Shuaib ibn Isa al-Balluti, known as Abu Hafs , in Alexandria and took possession of the city until 827, when Alexandria was besieged by the Abbasid general Abdallah ibn Tahir and the invaders were driven out were.

The exact time of their landing on Crete is uncertain. The Muslim sources date him to 827 or 828, after the expulsion from Alexandria. Byzantine sources place the event earlier, shortly after the rebellion of Thomas the Slav (821-823). Further considerations regarding the number and date of the Byzantine campaigns against the Muslims have led historians such as Vasileios Christides and Christos Makrypoulias to suggest an earlier date, around 824.

The Saracen fleet sails to Crete. Miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes manuscript.

Under the terms of their contract with Ibn Tahir, the Andalusians left Alexandria on 40 ships. The historian Warren Treadgold estimates their number at 12,000 people, of whom about 3,000 were combat-capable men. According to Byzantine historians, the Andalusians already knew their way around Crete as they had plundered it in the past. They also claim that this new landing was initially planned as another raid and only turned into a campaign of conquest when Abu Hafs set their ships on fire. However, since the Andalusians brought their families with them from the start, this is probably a later invention. The landing site of the Andalusians is unknown. Some historians believe it was at Souda Bay or near Chandax (from Arabic خندق, DMG ḫandaq  'Graben'). The modern Heraklion located at this point was not built until later. Others think the landing point was probably on the south coast of the island and the Andalusians slowly moved north.

After learning of the landing of the Arabs, Emperor Michael II sent troops several times to expel the invaders. The Byzantine defense potential was limited by the revolt of Thomas the Slav and, if the landing took place in 827/828, by the diversion of the fleet and army by the conquest of Sicily by the Aghlabids . The first expedition under Photeinos, strategos of the topic Anatolikon and Damian, the comes stabuli , was defeated in open field battle, Damian was killed. The next expedition was sent a year later. It consisted of 70 ships under the command of the strategos of the subject of the Kibyrrhaoten Krateros. It was initially successful, but the careless Byzantine troops were routed in a night raid. Krateros was able to flee to Kos , but was captured and crucified there by the Arabs . Ch. Makrypoulias suggests that these campaigns took place before the Arabs built Chandax, where they moved their capital from Gortyn .

The "pirate emirate"

After repelling these attacks, Abu Hafs slowly consolidated his control of the island and made himself ruler. He recognized the suzerainty of the Abbasid caliphate , but ruled de facto as an independent emir. The conquest of the island was of great importance as it changed the balance of power in the eastern Mediterranean and opened the Aegean coasts to devastating raids.

The Andalusians also occupied some of the Cyclades during the early years , but Emperor Michael II sent another large-scale expeditionary army for which he recruited a new marine unit, the Tessarakontarioi , and had additional ships built. Under the Admiral Ooryphas , this fleet succeeded in driving the Arabs from the Aegean islands, but could not recapture Crete.

Michael II's successor, Emperor Theophilos (r. 829-842) sent an embassy to Abd ar-Rahman II of Córdoba to move him to undertake a joint operation against the Andalusian exiles, but in addition to Abd ar-Rahman's general approval all Byzantine actions concerning this matter were lacking. In October 829, the Muslim Cretans destroyed a Byzantine fleet in the sea ​​battle of Thasos and then reduced the settlements on Mount Athos to rubble and ashes. Later they raided Lesbos (837) and the coast of the Thrakesion theme , where they destroyed the monastery on Mount Latros . But they could then be defeated by the local strategos Konstantin Kontomytes .

After Theophilos' death in 842, the new Byzantine emperor Michael III. renewed efforts to expel the Saracens: In 843 a new Byzantine theme , the theme of the Aegean Sea , was established in order to be able to fight the Arab attacks more effectively and another expeditionary army was sent under the orders of the logothetes and regent Theoktistus . Although he was able to occupy a large part of the island, Theoktistus had to withdraw the army due to political intrigue in Constantinople and the remaining troops were wiped out by the Arabs.

In an attempt to weaken the Saracens, several Byzantine fleets united in 853, attacked Damietta , an Egyptian naval base, and captured weapons destined for Crete. Despite some other Byzantine successes, the Cretan Arabs resumed their attacks in the 860s, attacking the Peloponnese , the Cyclades and Mount Athos. In 866, Caesar Bardas assembled another large army to conquer Crete, but his assassination by Basil the Macedonians two weeks after the departure of the fleet from Constantinople put an end to this plan.

