Enemy at the Gate: The Second Arab Siege of Constantinople

The Second Arab Siege of Constantinople

After the failed Arab Siege of Constantinople (674-678), which the traditional view of events and even actual occurrence has been questioned, the Arabs launched another combined land and sea effort to take the capital of the Byzantine Empire later. This later effort would lead to the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople (717-718). An 80,000 strong army led by Maslama ,brother of Caliph Umar II crossed the Bosporus, while a fleet of around 1,800 ships sailed into the Marmara, south of the city. Emperor Leo III was able to use Constantinople's famed walls to his advantage, as it was. Meanwhile, the fleet failed to sail up the Bosporus, as the Greek fleet harassed it, using Greek Fire.

                                        The Siege depicted in the 14th century Bulgarn translation of  the Manasses Chroncle

The winter of of 717/718 was very harsh, and the Arab land forces were hit hard, due to shortages of supplies. However, Constantinople was supplied via the Black Sea, therefore the winter did not have an as large of an effect on the Byzantines. An Egyptian fleet of around 400 ships and an African fleet of around 360 ships arrived in the spring time and a fresh army started to march through Asia Minor. Many Christian Egyptians in the Arab fleets began to defect to the Byzantines. Furthermore, successive assaults on Constantinople could still not breach the walls. The Bulgarians who had established friendly relations with the Byzantines a year, came to the aid of Constantinople and in July the Arabs were devastated by a Bulgar attack. Contempraries report at least 30,000 Arabs died in the first Bulgarian attack. The attack was likely devastating due to the combination of starvation, disease and being demoralised due to multiple failed assaults on the city.

In August 718 the Arabs were forced to retreat in the face of the Bulgarian onslaught and the lack of successes against the city. Part of the Arab army tried to retreat through Anatolia, whereas the other half attempted to retreat on the remaining Arab vessels. A devastating storm hit the Arab fleet on the way back. All but 5 of the ships were destroyed and the retreating Arab forces on-board the ships were destroyed.

The failure to take Constantinople was a severe blow to Caliph Umar II and the Umayyad Caliphate's general expansion. If the city had fallen it is possible the Byzantine Empire would have disintegrated, opening Europe to Muslim incursions centuries before the Ottoman Empire and while Europe was in turmoil following the fall of Rome. The blow to the Caliphate's might led to Umar II contemplating an evacuation of recent Arab conquests, such as Transoxiana and Hispania and even abandoning the Arab conquests of some Byzantine territory. Although Umar's advisers persuaded him not to take such drastic actions, most Arab garrisons were withdrawn from Byzantine frontier districts. This battle can be compared to the Battle of Tours, as they both helped in halting Islam's expansion into Europe and in establishing Christian dominance on the continent.

Image Credit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:47-cropped-manasses-chronicle.jpg

Sources:

http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/notes/constantinoplesiege.html

http://www.byzantium.xronikon.com/battle.php?byzbat=b8_02

The Battle of Talas: A Key Event in the History of Paper

The Battle of Talas

The Battle of Talas (751 AD) fought between the Chinese Tang Dynasty and the Abbasid Caliphate had political ramifications for Central Asia, as well as being an important event in the history of technology. It was the capture of Chinese prisoners at the Battle of Talas that lead to the introduction of paper to the Islamic world.Prisoners in Samarkand were ordered to produce paper, and the Muslim expansion into Central Asia allowed the transmission of paper-making technology to the Islamic world. By the year 794 AD paper manufacturing could be found in Baghdad.

                                    A Spring Outing of the Tang Court , Zhang Xuan (713-755)

By the end of the period of the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750) Transoxania ( the ancient name used for the land between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers) was mostly incorporated into the Islamic world. However, it was this expansion that opposed the Chinese and the Abbasids, as China had had presence in these areas of Central Asia since the second century B.C. Furthermore, under the Tang Dynasty's reign, China's  influence in Transoxania itself, had grown. A crisis ensured, when a pro-Tibetan ruler cam to power in the kingdom of Gilgit. (The Tibetans influence in the politics of the region had rapidly increased in the 7th century). In 747 AD the Korean general Kao Hsien-chih campaigned against Gilgit, ending the Tibetans influence over it. Another dispute, this time between the kingdoms of Ferghana and Chach, forced Hsien-chih to respond to Ferghana calling for aid and besiege Chach. He promised to let the King of Chach have safe passage, but then decapitated him. The son of the decapitated King escaped and took word Abu Muslim, the Abbasid governor of Khorasan.

