Sack of Thessalonica (904)
| date | 904 |
|---|---|
| place | Thessalonike |
| output | Saracen victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
Saracen pirates from Syria and Egypt |
|
| Commander | |
|
Petronas |
|
Byzantine-Arab Wars
Early battles
Mu'ta - Tabuk - Dathin - Firaz
Arab conquest of the Levant
Qartin - Bosra - Adschnadain - Marj al-Rahit - Fahl - Damascus - Marj ad Dibadsch - Emesa - Yarmouk - Jerusalem - Hazir - Aleppo
Muslim conquest of Egypt
Heliopolis - Alexandria - Nikiou
Umayyad conquest of North Africa
Sufetula - Vescera - Carthage
Umayyadidische invasion of Anatolia
and Constantinople
Iron bridge - Germanikeia - 1. Konstantin Opel - Sebastopolis - Tyana - 2. Konstantin Opel - Nicaea - Akroinon
Arabic-Byzantine border war
Kamacha - Kopidnadon - Krasos - Anzen and Amorion - Mauropotamos - Lalakaon - Bathys Ryax
Sicily and Southern Italy
1st Syracuse - 2nd Syracuse - Campaigns of the Maniac
Byzantine counter-attack
Marasch - Raban - Andrassos - Campaigns of Nikephoros Phokas - Campaigns of John Tzimiskes - Orontes - Campaigns of Basil II. - Azaz Sea
operations
Phoinix - Muslim Conquest of Crete - Thasos - Damiette - Thessalonike - Byzantine reconquest of Crete
The sack of Thessalonica by Saracen pirates in 904 was one of the worst defeats of the Byzantine Empire in the 10th century. A Muslim fleet under the command of Leon of Tripoli , originally intended to plunder Constantinople , set sail from Syria. However, the Saracens were deterred from attacking by the massive defenses of the Byzantine capital and instead turned against Thessalonike. The Byzantine fleet was unable to respond in time. The city walls of Thessalonike were in poor condition, especially on the sea side. After a short siege, the Saracens succeeded in taking the sea walls and the city fell on July 29th. The looting dragged on for a week, after which the pirates returned to their bases along the Levant . Most of the captured prisoners such as B. Johannes Kaminiates , the chronicler of the looting, were ransomed by the Reich in exchange for Muslim prisoners.
literature
- Warren T. Treadgold : A History of the Byzantine State and Society . Stanford University Press, Stanford 1997, ISBN 0-8047-2630-2
- AA Vasiliev : Byzance et les Arabes, Tome II, 1ére partie: Les relations politiques de Byzance et des Arabes à L'époque de la dynastie macédonienne (867–959) . Éditions de l'Institut de Philologie et d'Histoire Orientales, Brussels 1968, p. 163ff.