Ooryphas punishes the Cretan Saracens, pictured in the Madrid Skylitzes

In the early 870s, the Cretan raids reached a new level: their fleets, often led by renegade Byzantines, crossed the Aegean Sea and even reached the Dalmatian coast. Once a Cretan fleet even sailed into the Sea of ​​Marmara and attacked Prokonnesos , albeit unsuccessfully ; the first time since the second Arab siege of Constantinople in 717–718 an Arab fleet had come this close to the capital. In the year 873 and again in 874 the Cretans suffered defeats by the Byzantine admiral Niketas Ooryphas . Ooryphas took many prisoners whom he had tortured in revenge for the raids. These victories apparently resulted in a temporary truce and it appears that the Cretan emir Shuaib I (Saipes) was forced to pay tribute to Byzantium for a decade.

The raids were soon resumed, with North African and Syrian fleets coming to the aid of the Cretans. The Peloponnese suffered in particular, but also Euboea and the Cyclades: the island of Patmos came under Cretan rule, Naxos was forced to pay tribute. Athens could have been occupied between 896 and 902, and in 904 Leon of Tripoli sacked the second city of the empire, Thessalonica . The Syrian pirates used Crete as a base. Many of the allegedly 20,000 Thessalonians captured were sold as slaves in Crete.

In 911 the Byzantines again sent a large fleet, around 100 ships strong, which was led by Himerios . The Byzantines were forced to leave the island after a few months, and the fleet was then destroyed by an allied Cretan and Syrian fleet off Chios .

Byzantine reconquest

The siege of Chandax, the capital of Muslim Crete, depicted in the Madrid Skylitzes manuscript.

Cretan piracy reached new heights on the coasts of Greece and Asia Minor in the 930s and 940s . Therefore, Emperor Constantine VII (r. 913–959) sent another army. This was put to flight in a surprise attack, which the Byzantine chroniclers ascribed to the incompetence of the eunuch Konstantin Gongyles . Emperor Constantine did not give up and prepared another expedition during the last years of his reign. In fact, this should take place under his successor Romanos II (r. 959-963), who transferred the management of the company to General Nikephoros Phokas . This sailed off in 960, landed in Crete and crushed the initial Muslim resistance. A long siege of the capital followed until Chandaq (Chandax) was stormed on March 6, 961.

The city was looted, the mosque and the city walls were torn down. Muslim prisoners were either killed or taken into slavery. The island's last emir, Abd al-Aziz ibn Shuaib (Kouroupas) and his son an-Numan (Anemas) were captured and taken to Constantinople, where Phocas celebrated a triumph . The island was transformed into a Byzantine theme and the remaining Muslims were converted to Christianity by missionaries such as Nikon "the Metanoide" . Among the converts was Prince an-Numan, who entered Byzantine service and died in 972 at Durostorum in the battle against the Rus .

heritage

The Arab period of the island remains extremely unclear due to the low density of sources on the internal history of the emirate. Apart from a few place names that are reminiscent of Arabic names, there are no major finds from this period in Crete, perhaps because of the great destruction after 961. This had an impact on the view of the emirate: historians have the emirate of Crete based on Byzantine Sources, mostly seen as a “pirate's nest”.

The picture that emerges from a few hints from the Arab world is that of an orderly state with its own monetary economy and branching trade relations, and it is possible that Chandax was a cultural center of the eastern Mediterranean. The discovery of several gold, silver and copper coins of almost constant weight is evidence of stable economic strength and possibly a high standard of living for the population. Foreign trade was mainly carried out with Egypt. The need to maintain a self-sufficient state on the island led to intensive agriculture. It is possible that the Arabs introduced sugar cane to Crete .

It is unclear what happened to the Christian population in Crete after the Muslim conquest; traditionally almost all of them were converted or driven out. In Muslim sources, however, there are references to a further presence of Christians on the island, although according to the sources Muslims are said to have formed the majority on the island.

List of emirs

The succession of the emirs of Crete was reconstructed through Byzantine and Arab sources, especially through coin finds. So the years of her reign are partly conjecture:

