Byzantine–Arab Wars
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{{Infobox Military Conflict|
image=[[Image:Greekfire-madridskylitzes1.jpg|center|300px]]|
caption=[[Greek fire]], first used by the [[Byzantine Navy]] during the Byzantine-Arab Wars.|
conflict=Byzantine-Arab Wars|
partof=the [[Muslim conquests]]|
date=629-1054, 1169|
place=Palestine, Syria, Egypt, North Africa, Anatolia, Crete, Sicily|
result= Overall Arab gains, despite [[Byzantine-Arab Wars (780–1180)|Byzantine resurgence]]
|territory=[[Palestine]], [[Egypt]], [[North Africa]] and [[Sicily]] annexed by [[Arab]]s.|
combatant1=[[Byzantine Empire]],<ref name="Levies">The Empire's levies included [[Christian]] [[Armenia]]ns, [[Slavic peoples|Slavs]], and Arab [[Ghassanids]]
* "Ghassan." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 18 Oct. 2006 [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9036664]</ref><br />Arab [[Ghassanids]],<br />|
combatant2=[[Rashidun Caliphate]], <br />[[Umayyad|Umayyad Caliphate]] <br />[[Abbasid|Abbasid Caliphate]]|
commander1=|Byzantine emperor|
commander2=|[[Umayyad]] Caliphate then [[Abassid]] Caliphate|
strength1=|
strength2=|
casualties1=|
casualties2=|
}}
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{{Campaignbox Byzantine-Arab}}
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{{Campaignbox Campaigns of Khalid ibn Walid}}
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[[Image:Age-of-caliphs.png|300px|thumb|right|[[Bilad al-Sham|Sham]] region was just the start of Arab expansion. {{legend|#a1584e|Expansion under the Prophet Mohammad, 622-632}} {{legend|#ef9070|Expansion during the Patriarchal Caliphate, 632-661}} {{legend|#fad07d|Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661-750}}]]
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The '''Byzantine–Arab Wars''' were a series of wars between [[Arab Empire|Arab Caliphates]] and the [[Byzantine Empire]] between the 7th and 12th centuries AD. These started during the initial [[Muslim conquests]] under the [[Rashidun]] and [[Umayyad]] [[caliph]]s and continued in the form of an enduring border tussle until the beginning of the [[Crusades]]. As a result, the Byzantines, also called the [[Eastern Roman Empire|Romans]] ("[[Rûm]]" in [[Muslim]] historical chronicles; the Byzantine Empire was formerly the Eastern half of the [[Roman Empire]]), saw an extensive loss of territory.
The initial conflict lasted from 634 to 717, ending with the [[Siege of Constantinople (718)|Second Arab Siege of Constantinople]] that halted the rapid expansion of the Arab Empire into [[Asia Minor]]. Conflicts however continued between the 800s and 1169. The [[History of Islam in southern Italy|occupation of southern Italian territories]] by the [[Abbassid]] forces occurred in the 9th and 10th centuries. However, under the [[Macedonian dynasty]], the Byzantines recaptured territory in the [[Levant]] with the Byzantines armies' advance even threatening [[Jerusalem]] to the south. The [[Emirate]] of [[Aleppo]] and its neighbours became vassals of the Byzantines in the east, where the greatest threat was the Egyptian [[Fatimid]] kingdom, until the rise of the [[Seljuk dynasty]] reversed all gains and pushed [[Abbassid]] territorial gains deep into [[Anatolia]]. This resulted in the [[Byzantine emperor]] [[Alexios I Komnenos|Alexius I Comnenus']] request for military aid from [[Pope Urban II]] at the [[Council of Piacenza]]; one of the events often attributed as precursors to the [[First Crusade]].
==Opening conflict==
The Byzantine Empire, under the [[Emperor Heraclius]], had just come out from the exhausting [[Byzantine-Sassanid Wars]]. These wars drained both empires and are often cited as one of the reasons for their inability to withstand the Arab advance in the Middle East.<ref name="Read">[[Piers Paul Read]], ''The Templars''</ref><ref name="Europe245">''Europe: A History'', p 245. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1996. ISBN 0-19-820171-0</ref>.
Later Muslim sources gave extensive descriptions of The [[Battle of Tabouk]], supposedly having taken place in October AD 630 near [[Tabouk]] in present-day northwestern [[Saudi Arabia]], and involving the [[prophet]] [[Muhammad]] on the Muslim side and the Emperor Heraclius on the Byzantine side. However, contemporary Greek sources make no mention of such a battle. Greek sources do however mention the [[Battle of Mu'tah|Battle of Mu´tah]] fought in 629 to be the first battle between the two empires. Muslim sources also state that there was no fighting at the Battle of Tabouk. It was taken as a preemptive measure, supposed that a Byzantine army was preparing to invade Arabian peninsula. However, it proved to be a false alarm, since no such army was encountered.
