The siege of Thessalonica in 676–678 was an attempt by the local
Slavic tribes
This is a list of Slavic peoples and Slavic tribes reported in Late Antiquity and in the Middle Ages, that is, before the year AD 1500.
Ancestors
*Proto-Indo-Europeans (Proto-Indo-European speakers)
** Proto-Balto-Slavs (common ancestors of B ...
to capture the
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 ...
city of
Thessalonica
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
, taking advantage of the preoccupation of the Byzantine Empire with the repulsion of the
First Arab Siege of Constantinople
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
. The events of the siege are described in the second book of the ''
Miracles of Saint Demetrius
The ''Miracles of Saint Demetrius'' ( la, Miracula Sancti Demetrii) is a 7th-century collection of homilies, written in Greek, accounting the miracles performed by the patron saint of Thessalonica, Saint Demetrius. It is a unique work for the ...
''.
Background
In the reign of
Justinian I
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
(),
Slavic tribes
This is a list of Slavic peoples and Slavic tribes reported in Late Antiquity and in the Middle Ages, that is, before the year AD 1500.
Ancestors
*Proto-Indo-Europeans (Proto-Indo-European speakers)
** Proto-Balto-Slavs (common ancestors of B ...
(''
Sclaveni
The ' (in Latin) or ' (various forms in Greek, see below) were early Slavic tribes that raided, invaded and settled the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages and eventually became the progenitors of modern South Slavs. They were mentioned by early Byz ...
'') had already appeared on the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
frontier 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 ...
. Over the next few decades, they raided into
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
and
Illyricum, while at times serving as mercenaries in the Byzantine army. From the 560s, the Slav communities came under the control of the newly established
Avar Khaganate
The Pannonian Avars () were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in chronicles of Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai ( el, Βαρχονίτες, Varchonítes), or Pseudo-Avars ...
. Raids became larger and resulted in permanent settlement, especially as the Avars were able to capture fortified cities, leading to loss of imperial control over the surrounding areas. While the Byzantines were
preoccupied in the East against the Persians, the 580s saw ever deeper and more destructive raids in the Balkans, even into southern Greece. The same period saw the start of large-scale Slavic settlement in the Balkan hinterland. After making peace with Persia, Emperor
Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
was able to launch a
series of counterattacks that drove the Avars and their Slavic allies back, but the respite was short-lived: following the usurpation of
Phocas
Phocas ( la, Focas; grc-gre, Φωκάς, Phōkás; 5475 October 610) was Eastern Roman emperor from 602 to 610. Initially, a middle-ranking officer in the Eastern Roman army, Phocas rose to prominence as a spokesman for dissatisfied soldiers ...
in 602, and the start of another, and even more catastrophic,
war with Persia, the Balkans were left nearly defenseless, and the Danube frontier collapsed once more, overrun by the Avars and Slavic tribes, who settled across the region.
By the 610s, the city of
Thessalonica
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
was surrounded by large Slavic settlements, being reduced to itself within its wall, according to historian
John Van Antwerp Fine
John V. A. Fine Jr. (born 1939) is an American historian and author. He is professor of Balkan and Byzantine history at the University of Michigan and has written several books on the subject.
Early life and education
He was born in 1939 and grew ...
, to "virtually a Roman island in a Slavic sea". The first book of the ''
Miracles of Saint Demetrius
The ''Miracles of Saint Demetrius'' ( la, Miracula Sancti Demetrii) is a 7th-century collection of homilies, written in Greek, accounting the miracles performed by the patron saint of Thessalonica, Saint Demetrius. It is a unique work for the ...
'' records the attempts by the Slavs to capture the city in that time, first an unsuccessful attack by the Slavic leader
Chatzon Chatzon ( el, Χάτζων) or, in some modern Slavic studies, Hacon (Хацон), was a Slavic chieftain (έξαρχος Σκλαβίνων, "exarch of the Sclaveni" in the Greek sources) who, according to Book II of the ''Miracles of Saint Demetr ...
in , followed by an
unsuccessful siege by the Avars and Slavs in 617. By the middle of the 7th century, more cohesive Slavic coalitions (''
Sclaviniae
The ' (in Latin) or ' (various forms in Greek, see below) were early Slavic tribes that raided, invaded and settled the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages and eventually became the progenitors of modern South Slavs. They were mentioned by early Byz ...
