Naval Battle of Ostia

The Battle of Ostia , Fresco in the rooms of Raphael

The naval battle of Ostia took place in 849 between the fleets of the Muslim invaders in southern Italy and the Christian league of the Pope , the Duke of Naples , the cities of Amalfi and Gaeta .

prehistory

In 846 a fleet of Arab ships coming from Campania had brought an army of Arabs to Ostia. These Saracens plundered the church treasures of the predecessor basilica of St. Peter's Basilica , of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and Saint Laurentius Outside the Walls , all of which were located in front of the Roman city walls ( Aurelian Wall ). This first attack on the Holy City since the fifth century had terrified all of Europe. A Carolingian special tax subsequently financed the construction of a new city wall, the Leonine Wall .

battle

In 849 Rome received the news that a fleet of Arab ships was lying off Sardinia . A Christian fleet under the command of Caesar of Naples , son of Sergius I , gathered in the port of the newly fortified city of Ostia, where it was blessed by Pope Leo IV just before its departure. The battle began with the attack of the Neapolitan galleys . During the naval battle, a storm broke out and the fighting ended. The Christian fleet was able to retreat to the port in good time, but the Arab fleet was torn apart and many of the ships ran aground or sank. When the storm cleared it was easy for the Christian ships to destroy the rest of the enemy fleet.

consequences

The prisoners made after the battle were used, among other things, as slave labor for the construction of the Leonine Wall (Latin: Civitas Leonina), which was supposed to protect the Vatican Hill .

The battle helped the Christian states of central and southern Italy to unite against the Arab threat, which later contributed to their expulsion.

literature

• Peter Llewellyn: Rome in the Dark Ages. Faber and Faber, London 1970, ISBN 0-571-08972-0 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Barbara Kreutz: Before the Normans: Southern Italy in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries , University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996, p. 28, ISBN 978-0812215878