Surname Name in Greek sources Reign
Abu Hafs Umar I ibn Shuaib ibn Isa al-Balluti al-Ghaliz al-Iqritishi Apohapsis 827/828 - approx. 855
Shuaib I ibn Umar Saipes or Saet approx. 855-880
Abu Abdallah Umar II ibn Shuaib Babdel approx. 880-895
Muhammad ibn Shuaib az-Zarkun Zerkounes approx. 895-910
Yusuf ibn Umar II. approx. 910-915
Ali ibn Yusuf approx. 915-925
Ahmad ibn Umar II approx. 925-940
Shuaib II. Ibn Ahmad approx. 940-943
Ali ibn Ahmad approx. 943-949
Abd al-Aziz ibn Shuaib II. Kouroupas approx. 949-961

literature

  • M. Canard: Ikritish . In: The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition . Volume 3. Leiden 1986, pp. 1082ff.
  • Vassilios Christides: The Raids of the Moslems of Crete in the Aegean Sea: Piracy and Conquest . In: Byzantion 51 (1981), pp. 76-111.
  • Vassilios Christides: The Conquest of Crete by the Arabs (ca.824): A Turning Point in the Struggle between Byzantium and Islam . Athens 1984.
  • Robert Gardiner (Ed.): Age of the Galley: Mediterranean Oared Vessels since pre-Classical Times . London 2004, ISBN 0-85177-634-5
  • Martin Kremp: Arab Crete: The Emirate of the Andalusians (827-961) . Frankfurt / Main 1995.
  • Christos G. Makrypoulias: Byzantine Expeditions against the Emirates of Crete c. 825-949 . In: Proceedings of the Sixth International Congress of Graeco-Oriental and African Studies . Nicosia 2000, pp. 347-362.
  • George C. Miles: Byzantium and the Arabs: Relations in Crete and the Aegean Area . In: Dumbarton Oaks Papers 18 (1964), pp. 17-32.
  • Warren T. Treadgold: The Byzantine Revival, 780-842 . Stanford 1988.
  • Warren T. Treadgold: A History of the Byzantine State and Society . Stanford 1997.

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ Other forms of the Arabic name Crete: Aqritic (Aqrīṭīš), Iqritiya (Iqrīṭiya), Iqritas (Iqrītaṣ)
  2. ↑ Treadgold (1997), pp. 313, 325
  3. ↑ Canard (1986), p. 1082
  4. ↑ a b Miles (1964), p. 10
  5. ^ Treadgold (1997), p. 378
  6. ↑ a b Makrypoulias (2000), pp. 347-348
  7. ↑ Canard (1986), pp. 1082-1083
  8. ^ Miles (1964), pp. 10-11
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Canard (1986), p. 1083
  10. ↑ cf. Makrypoulias (2000), pp. 348-351
  11. ↑ Treadgold (1988), pp. 251, 253
  12. ↑ Treadgold (1988), p. 253
  13. ↑ Makrypoulias (2000), p. 349
  14. ↑ Miles (1964), p. 11
  15. ↑ cf. Treadgold (1988), pp. 250-253, 259-260
  16. ↑ Treadgold (1988), pp. 253-254
  17. ↑ Makrypoulias (2000), pp. 348, 351
  18. ↑ a b c Treadgold (1988), p. 254
  19. ↑ Makrypoulias (2000), pp. 349-350
  20. ↑ Makrypoulias (2000), pp. 347, 357ff.
  21. ↑ Makrypoulias (2000), pp. 348-349, 357
  22. ↑ Treadgold (1988), pp. 255, 257
  23. ^ Miles (1964), p. 9
  24. ^ Treadgold (1988), p. 268
  25. ↑ Treadgold (1988), pp. 324-325
  26. ↑ Makrypoulias (2000), p. 351
  27. ↑ Treadgold (1997), p. 447
  28. ^ Treadgold (1997), p. 451
  29. ↑ Makrypoulias (2000), pp. 351-352
  30. ^ Treadgold (1997), p. 453
  31. ^ Treadgold (1997), p. 457
  32. ↑ Canard (1981), pp. 1083-1084
  33. ^ Miles (1964), pp. 6-8
  34. ↑ a b c d e f Canard (1986), p. 1084
  35. ^ Treadgold (1997), p. 467
  36. ↑ Makrypoulias (2000), pp. 352-353
  37. ^ Treadgold (1997), p. 470
  38. ↑ Makrypoulias (2000), pp. 353-356
  39. ^ Treadgold (1997), p. 489
  40. ↑ Treadgold (1997), pp. 493-495
  41. ↑ a b Treadgold (1997), p. 495
  42. ↑ Canard (1981), pp. 1084-1085
  43. ↑ Miles (1964), pp. 11, 16-17
  44. ↑ cf. Canard (1986), p. 1083
  45. ^ Miles (1964), pp. 15-16
  46. ↑ Christides (1984), pp. 33, 116-122
  47. ↑ Christides (1984), pp. 116-118
  48. ↑ Christides (1984), pp. 104-109
  49. ^ Miles (1964), pp. 11-15
  50. ↑ Canard (1986), p. 1085