The siege of Antioch in 968–969 was a successful military offensive undertaken by leading commanders of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

in order to reconquer the strategically important city of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

from the

Hamdanid Dynasty The Hamdanid dynasty () was a Shia Muslim Arab dynasty that ruled modern day Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib tribe of Mesopotamia and Arabia. History Origin The Hamdanids hailed ...

. Following a year of plunder in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, the Byzantine Emperor,

Nikephoros II Phokas Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless greatly contributed to the resurgence of t ...

, decided to return to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

for the winter. Before leaving, however, he constructed the Bagras Fort near

and installed Michael Bourtzes as its commander, instructing him and Petros to lay siege to Antioch. Nikephoros explicitly forbade Bourtzes from taking Antioch by force in order to maintain the structural integrity of the city. Bourtzes, however, did not want to wait until winter to take the fortress. He also wanted to impress Nikephoros and earn himself glory, and so he entered into negotiations with the defenders seeking terms for surrender. At this point, Petros was engaged in a raid on the surrounding countryside with the Syrian commander 'Ayšalš, where he probably first entered into communications with Qarquya. Here it is possible that Bourtzes entered into an alliance with Aulax, the commander of the "Kallas" towers. Supposedly, Aulax, in exchange for gifts and prestige, assisted Bourtzes in transporting him, his commander Sachakios Brachamios, and 300 men on top of the Kallas towers during the night; upon ascending the towers, the Byzantines were able to gain a foothold in the outer defenses of the city. Bourtzes, now in control of the outer walls, sent a message to Petros recalling him to Antioch in order to take the city. At first, Petros was hesitant, remembering the emperor's orders not to take Antioch by force, but, as the requests from Bourtzes became more desperate and his men began to lose ground on the walls, he decided to return to Antioch to assist in taking the city. Petros approached the Kallas gates on 28 October, 969 and, upon witnessing his impending attack, the Antiochenes retreated and were defeated. Following the capture of Antioch, Bourtzes was removed from his position by Nikephoros due to his disobedience, and would go on to assist in a plot which would end in Nikephoros' assassination, while Petros would move deeper into Syrian territory, besieging and taking

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

itself and establishing the Byzantine Tributary of Aleppo through the Treaty of Safar.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Antioch (968-969) 960s conflicts 968 969 Antioch (968-969) Wars involving the Byzantine Empire Hamdanid emirate of Aleppo 960s in the Byzantine Empire Medieval Antioch Arab–Byzantine wars 10th century in the Byzantine Empire Antioch 968 Sieges of Antioch