'') had been established in the former Roman Balkans. The only imperial reaction came in 658, when Emperor
Constans II
Constans II ( grc-gre, Κώνστας, Kōnstas; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), nicknamed "the Bearded" ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος, ho Pōgōnãtos), was the Eastern Roman emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last ...
campaigned in
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
, brought many ''Sclaviniae'' under imperial control, and
relocated many Slavs to
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 ...
.
Immediate cause of the siege
The second book of the ''Miracles of Saint Demetrius'' names
Perboundos Perbundos ( el, Περβοῦνδος, ''Perboundos'') was a 7th-century king of the Rhynchinoi, a Slavic group in Macedonia. In ca. 675 he was taken prisoner by the Byzantine Empire due to his hostile intentions towards Thessalonica, and transpor ...
, the "king of the
Rhynchinoi The Rhynchines or Rhynchinoi ( el, Ῥυγχίνοι) were a South Slavic (Sklavenoi) tribe in the region of southern Macedonia in the 7th century. According to Traian Stoianovich, they were Slavic or Avaro-Slavic, and their name probably derives ...
", as a powerful ruler, who was sufficiently assimilated to be able to speak Greek, had relations with Thessalonica to the point of maintaining a residence there, and even dressed in the Byzantine style. According to the ''Miracles'', the peace existing between the Slavs and the Byzantines ended when the—unnamed—Byzantine eparch of Thessalonica was informed that Perboundos planned to move against the city. The eparch reported this to the
Byzantine emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
, who ordered his arrest. After informing the city elders, the eparch had Perboundos arrested during his stay in the city, put in irons and sent to the Byzantine capital,
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 (" ...
.
The Rhynchinoi, along with a Slavic tribe living in the neighbouring
Strymon valley, the
Strymonitai, were greatly upset by Perboundos' arrest. At their request, a joint delegation including Thessalonian envoys went to Constantinople to intercede on his behalf—a unique event, according to Byzantinist
Paul Lemerle
Paul Lemerle (; 22 April 1903 – 17 July 1989) was a French Byzantinist, born in Paris.
Biography
Lemerle taught at the ''École française d'Athènes'' (1931–1941), at the ''Faculté des Lettres'' of the University of Burgundy at Dijon (1942 ...
, that illustrates the surprisingly close and amicable relationship between the Byzantine city and its "
barbarian
A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either Civilization, uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by som ...
" neighbours. The phrasing of the ''Miracles'' makes clear that Perboundos was guilty of some transgression, since the embassy was sent to request clemency but not exoneration. The emperor, who was in the midst of extensive preparations for a
war with the Arabs, promised to set Perboundos free once the war was over. The envoys were apparently satisfied with this, and returned home; the agitation among the Slavs subsided for the moment. Subsequent events proved the eparch's suspicions well-founded. Perboundos managed to escape with the aid of an imperial translator charged with affairs concerning the Slavic tribes. A large-scale manhunt was launched against Perboundos, and fears of an imminent Slavic move on Thessalonica led the emperor to send a swift
dromon
A dromon (from Greek δρόμων, ''dromōn'', "runner") was a type of galley and the most important warship of the Byzantine navy from the 5th to 12th centuries AD, when they were succeeded by Italian-style galleys. It was developed from the an ...
to warn the city and instruct its leaders to take precautions and stockpile food in case of a siege. After forty days Perboundos was found hiding on the translator's estate near
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 Institu ...
. The translator was executed, but Perboundos was returned to confinement in Constantinople, as before. After another failed attempt to escape, he publicly proclaimed his intention of raising all the Slavic tribes in revolt and seizing Thessalonica. Following his confession, he was executed.
Slavic uprising and siege
On receiving news of Perboundos' execution, the Rhynchinoi rose in revolt,
[The time between the execution and the uprising is unknown, but may have been several months. ] soon joined by the Strymonitai and another neighbouring tribe, the
Sagoudatai The Sagudates ( el, Σαγουδάται, ''Sagoudatai'') were a South Slavic tribe that lived in Macedonia region, in the area between Thessaloniki and Veria.
History
The Sagudates were first attested in a Byzantine document of 686 as allies o ...
. Many other Slavic tribes, however, did not join the revolt, and some, like the
Belegezitai, proved willing to assist the Roman side.