The [[Rashidun]] [[Caliphs]] had just reconsolidated the [[Arabian Peninsula]] during the [[Ridda wars]] in the wake of the death of the [[Islam]]ic [[prophet]] [[Muhammad]] in 632.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://history-world.org/islam11.htm |title= Islam From The Beginning To 1300 |accessdate=2007-09-02 |format= |work=history-world.org }}</ref> The engagements started as conflicts with the Arab client states of the Byzantine and [[Sassanid]] empires; the [[Ghassanids]] and the [[Lakhmids]] of [[Al-Hirah]]. These conflicts soon turned into a full blown concurrent war with both empires resulting in the conquest of the [[Levant]] and [[Persia]] under the two Rashidun generals; [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]] and [[Amr ibn al-A'as]].
===Arab conquest of Roman Syria: 634–638===
{{main|Muslim conquest of Syria}} {{see|Khalid ibn al-Walid}}
In the Levant, the [[Rashidun army]] were engaged by a [[Byzantine army]] composed of Imperial troops as well as local levies.<ref name="Levies"/> The Roman Emperor [[Heraclius]] had fallen ill and was unable to lead his armies to resist the Arab conquests of [[Syria]] and [[Palestine]] in 634. [[Rashidun Caliphate]] forces [[Conquest of Damascus|conquered Damascus]] in 634 A.D under the command of [[Khalid ibn Walid]].<ref name="Britannica Syria"> "Syria." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 20 Oct. 2006 [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-29909]</ref> [[Monophysites]] and [[Jew]]s throughout [[Syria]] welcomed the Arab conquerors, as they were discontented with Byzantine persecution and taxation, and receptive to the lower taxes offered under the new regime.<ref name="Read"/> The Arabian tribes also had significant economic, cultural and familial ties with predominantly Arab citizens of the [[fertile crescent]].
{{long quotation|When Heraclius massed his troops against the Moslems and the Moslems heard that they were coming to meet them at [[Yarmouk River|al-Yarmuk]], the Moslems refunded to the inhabitants of [[Homs|Hims]] the karaj [tribute] they had taken from them saying, "We are too busy to support and protect you. Take care of yourselves." But the people of Hims replied, "We like your rule and justice far better than the state of oppression and tyranny in which we were. The army of Heraclius we shall indeed, with your 'amil's' help, repulse from the city." The Jews rose and said, "We swear by the [[Torah]], no governor of Heraclius shall enter the city of Hims unless we are first vanquished and exhausted!" Saying this, they closed the gates of the city and guarded them. The inhabitants of the other cities - Christian and Jew - that had capitulated to the Moslems, did the same, saying, "If Heraclius and his followers win over the Moslems we would return to our previous condition, otherwise we shall retain our present state so long as numbers are with the Moslems." When by Allah's help the "unbelievers" were defeated and the Moslems won, they opened the gates of their cities, went out with the singers and music players who began to play, and paid the kharaj."<ref>P. K. Hitti and F. C. Murgotten, ''Studies in History, Economics and Public Law'' LXVIII (New York, Columbia University Press,1916 and 1924), I, 207-211 [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/yarmuk.html] </ref>
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Following the Byzantine defeat in 636 at the [[Battle of Yarmouk]], Heraclius, while departing [[Antioch]] for [[Constantinople]], is recorded by [[Baladhuri]] as saying as he passed ad-D'arb: "Peace unto thee, O Syria, and what an excellent country this is for the enemy!"<ref>[[Internet History Sourcebooks Project|Medieval Sourcebook]]: [[Al-Baladhuri]]: [[Battle of Yarmouk|The Battle Of The Yarmuk]] (636) and After [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/yarmuk.html]</ref> In [[Constantinople]], the Emperor began to array his remaining forces for a defence of Egypt. In 638, the Arabs conquered [[Jerusalem]]. The local population of [[Jerusalem]] welcomed the conquerors into the city, which was surrendered by [[Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem|Patriarch]] [[Sophronius]] in the same year. As [[Steven Runciman]] describes the event:
{{long quotation|On a February day in the year AD 638, the Caliph Omar [Umar] entered Jerusalem along with a white camel which was ride by his slave. He was dressed in worn, filthy robes, and the army that followed him was rough and unkempt; but its discipline was perfect. At his side rode the [[Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem|Patriarch]] [[Sophronius]] as chief magistrate of the surrendered city. Omar rode straight to the site of the [[Temple of Solomon]], whence his friend Mahomet [Muhammed] had ascended into Heaven. Watching him stand there, the Patriarch remembered the words of [[Jesus|Christ]] and murmured through his tears: "Behold the abomination of desolation, spoken of by [[Daniel]] the prophet."<ref>[[Steven Runciman]], ''A History of the Crusades'' (Cambridge, 1953), i. 3. ISBN 052134770X</ref><ref name="Europe253">''Europe: A History'', p 253. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1996. ISBN 0-19-820171-0</ref>}}