Abu Muslim mustered his forces, added reinforcements from Tukharistan and joined with Ziyadi ibn Salih at Samarkand, where Ziyad tool control of the army. The armies met near the town of Talas, on the Talas River.The number of troops the Arabs had at the battle was not recorded by any side, however it is estimated the Arabs may have had 200,000 men, whereas the Chinese had only  30,000 men, according to the Chinese accounts ( Arab accounts put this at 100,000). The battle lasted for five days, according to Chinese annals, whereas the Arab records are inconclusive relating to its duration. However, all records agree that the battle was a major victory for the Arabs. The Chinese blamed on the Turkish Karluk mercenaries, saying they betrayed them. However, it is argued that it is likely that the Karluks were in fact on the Arabs side from the start.

The importance of this battle is debatable. The battle did weaken the Tang Dynasty and may have contributed to their loss of influence in Central Asia, and therefore the spread of Islam into Asia. However, the decline of the Tang dynasty can not be exclusively blamed on the Battle of Talas. Around this time China was facing trouble from the Tibetans, Uygur Turks in Mongolia and the Khitan people. For example, just  two months before Talas the Khitans defeated the Chinese near Ping-lu in 751. Also, the young kingdom of Nan-chao dealt devastating losses to Chinese force in 754. Therefore, it could be argued the Battle of Talas was not decisive in China's loss of influence in Central Asia, rather it was a cumulation of several threats to the Tang Dynasty that led to this decline.

Sources:
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198205/the.battle.of.talas.htm
Image Credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spring_Outing_of_the_Tang_Court.jpg

The Battle of Tours: A Quick Look at The Battle that Changed History

The Battle That Changed History

                                                                        Image Credit: http://nobility.org/2011/10/20/battle-of-tours/

The Battle of Tours of 732 (or Poitiers, but not be confused with the battle in 1356) involved Charles Martel leading a force of Merovingian Franks against the Umayyad Caliphate. The Umayyad's had conquered the Iberian Peninsular in the early 700's. They then set out to invade southern France, but were repelled by the Duke of Aquitaine, Odo the Great, at the Battle of Toulouse (721). However, ten years later the Umayyads returned and crushed Odo's forces at the Battle of the River Garonne . Duke Odo looked for aid from Charles Martel. However, Martel only promised aid if Odo submitted to the Franks. Martel knew he had to raise a professional army to defeat the invaders, rather than using conscripts. Martel tried to remain undetected as he marched, so he could choose where to position his forces. He ended up positioning his forces between Tours and Poitiers. Abdul Rahman al Ghafiqi, leader of the Umayyad forces, was shocked when Martel's 30,000 men were positioned in a square on top of  terrain unfavourable for a Umayyad attack. Abdul Rahman' pause for a week while he gathered all his forces (up to 80,000). This pause allowed Martel to gather more veteran infantry at his position. However, a week later the pause ended and Abdul Rahman sent his cavalry into battle.

Martel's infantry held against wave after wave of cavalry. Eventually, the Umayyad cavalry broke through, but Martel was still saved, as his guard repelled the assault. However, the battle changed dramatically when some of Martel's men started to free prisoners in the Umayyad camp. Martel had sent the men out earlier. A large portion of the Umayyad force believed their plunder from the campaign was in danger and so the raced back to try and save it. Abdul Rahman was surrounded and killed by the Franks, when he tried to stop the supposed retreat.The Franks pursued the Umayyads for a short time. The Umayyads fully retreated and as a result they fled the whole of France, back to Iberia.

It seems the battle changed history, in the sense that it halted the advance if Islam into France. However, in 735 the new governor of al-Andalus, 'Uqba b. Al-Hajjaj moved into France to avenge Tours. Up until 739, the governor carried out raids on places such as Lyon, Burgundy and Piedmont. However, Charles Martel saved the day again with two campaigns, one in 736 and 739 . However, the Umayyads were still not defeated yet. But, in 759 Pippin the Short finally expelled the Umayyads out of France after the fall of Narbonne. The aftermath of the Battle of Tours reveals the Battle of France was far from over after Tours. This leads to one final question, did the Battle of Tours change history ? In my opinion, I think if the Umayyad's won the battle,  they would have advanced even further into France and possibly secured some land for a long period. However, the Franks won the Battle of Tours, and so now I shall say my opinion on what historically happened.  I believe, regardless of the Battle of the Tours, the Umayyads could have eventually finished their invasion of France successfully. It was the campaigns that followed that truly ended the Ummayad threat and therefore, in terms of the Umayyad's not winning Tours, I think the battle did change history, but in terms of the Franks winning, the battle did not change history greatly.