Blockade and famine in Thessalonica
This Slavic league blockaded Thessalonica by land and raided its environs, with each tribe being assigned a specific area: the Strymonitai attacked from the east and north, the Rhynchinoi from the south, and the Sagoudatai from the west. Three or four raids were launched each day, both on land and at sea, for two years; all livestock was carried off, agriculture ceased, and maritime traffic was stopped. Anyone who ventured from the
city walls was likely to be killed or captured. The historian
Florin Curta
Florin Curta (born January 15, 1965) is a Romanian-born American archaeologist and historian who is a Professor of Medieval History and Archaeology at the University of Florida.
Biography
Curta works in the field of the Balkan history and is ...
comments that the Slavs "appear as better organized than in any of the preceding sieges, with an army of special units of archers and warriors armed with slings, spears, shields, and swords".
The city could expect little assistance from the emperor, who in the face of the Arab threat could not spare any troops. The situation was made worse by the city's authorities, who allowed the grain hoarded in the granaries, following the emperor's instructions, to be sold to foreign ships in the harbour, at a rate of a ''
nomisma
''Nomisma'' ( el, νόμισμα) was the ancient Greek word for "money" and is derived from nomos (νόμος) anything assigned, a usage, custom, law, ordinance".The King James Version New Testament Greek Lexicon; Strong's Number:3546
The te ...
'' for seven ''
modii'', just one day before the start of the blockade. The anonymous author of the ''Miracles'' is highly critical of the commercial and civic elites for their greed and short-sightedness, which led to the rapid onset of famine inside the city. Exacerbated by a lack of water, the famine caused great suffering among the inhabitants, described at length in the text of the ''Miracles''.
The situation became so bad that many Thessalonians defected to the besiegers, who in turn, fearful of so many Byzantines among them sold them on as slaves to other Slavic tribes of the Balkan interior; and only after some of these slaves escaped, bringing word of their sufferings to Thessalonica, did the defections cease. In the same context, but in passing, the author mentions the betrayal of a part of the Slavs to the north of the city, who, while appearing to trade with the city, slaughtered "the flower of our most valorous fellow citizens". The exact meaning of this passage is unclear; it may indicate a failed military operation by the besieged, or the massacre of a group of defectors who tried to return to the city, but it also indicates that at least a part of the besiegers (probably, based on their location, belonging to the Strymonitai) maintained relations with the city, and that the blockade was not entirely impenetrable.
Arrival of the Byzantine squadron and the great Slavic assault
Some relief was provided by the arrival of a squadron of ten armed transports, all that the emperor could spare, as he was engaged "in the other war" with the Arabs. However, according to the author of the ''Miracles'', the sailors took advantage of the Thessalonians, and sold them the grain they had brought at highly inflated prices, while the authorities used them as manpower to seek out any hidden caches of grain in the city. The new arrivals were not sufficient to prevent the Slavs from operating freely in the city's environs; anyone who ventured outside the city walls, by land or sea, seeking food was in danger of attack. As a result, an assembly of the citizens and the local council decided to send the ten vessels, along with whatever watercraft could be found in the city, manned by the most vigorous citizens, to obtain food from the Belegezitai, who were living at the shores of the
Pagasetic Gulf
The Pagasetic Gulf ( el, Παγασητικός κόλπος, Pagasitikós kólpos) is a rounded gulf (max. depth 102 metres) in the Magnesia regional unit (east central Greece) that is formed by the Mount Pelion peninsula. It is connected with ...
in
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
.
Their absence was noted and the Slavs decided to exploit the absence of so many defenders to assault the city. They asked the assistance of the
Drougoubitai The Drougoubitai, also Drogobitai or Dragobitai ( gr, Δρο ο ῖται/Δραγοβῖται), variously anglicized as Drugubites, Drogubites, Druguvites, Draguvites etc., were a South Slavic group (''Sclaveni'') who settled in the Balkans i ...
, a large tribe, or confederation of tribes, living northwest of Thessalonica, who possessed the knowledge of making
siege engines
A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while other ...
. The extent of the participation of the Drougoubitai in the siege is unclear; according to Lemerle, they likely provided only the engines and perhaps their crews. Thus reinforced, the Slavs launched their decisive attack on 25 July "of the fifth
indiction
An indiction ( la, indictio, impost) was a periodic reassessment of taxation in the Roman Empire which took place every fifteen years. In Late Antiquity, this 15-year cycle began to be used to date documents and it continued to be used for this p ...
