The sack of Thessalonica in 1185 by

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

of the Kingdom of Sicily was one of the worst disasters to befall 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 ...

in the 12th century.

Siege

David Komnenos David Komnenos ( el, Δαβίδ Κομνηνός) (c. 1184 – 1212) was one of the founders of the Empire of Trebizond and its joint ruler together with his brother Alexios until his death. At least two lead seals and an inscription found on a towe ...

, the governor of the city, had neglected to make sufficient preparations for the siege and even forbade sallies by the defenders to disrupt the Norman siege works. The Byzantine relief armies failed to coordinate their efforts, and only two forces, under Theodore Choumnos and John Maurozomes, actually came to the city's aid. In the event, the Normans undermined the city's eastern wall, opening a breach through which they entered the city. The conquest degenerated quickly into a full-scale massacre of the city's inhabitants, some 7,000 corpses being found afterwards. The siege is extensively chronicled by the city's archbishop,

Eustathius of Thessalonica Eustathius of Thessalonica (or Eustathios of Thessalonike; el, Εὐστάθιος Θεσσαλονίκης; c. 1115 – 1195/6) was a Byzantine Greek scholar and Archbishop of Thessalonica. He is most noted for his contemporary account of the ...

, who was present in the city during and after the siege.

Aftermath

The Normans occupied Thessalonica until mid-November, when, following their defeat at the

Battle of Demetritzes The Battle of Demetritzes in 1185 was fought between the Byzantine army and the Normans of the Kingdom of Sicily, who had recently sacked and captured the Byzantine Empire's second city, Thessalonica. It was a decisive Byzantine victory, which ...

, they evacuated it. Coming on the heels of the usurper Andronikos Komnenos's massacre of the Latins in

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 ( ...

in 1182, the massacre of the Thessalonians by the Normans deepened the rift between the Latins and the East. It also directly led to the deposition and execution of the unpopular Andronikos by the Latins and the rise to the throne of

Isaac II Angelos Isaac II Angelos or Angelus ( grc-gre, Ἰσαάκιος Κομνηνός Ἄγγελος, ; September 1156 – January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204. His father Andronikos Doukas Angelos was a ...

Sources

* * * 1185 in Europe 1180s in the Byzantine Empire Conflicts in 1185 Thessalonica 1185 Thessalonica 1185 Thessalonica 1185 Thessalonica 1185 Medieval Thessalonica Massacres in the Byzantine Empire Military history of Thessaloniki 12th century in the Kingdom of Sicily Looting {{Battle-stub λεηλάτησης της Θεσσαλονίκης