===Arab conquests of North Africa: 639–717===
{{main|Muslim conquest of Egypt|Umayyad conquest of North Africa}}{{see|Amr ibn al-A'as|Uqba ibn Nafi}}
[[Antioch]] temporarily remained under Byzantine control, but by the time Heraclius died, much of the [[Aegyptus (Roman province)|Roman province of Egypt]] had been lost as well. With 4,000 [[Arabs]] under his command, Amr ibn al-As crossed into Egypt from [[Palestine]] in December 639. The Byzantine navy briefly won back [[Alexandria]] in 645, but recapitulated it in 646 shortly after the [[Battle of Nikiou]]. The local Christian [[Copts]] welcomed the Arabs just as the Monophysites did in Jerusalem.<ref name="Read"/> The loss of this lucrative province deprived the Byzantines of their valuable [[wheat]] supply, thereby causing [[bread]] shortages throughout the Byzantine Empire and in its soldiers' rations in the following decades.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tathakopoulos |first=Dionysios |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=Famine and Pestilence in the Late Roman and Early Byzantine Empire |origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate= |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |series= |date=2004 |year= |month= |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |location= |language= |isbn=0-7546-3021-8 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages=p.318 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote= }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Haldon |first=John F. |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=Warfare, state and society in the Byzantine world, 565-1204 |origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate= |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |series= |date= |year=1999 |month= |publisher=Routledge |location= |language= |isbn=1-8572-8494-1 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages=p.167 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote= }}</ref>
The Arabs took [[Cyprus]] in 643 and in the following year Caliph [[Uthman]] succeeded Caliph Umar after his death.<ref name="Europe245"/><ref name="Europe252">''Europe: A History'', p 252. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1996. ISBN 0-19-820171-0</ref> In 647, an [[Medina]]n army led by [[Abdallah ibn al-Sa’ad]] moved into the Byzantine [[Exarchate of Africa]]. [[Tripolitania]] was taken, followed by [[Sufetula]], {{convert|150|mi|km}} south of [[Carthage]]. Abdallah's booty-laden force returned to Egypt in 648.
[[Image:ByzantineDromon.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A [[Byzantine art|Byzantine fresco]] showing a [[dromon]]. Byzantium was the dominant sea-power of the 7th century.]]
Following a [[First Fitna|civil war]] in the Arab Empire the [[Umayyad Dynasty|Umayyads]] came to power under [[Muawiyah I]]. Under the Umayyads the [[Umayyad conquest of North Africa#First invasion|conquest of the remaining Byzantine territories in North Africa]] was completed and the Arabs were able to move across large parts of [[Maghreb]], entering into [[Hispania#Visigothic Hispania|Visigothic Spain]] through the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] under the command of the [[Berber people|Berber]] general [[Tariq ibn-Ziyad]].<ref name="Read"/>
The [[Byzantine navy]] was the primary naval power in [[Europe]] and the [[Mediterranean Sea]] at this time, with a formidable navy of 300 [[dromon]]s. In spite of the great battle in 655 off the [[Lycia]]n coast, where the Arabs destroyed 500 ships, Byzantium remained the dominant force in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] and the [[Black Sea]].<ref name="Europe"> ''Europe: A History''. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1996. ISBN 0-19-820171-0</ref> The Byzantine chronicler [[Theophanes the Confessor]] reported the loss of [[Rhodes]] while recounting the sale of the centuries-old remains of the [[Colossus of Rhodes|Colossus]] for scrap in 655, under Muawiya<ref name="Theophanes">''[[Theophanes the Confessor|The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor]]'', Oxford University Press, 1997.</ref> after securing of the control of Egypt, as any attempts to launch a fleet on the Mediterranean would have been threatened by Byzantine naval ports.
