The siege of Aleppo was a siege of the

Hamdanid The Hamdanid dynasty ( ar, الحمدانيون, al-Ḥamdāniyyūn) was a Twelver Shia Arab dynasty of Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia and Eastern Ara ...

capital

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

by the army of the

Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, 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 ea ...

under

Manjutakin Manjutakin ( ar, منجوتكين) was a military slave (''ghulam'') of the Fatimid Caliph al-Aziz (). Of Turkic origin, he became one of the leading Fatimid generals under al-Aziz, fighting against the Hamdanids and the Byzantines in Syria. He r ...

from the spring of 994 to April 995. Manjutakin laid siege to the city over the winter, while the population of Aleppo starved and suffered from disease. In the spring of 995, the

emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

of Aleppo appealed for help from

Byzantine 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 ...

emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...

. The arrival of a Byzantine relief army under the emperor in April 995 compelled the Fatimid forces to give up the siege and retreat south.

Background

On 28 October 969, 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 ...

reconquered the city of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

after an eleven-month

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

. To give more strategic depth to the new possession, the Byzantine general

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

advanced on the

capital city of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

. After a 27-day siege, the Hamdanids surrendered in January 970 and agreed to become a Byzantine

client state A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...

in the

Treaty of Safar The Treaty of Safar put a formal end to the extended collapse of the Hamdanid Dynasty. It was signed in December 969/January 970 between the Byzantine ''stratopedarches'' Petros and the former minister of the Hamdanids and rebel, Qarquya. Followi ...

. At the same time, the

seized control of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

in 969 and adopted a policy of securing the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

as a

buffer state A buffer state is a country geographically lying between two rival or potentially hostile great powers. Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. A buffer state is sometimes a mutually agreed upon area lying between t ...

against a northeastern invasion of Egypt and to advance their claims to leadership over the

Muslim world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...

, replacing the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

. An immediate conflict between the Byzantine Empire and the Fatimids was avoided because each side saw the other as a useful ally against the Abbasids, and because the Fatimids had trouble establishing their dominance over Syria. By the 980s, the Fatimids had subdued most of Syria. The rationale for friendly relations between the Byzantines and Fatimids looked more untenable. For the Fatimids, Aleppo was a gateway for military operations against both the Abbasids to the east and the Byzantines to the north. For the Byzantines, retaining Aleppo as a buffer was vital to prevent the emergence of a strong Muslim state on its frontier that could directly threaten the Empire.

Prelude

In 992, the Fatimids broke a 987 truce with the Byzantines and launched an invasion of the Hamdanid and Byzantine territories in Syria, inflicting major damage on them. Byzantine emperor

sent the general Leo

Melissenos Melissenos ( el, Μελισσηνός), latinized Melissenus, feminine form Melissene (Μελισσηνή), latinized Melissena, was the name of a noble Byzantine family that flourished from the late 8th century on until the end of the Byzantine Emp ...

to reinforce the Byzantine defences and launched an abortive naval operation against Fatimid

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

in May 993. These actions did not prevent the Fatimids from amassing a force strong enough to conquer Aleppo.

Siege

As the Fatimids under general

laid siege to Aleppo in the spring of 994, the Byzantine '' doux''

Michael Bourtzes Michael Bourtzes ( el, Μιχαήλ Βούρτζης, Arabic: ''Miḥā’īl al-Burdjī''; ca. 930/35 – after 996) was a leading Byzantine general of the latter 10th century. He became notable for his capture of Antioch from the Arabs in 969, ...

led an army to relieve the city. He was defeated and his army destroyed at the

Battle of the Orontes The Battle of the Orontes was fought on 15 September 994 between the Byzantines and their Hamdanid allies under Michael Bourtzes against the forces of the Fatimid vizier of Damascus, the Turkish general Manjutakin. The battle was a Fatimid victo ...

on 15 September 994, with 5,000 Byzantine soldiers killed. In the aftermath, Manjutakin took over the fortress of

Azaz Azaz ( ar, أَعْزَاز, ʾAʿzāz) is a city in northwest Syria, roughly north-northwest of Aleppo. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Azaz had a population of 31,623 in the 2004 census.

and the lands around Aleppo. The Fatimids built a fortified village in front of Aleppo, replete with bazaars and baths, in which to quarter their soldiers for the winter. The population of Aleppo endured famine and disease as the months dragged on. The

of Aleppo appealed to Basil II for aid, warning that should Aleppo fall, Antioch would be next in line. Basil II was busy campaigning against the

Bulgarian Empire In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...

but recognized the importance of stability on the Byzantine eastern frontier. With a relief army in tow, he marched across

Anatolia 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 Antioch in sixteen days, arriving in April 995. As the emperor's army approached Aleppo, Manjutakin burned his camp and promptly abandoned the siege.

Aftermath

As the Fatimid army retreated south, desertions mounted and the civilian population suffered due to the depredations of the marauding soldiers. Basil II's army went on to restore the lands of the Hamdanids and mount a failed siege against

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

. He soon returned to

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 (" ...

by way of Antioch, leaving the eastern frontier with modestly increased Byzantine territories and with

Damian Dalassenos Damian Dalassenos ( el, Δαμιανός Δαλασσηνός; ca. 940 – 19 July 998) was a Byzantine aristocrat and the first known member of the Dalassenos noble family. He is known for his service as the military governor ('' doux'') of Antio ...

as the new ''doux'' of Antioch. The emperor rejected a suggestion from his brother

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

to annex Aleppo.

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Aleppo (994-995) 990s conflicts 990s in the Byzantine Empire 994 995 Aleppo 994-995 History of Aleppo Aleppo 994-995 Aleppo 994 Syria under the Fatimid Caliphate