Sources: Greatly, 

http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswarsto1000/p/tours.htm

The Greatest Ottoman Sieges in History

The Great Sieges

Throughout, history there have been many sieges, some of these have altered the course of history, while others have been on a spectacular scale. Regardless of this, there have been many sieges that can be called great. One empire, the Ottoman Empire, participated in many great sieges. Below is a brief description of some of the greatest sieges the empire participated in.

The Siege of Constantinople (1453)

 

                                          Image Credit:from http://everyhistory.org/1400constantinople1.html, by Jean Chartier

The siege of Constantinople took place between the attacking Ottoman Empire and the defending Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine, or East Roman, Empire had been declining for centuries and by the time of the siege of 1453 the empire had reduced in size,drastically. There were around 10,000 defenders of the capital of the Byzantine Empire and about 100,000 attackers led by Sultan Mehmed II. The siege began on the 6th April 1453. At the beginning of the siege the Ottomans seized the last few Byzantine strongholds and also heavily bombarded the Byzantine walls for 12 days. However, the Byzantine troops easily defended a breach in their walls. When, Genovosi ships broke through the Ottoman fleet and passed the chain placed across the harbour and resupplied the city. Mehmed II decided he needed control of the Golden Horn. Therefore, Ottoman ships were dragged overland and 30 ships were in the harbour by the 22nd of April. Over the next weeks of the siege the Ottomans launched several assaults on the city, whether by breach, ladder, tower or by  trying to dig tunnels under the walls. However, the Byzantines held. However, on the 29 May 1453 the city finally fell in a final assault, in which Emperor Constantine XII Palaiologos was killed. The city likely fell because the defenders were heavily outnumbered, tired and low on supplies. The siege changed history as it opened Europe up to the Ottoman Empire.

The Siege of Vienna (1529)
                                           

                                                         Image Credit: http://apippas.wordpress.com

Since the Siege of Constantinople (1453) the Ottoman Empire had grown even stronger. In 1529, as it besieged Vienna, the empire reached its height. The Siege marked an end to the rapid expansion of the Ottoman Empire in Europe. In May 1453 the Ottoman Army of  around 120,000 men left Constantinople for Vienna. However, unusual downpours of rain affected the Ottoman march, for example the Ottomans had to leave their heavy cannons behind. However, on September 29th the Ottoman Army reached Vienna.  The Ottomans quickly surrounded the city, but the Holy Roman Emperor,Charles V was away fighting against France. There just over 20,000 men defending the city. Suleiman had obviously expected the city to surrender, which he also wanted, as only then would he get the full treasures of Vienna according to Islamic Marshal Law.  As the rain had prevented the Ottomans from bringing there larger cannons they had to use small ineffective cannons. However, their main use was to incite fear in the populace of Vienna. The Ottomans dug tunnels and tried to place explosives under the walls. However, on the 28th September it rained and the black powder for the explosives was soak. On October the 9th the rain stopped and the Ottoman explosives were detonated. However, the breach was easily defended by the Landsknecht. A final assault on October 14th was easily repelled. The siege marked the beginning of the long decline of the Ottoman Empire, as it would never reach the same heights again.

The Siege of Malta (1565)

  

                                          Image Credit:http://www.historynotes.info/place-to-visit-malta-804/

On the 18th May 1565 the Ottoman armada arrived at Malta. The Ottomans wanted to gain a foothold in the Mediterranean, to use as a position to use to gain more power. The Ottomans once again had a sizeable army of around 40,000, while the defending Knights Hospitalier only had 600 Knights. However, they did have the support of some mercenaries and some Maltese irregular troops. In total, the defending force summed up to about 8,000 men. Jean Parisot de Valette,Grand Master of the Order of Malta, was in charge of the defenders. The Ottomans began their siege by assaulting the Fort St Elmo, Valette was hoping to hold on until promised relief from Sicily came. However, within a week the fort was nearly reduced to rubble. Despite, Valette still supplying the fort, it eventually was overwhelmed on the 23rd of June. The Ottomans assaulted more and more Maltese positions, but each time they were repelled. Sometimes, the Ottomans nearly won the siege, just to be driven away again. In the beginning of September, the Ottoman commander, Mustafa Pasha, ordered his men to take Mdina. His idea was to go through the winter there. However, on the 8th September the Ottomans had gave up and were preparing to leave the island. But, the day before a relief force of 8,000 men arrived on the island. After much pursuit, the Ottomans left Malta on September 11th.

Sources:

http://www.historytoday.com/tony-rothman/great-siege-malta
http://apippas.wordpress.com
http://everyhistory.org/1400constantinople1.html