The Battle of Constantinople was fought in June 922 at the outskirts of the capital of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
,
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, between the forces of the
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Europ ...
and the Byzantines during the
Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927
The ByzantineBulgarian war of 913927 ( bg, Българо–византийска война от 913–927) was fought between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire for more than a decade. Although the war was provoked by the Byzantin ...
. In the summer the Byzantine Emperor
Romanos I Lekapenos
Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinisation of names, Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine ...
sent troops under the commander
Saktikios to repel another Bulgarian raid at the outskirts of the Byzantine capital. The Byzantines stormed the Bulgarian camp but were defeated when they confronted the main Bulgarian forces. During his flight from the battlefield Saktikios was mortally wounded and died the following night.
The Bulgarians, who by 922 were in control of most of the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, continued to ravage the Byzantine countryside virtually unopposed. However, they lacked the maritime power to conduct a successful siege of Constantinople. The subsequent attempts to negotiate a Bulgarian–Arab alliance for a joint assault of Constantinople were discovered by the Byzantines and successfully countered. The strategic situation in the Balkans remained unchanged until both sides signed a
peace treaty in 927, which recognized the imperial title of the Bulgarian monarchs and the complete independence of the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...
as an
autocephalous
Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Ort ...
Patriarchate
Patriarchate ( grc, πατριαρχεῖον, ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch.
According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were esta ...
.
The primary sources for the battle are the continuation of
George Hamartolos
George Hamartolos or Hamartolus ( el, ) was a monk at Constantinople under Michael III (842–867) and the author of a chronicle of some importance. Hamartolus is not his name but the epithet he gives to himself in the title of his work: "A compen ...
' ''Chronicle'' and
John Skylitzes
John Skylitzes, commonly Latinized as Ioannes, la, Johannes, label=none, la, Iōannēs, label=none Scylitzes ( el, Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης, ''Iōánnēs Skylítzēs'', or el, Σκυλίτση, ''Skylítsē'', label=none ; la, ...
' ''Synopsis of Histories''.
Background
During his short reign the Byzantine emperor
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
(r. 912–913) provoked a conflict with the Bulgarian monarch
Simeon I (r. 893–927). Simeon I, who had long harboured ambitions to claim an imperial title for himself, took the opportunity to wage war. With the Byzantine Empire in disarray following Alexander's death in June 913, the Bulgarians reached Constantinople unopposed and forced the regency of the infant
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...
(r. 913–959) to recognize Simeon I as emperor (in
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
, ''
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
''). Following a palace coup in 914, the new Byzantine regency revoked the concessions to the Bulgarians and summoned the whole army, including the troops in
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, to deal with the Bulgarian threat once and all. In the decisive
battle of Achelous in 917 the Byzantine forces were completely annihilated, leaving the Bulgarians in charge of the Balkans. Their annual campaigns reached the
walls of Constantinople
The Walls of Constantinople ( el, Τείχη της Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul in Turkey) since its founding as the ...
and the
Isthmus of Corinth
The Isthmus of Corinth (Greek: Ισθμός της Κορίνθου) is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancien ...
. All subsequent attempts to confront the Bulgarian army at
Katasyrtai,
Aquae Calidae and
Pegae
Karabiga (Karabuga) is a town in Biga District, Çanakkale Province, in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is located at the mouth of the Biga River, on a small east-facing bay, known as Karabiga Bay. Its ancient name was Priapus or Priapos ( ...
ended in defeat.
Despite his military supremacy over land, Simeon I was aware that he needed naval assistance in order to seize Constantinople. In 922 he clandestinely sent envoys to the
Fatimid
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dy ...
caliph
Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah
Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh/ʿUbayd Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn (), 873 – 4 March 934, better known by his regnal name al-Mahdi Billah, was the founder of the Isma'ili Fatimid Caliphate, the only major Shi'a caliphate in Islamic history, and the e ...
in
Mahdia
Mahdia ( ar, المهدية ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse.
Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax
Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located ...
to negotiate the assistance of the powerful
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
navy. Simeon I proposed to divide equally all spoils; the Bulgarians were to keep Constantinople and the Fatimids would gain the Byzantine territories in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
and
Southern Italy
Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half.
The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...
.
