Nasar ( el, Νάσαρ), originally baptized Basil ( el, Βασίλειος),. was a distinguished Byzantine military leader in the Byzantine–Arab conflicts of the latter half of the 9th century.

Biography

Not much is known about Nasar's family. His father Christopher held the supreme court position of ''

magistros The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centu ...

'', and he had a brother named Barsanes. On account of his name, the historian

Michele Amari Michele Amari (7 July 1806 – 16 July 1889) was a Sicilian patriot, historian and orientalist. Biography Born at Palermo son of Ferdinando and Giulia Venturelli, he devoted a great part of his life to the history of Sicily. Amari was also a ...

speculated that he was of Syrian, perhaps

Mardaite The Mardaites () or al-Jarajima ( syr, ܡܪ̈ܕܝܐ; ar, ٱلْجَرَاجِمَة / ALA-LC: ''al-Jarājimah''), inhabited the highland regions of the Nur Mountains. The Mardaites were early Christians following either Miaphysitism or Monothelit ...

, origin. Under Emperor

Michael III Michael III ( grc-gre, Μιχαήλ; 9 January 840 – 24 September 867), also known as Michael the Drunkard, was Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty. ...

(r. 842–867), he was appointed ''

stratēgos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...

'' of the Bucellarian Theme, one of the largest and most important of the Byzantine Empire's ''

themata The themes or ( el, θέματα, , singular: , ) were the main military/administrative divisions of the middle Byzantine Empire. They were established in the mid-7th century in the aftermath of the Slavic invasion of the Balkans and Muslim con ...

''. In this capacity, together with the patrician

Petronas Petroliam Nasional Berhad (National Petroleum Limited), commonly known as Petronas, is a Malaysian oil and gas company. Established in 1974 and wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with all oil and gas reso ...

, he participated in the Battle of Lalakaon in 863, where the Byzantines inflicted a crushing defeat on Umar al-Aqta, the emir of Melitene. On their return to Constantinople, the two generals celebrated a triumph in the Hippodrome. In 879 or 880, Nasar replaced

Niketas Oryphas Niketas Oryphas or Oöryphas ( el, or , fl. 860–873). was a distinguished Byzantine official, ''patrikios'',. and admiral under the Byzantine emperors Michael III (r. 842–867) and Basil I the Macedonian (r. 867–886), who achieved several ...

as the '' droungarios tou ploimou'', commander of the

Byzantine navy The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its Imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defence and survival of the state than ...

's Constantinople-based Imperial Fleet, and was sent by Emperor Basil I against the Aghlabid fleet that was raiding the Ionian islands.. A mutiny of the fleet's rowers forced him to stop for a while at Methoni, but discipline was restored and the crews strengthened with troops of the local theme. Nasar proceeded to score a significant victory in a night battle over the Aghlabids with the aid of

Greek fire Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Eastern Roman Empire beginning . Used to set fire to enemy ships, it consisted of a combustible compound emitted by a flame-throwing weapon. Some historians believe it could be ignited on contact w ...

. Nasar then proceeded to raid Sicily, capturing many Arab ships and carrying off much booty and merchandise. Reportedly, the price of

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

in the markets of Constantinople fell sharply as a result. He then went on to support the concurrent land operations by the Byzantine generals Prokopios and

Leo Apostyppes Leo Apostyppes or Apostoupes ( el, Λέων ὁ Ἀποστύππης/Ἀποστούπης) was a Byzantine military leader active in the 880s. He appears in 880, as military governor ('' strategos'') of the themes of Macedonia and Thrace, leadin ...

in southern Italy, before defeating another Aghlabid fleet off the coast of

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

; at the same time, another Byzantine squadron scored a significant victory at Naples. These victories were crucial to the restoration of Byzantine control over

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 future Catepanate of Italy), compensating to an extent for the effective loss of Sicily following the fall of

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

in 878.

References

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Biography

References

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Further reading