" (677).
According to the account of the ''Miracles'', the first miraculous intervention of
Saint Demetrius caused the Strymonitai to halt and turn back once they were three miles from the city walls; the reasons for this defection are unknown, but it effectively left only the Rhynchinoi and the Sagoudatai to carry the brunt of the fighting. Due to the
hagiographic
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
nature of the ''Miracles'', and the use of common
literary topoi
In classical Greek rhetoric, topos, ''pl.'' topoi, (from grc, τόπος "place", elliptical for grc, τόπος κοινός ''tópos koinós'', 'common place'), in Latin ''locus'' (from ''locus communis''), refers to a method for developing ar ...
, gleaning details about the fighting from the account is difficult; certainly the siege engines provided by the Drougoubitai are not mentioned as playing any particular role in the events. Over three days, from 25 until 27 July, the Slavs launched attacks on the city walls but were repelled by the defenders, with the aid, according to the ''Miracles'', of Saint Demetrius himself, who intervened numerous times to repel the assaults. Most notably he is recorded as appearing in person, on foot and bearing a cudgel, to repel an attack by the Drougoubitai against a
postern
A postern is a secondary door or gate in a fortification such as a city wall or castle curtain wall. Posterns were often located in a concealed location which allowed the occupants to come and go inconspicuously. In the event of a siege, a postern ...
at a place called Arktos—an event which some modern commentators have interpreted as indicating that the Slavs penetrated into the city. On the evening of the 27th, the Slavs abandoned the assault and withdrew, taking their fallen with them, but abandoning the siege engines, which were taken by the Thessalonians into the city. A few days later, the expedition sent to Thessaly returned, laden with wheat and dried vegetables.
Imperial expedition and end of the blockade
Despite the failure of the assault and the successful replenishment of the city's food supply, the Slavs continued with their blockade and raids, setting up ambushes around the city, but their pressure on the city itself relaxed somewhat. Their attention now shifted to the sea, and launched raids against seaborne merchant traffic, using not only the customary primitive
monoxyla
A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek – ''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (t ...
, but actual ships, capable of sailing in the high seas. With these they raided across the northern Aegean, even penetrating the
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
and reaching the
Prokonnesos
Marmara Island ( ) is a Turkish island in the Sea of Marmara. With an area of it is the largest island in the Sea of Marmara and is the second largest island of Turkey after Gökçeada (older name in Turkish: ; el, Ίμβρος, links=no ''I ...
in the
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...
.
This lasted until the emperor, free from other concerns, ordered his army to advance against the Slavs (only the Strymonitai are mentioned by name henceforth) through Thrace. Lemerle remarks on the surprising absence of similar orders to the navy, given the recent piratical activity of the Slavs, but considers that the expedition was aimed at resolving the problem at its root, striking at the habitats of the tribes responsible. The Strymonitai, who received news of the emperor's intentions, had enough time to prepare their defence, occupying passes and other strategic positions and calling upon other tribes for aid. Nevertheless, they were decisively defeated by the imperial troops and forced to flee; even the settlements close to Thessalonica were abandoned, as the Slavs sought refuge towards the interior. The famished Thessalonians, including unarmed women and children, took the opportunity of pillaging the nearby Slavic settlements for food. The emperor also sent a grain fleet under strong escort by warships, carrying 60,000 measures of wheat for the city, in what Lemerle considers an eloquent testament of renewed ability of the Byzantine central government to intervene decisively in the Balkans after the Arab danger had passed. Following this, the Slavs requested peace negotiations, the outcome of which is not mentioned.
Questions of chronology
The ''Miracles'' mention no specific date other than the "fifth indiction", leading to speculation by modern scholars as to the timing of these events. Some scholars followed the proposal of the nineteenth-century Austrian historian T. L. Tafel, who placed the events in 634, but the then reigning emperor,
Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...
() was not in Constantinople, nor had the conflict with the Arabs begun.
Hélène Antoniades-Bibicou and Halina Evert-Kappesova suggested a different reconstruction, with the arrest of Perboundos occurring in 644, followed by the two-year siege of Thessalonica, with the great Slavic assault on the "fifth indiction" in 647, followed by an imperial campaign against the Strymonitai in 648/649.
