The siege of Antioch (968–969) was a successful military offensive undertaken by leading commanders 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 ...

in order to reconquer the strategically important 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� ...

from the

Hamdanid Dynasty 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 ...

. Following a year of plunder in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, 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 included brilliant military exploits whi ...

, decided to return 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 (" ...

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

and installed

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, ...

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 Qarghuyah or Qarquya was an important Arab administrator in the Hamdanid Dynasty under Sayf al-Dawla, who would go on to control Aleppo himself and even sign the Treaty of Safar with the Byzantine Empire as the ruling emir of Aleppo. On January 7, ...

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

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

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