The battle
![61-manasses-chronicle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/61-manasses-chronicle.jpg)
To distract the Byzantine attention from the secret negotiations with the Arabs, in the summer of 922 the Bulgarians launched a campaign in
Eastern Thrace
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
* Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air ...
. They captured and garrisoned a number of fortified towns in the region, including
Bizye
Vize ( el, Βιζύη, bg, Виза) is a town and district of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The district governor is Elif Canan Tuncer, and the mayor is Ercan Özalp ( CHP). According to the Turkish Statistical Instit ...
. In June they reached the outskirts of Constantinople and burned the Palace of Theodora, situated on the shores of the
Golden Horn
The Golden Horn ( tr, Altın Boynuz or ''Haliç''; grc, Χρυσόκερας, ''Chrysókeras''; la, Sinus Ceratinus) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with t ...
.
In response, emperor
Romanos I Lekapenos
Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinisation of names, Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine ...
(r. 920–944) summoned the commanders of the ''
tagmata'' on a feast and urged them to confront the Bulgarians.
["Continuation of the Chronicle of George Hamartolos" in GIBI, vol. VI, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia]
p. 146
/ref>["Synopsis of Histories by John Skylitzes" in GIBI, vol. VI, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia]
/ref> The following day one of them, Saktikios, led the assault against the Bulgarians. While most of the Bulgarian soldiers were dispersed to loot the countryside, the Byzantines attacked the Bulgarian camp and slaughtered the few defenders left there. When the main Bulgarian forces were informed about the attack, they headed back to the camp to engage the opponents. In the ensuing heavy struggle the Bulgarians prevailed and forced the Byzantines to flee despite the personal courage of Saktikios, who the Byzantine chroniclers claim to have "killed many". During the flight, the horse of Saktikios got stuck in the mud of a river and the Byzantine commander was wounded in the seat and the thigh. His soldiers managed to free the horse from the mud and to bring him to the Blachernae
Blachernae ( gkm, Βλαχέρναι) was a suburb in the northwestern section of Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire. It is the site of a water source and a number of prominent churches were built there, most notably the great ...
alive. Saktikios was laid in the Church of St. Mary of Blachernae, where he died the following night.
Aftermath
After the victory Simeon I sent letters to the Ecumenical Patriarch
The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...
Nicholas Mystikos
Nicholas I Mystikos or Nicholas I Mysticus ( el, Νικόλαος Α΄ Μυστικός, ''Nikolaos I Mystikos''; 852 – 11 May 925) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from March 901 to February 907 and from May 912 to his death ...
and Romanos' co-emperor Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...
to propose peace negotiations. However, his intention was to prolong the negotiations until the return of his envoys to the Fatimids. While Simeon I and Nicholas Mystikos exchanged letters the military actions continued. In a few weeks the Bulgarian army captured Adrianople
Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
, the most important city in Byzantine Thrace. The fall of Adrianople raised fears in Constantinople that a Bulgarian assault of the city was imminent. The Byzantines tried to intimidate Simeon I by threatening to incite the Magyars
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...
, the Pechenegs
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა ...
and Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
to attack Bulgaria from the north-east, as they had done in the war of 894–896. Simeon I knew that these were empty words because the Byzantine Empire was in no position to carry out these threats.
In the meantime, the Bulgarian envoys received a warm welcome by al-Mahdi. The Fatimid caliph accepted the Bulgarian terms and sent his own emissaries to Simeon I. However, on the way back their ship was captured by the Byzantines, who managed to outbid the Bulgarians and distract a Fatimid attack. The Bulgarians remained in control of most of the Balkans, annexing Byzantium's ally Serbia in 924, but without naval support were unable to launch a decisive attack on Constantinople. The war continued until the death of Simeon I in 927, when his son Peter I Peter I may refer to:
Religious hierarchs
* Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus
* Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint
* Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...
(r. 927–969) concluded a peace treaty with the Byzantines, who recognized the imperial title of the Bulgarian monarchs and the complete independence of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...
as an autocephalous
Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Ort ...
Patriarchate
Patriarchate ( grc, πατριαρχεῖον, ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch.
According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were esta ...
in return for most of Simeon I's conquests in Thrace after 917.
See also
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constantinople (922)
920s conflicts
920s in the Byzantine Empire
10th century in Bulgaria
Battles involving the First Bulgarian Empire
Battles of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars in Thrace
922