Charles Diehl
Charles Diehl (; 19 January 1859 – 1 November 1944) was a French historian born in Strasbourg. He was a leading authority on Byzantine art and history.
Biography
He received his education at the École Normale Supérieure, and later taught cl ...
and others identified the latter with Constans II's campaign in 657–658;
Henri Grégoire
Henri Jean-Baptiste Grégoire (; 4 December 1750 – 28 May 1831), often referred to as the Abbé Grégoire, was a French Catholic priest, Constitutional bishop of Blois and a revolutionary leader. He was an ardent slavery abolitionist and sup ...
suggested 692 as the date of the general assault, but the Byzantines and Arabs were at peace in the years prior to then. Another theory, supported by
Francis Dvornik
Francis Dvornik (14 August 1893, Chomýž – 4 November 1975, Chomýž), in Czech František Dvorník, was a Catholic priest and academic. He is considered one of the leading twentieth-century experts on Slavic and Byzantine history, and on rela ...
and
Konstantin Jireček among others, identified the campaign at the end of the siege with the expedition launched by
Justinian II
Justinian II ( la, Iustinianus; gr, Ἰουστινιανός, Ioustinianós; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" ( la, Rhinotmetus; gr, ὁ Ῥινότμητος, ho Rhinótmētos), was the last Eastern Roman emperor of the H ...
() in 687/688, when the emperor led in person a campaign through Thrace and
Macedonia up to Thessalonica, thus restoring the overland connection between the latter and Constantinople. This would place the siege in the years 685–687, but once again, these years were a period of peace with the Arabs.
The chronology accepted today by most scholars is that established by Paul Lemerle in his critical edition of the ''Miracles'', which relies on a number of factors: the great time elapsed since the previous Slavic sieges, as inferred from the narrative, points to an exclusion of earlier dates; the emperor reigning during the siege was the same as that reigning when the account was compiled, which excludes Justinian II, since his arrival in person in Thessalonica would have been mentioned by the author; and the emperor's preoccupation with a conflict with the Arabs, which removes 662, when the Arabs were in peace with Byzantium due to the
First Fitna
The First Fitna ( ar, فتنة مقتل عثمان, fitnat maqtal ʻUthmān, strife/sedition of the killing of Uthman) was the first civil war in the Islamic community. It led to the overthrow of the Rashidun Caliphate and the establishment of ...
. This leaves 676/677, when the Byzantines under
Constantine IV
Constantine IV ( la, Constantinus; grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantînos; 650–685), called the Younger ( la, iunior; grc-gre, ὁ νέος, ho néos) and sometimes incorrectly the Bearded ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, Πωγων ...
() were confronted with the huge attack launched by the
Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
in 671/672, that culminated in the
Siege of Constantinople
The following is a list of sieges of Constantinople, a historic city located in an area which is today part of Istanbul, Turkey. The city was built on the land that links Europe to Asia through Bosporus and connects the Sea of Marmara and the ...
in 674–678, as the only "fifth indiction" that matches all the facts described in the source. The reconstructed chronology that Lemerle suggested places the arrest and execution of Perboundos sometime in early 676, with the Slavic alliance starting the siege in summer 676 and culminating in the great assault against Thessalonica in July 677. The imperial expedition against the Strymonitai, and the lifting of the siege, took place in summer 678, following the destruction of the Arab fleet and the end of the Arab threat to Constantinople.
Andreas Stratos
Andreas N. Stratos ( el, Ανδρέας Ν. Στράτος; 1905 – 30 August 1981) was a Greek lawyer, politician and historian. The son of Prime Minister of Greece Nikolaos Stratos, he was elected a member of the Hellenic Parliament continuously ...
proposes an even longer time-frame, with the Perboundos affair taking place sometime in 672–674, his execution taking place in 674/675, just as the Arab siege began in earnest, followed by the start of the Slavic attacks on Thessalonica in 675. In the rest, he too follows Lemerle's chronology.
Notes
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Thessalonica (676-678)
676
678
670s conflicts
670s in the Byzantine Empire
7th century in Greece
Medieval Thessalonica
Military history of Thessaloniki
Thessalonica 676
Thessalonica 676
South Slavic history