Muawiyah began consolidating the Arab territory from the [[Aral Sea]] to the western border of Egypt. He put a governor in place in Egypt at [[Cairo|al-Fustat]], and launched raids into [[Sicily]] in 652 and [[Anatolia]] in 663. Then from 665 to 689 a new North African campaign was carried out to protect Egypt "from flank attack by Byzantine [[Cyrene]]". An Arab army of 40,000 took [[Barca]], defeating 30,000 Byzantine.<ref name="Durant">[[Will Durant]], ''The History of Civilization: Part IV—The Age of Faith''. 1950. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671012002</ref>
A vanguard of 10,000 Arabs under [[Uqba ibn Nafi]] followed from [[Damascus]]. In 670, [[Kairouan]] in modern [[Tunisia]] was established as a base for further operations; Kairouan would become the capital of the Islamic province of [[Ifriqiya]], and one of the main Arabo-Islamic cultural centers in the [[Middle Ages]].<ref>[http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/caliphate/umTerritory.html/ The Islamic World to 1600: Umayyad Territorial Expansion].</ref> Then ibn Nafi "plunged into the heart of the country, traversed the wilderness in which his successors erected the splendid capitals of [[Fes, Morocco|Fes]] and [[Morocco]], and at length penetrated to the verge of the [[Atlantic]] and the [[Sahara|great desert]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Clark |first=Desmond J. |authorlink= |coauthors=Roland Anthony Oliver, J. D. Fage, A. D. Roberts |editor= |others= |title=The Cambridge History of Africa |origdate= |origyear=1975 |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate= |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |series= |date= |year= |month= |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location= |language= |isbn=0-5212-1592-7 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages=Page 637 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote= }}</ref> In his conquest of the [[Maghreb]], he took the coastal cities of [[Bugia]] and [[Tangier|Tingi]], overwhelming what had once been the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] province of [[Mauretania Tingitana]] where here he was finally halted.<ref name="Gibbon">Edward Gibbon, ''History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', [http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/g/gibbon/edward/g43d/chapter51.html Chapter 51.]</ref> As the historian Luis Garcia de Valdeavellano explains:
{{cquote|In their struggle against the Byzantines and the Berbers, the Arab chieftains had greatly extended their African dominions, and as early as the year 682 Uqba had reached the shores of the Atlantic, but he was unable to occupy Tangier, for he was forced to turn back toward the [[Atlas Mountains]] by a man who became known to history and legend as [[Julian, count of Ceuta|Count Julian]].<ref name="Valdeavellano">Luis Garcia de Valdeavellano, ''Historia de España''. 1968. Madrid: Alianza.
*Quotes translated from the Spanish by Helen R. Lane in ''Count Julian'' by [[Juan Goytisolo]]. 1974. New York: The Viking Press, Inc. ISBN 0-670-24407-4 [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0670244074]</ref>}}
Moreover, as Gibbon writes, "this Mahometan Alexander, who sighed for new worlds, was unable to preserve his recent conquests. By the universal defection of the Greeks and Africans he was recalled from the shores of the Atlantic." His forces were directed at putting down rebellions, and in one such battle he was surrounded by insurgents and killed. Then, the third governor of Africa, Zuheir, was overthrown by a powerful army, sent from Constantinople by [[Constantine IV]] for the relief of [[Carthage]].<ref name="Gibbon"/> Meanwhile, a [[Second Fitna|second Arab civil war]] was raging in [[Arabia]] and Syria resulting in a series of four caliphs between the death of Muawiyah in 680 and the ascension of [[Abd al-Malik]] in 685, and was ongoing until 692 with the death of the rebel leader.<ref>Karen Armstrong: ''Islam: A Short History''. New York, NY, USA: The Modern Library, 2002, 2004 ISBN 0-8129-6618-X</ref>
[[Image:Solidus-Justinian II-Christ b-sb1413.jpg|thumb|250px|Although Justinian II had a turbulent reign, his coinage still bore the traditional "<small>[[Pax Romana|PAX]]</small>", ''peace''.]]
The Saracen Wars of [[Justinian II]], last Emperor of the [[Heraclian Dynasty]], "reflected the general chaos of the age".<ref name="Europe245"/> After a successful campaign he made a truce with the Arabs, agreeing on joint possession of [[Armenia]], [[Caucasian Iberia|Iberia]] and [[Cyprus]]; however, by removing 12,000 [[Christian]] [[Mardaites]] from their native [[Lebanon]], he removed a major obstacle for the Arabs in Syria, and in 692, after the disastrous [[Battle of Sebastopolis]], the Muslims conquered all Armenia.<ref name="Justinian">[[1911 Encyclopedia Britannica]] [http://7.1911encyclopedia.org/Justinian_II_Rhinotmetus]</ref> Deposed in 695, with [[Carthage]] lost in 698, Justinian returned to power from 705-711.<ref name="Europe245"/> His second reign was marked by Arab victories in Asia Minor and civil unrest.<ref name="Justinian"/> Reportedy, he ordered his guards to execute the only unit that had not deserted him after one battle, to prevent their desertion in the next.<ref name="Europe245"/>
===Arab sieges of Constantinople===
{{main articles|First Arab siege of Constantinople|Second Arab siege of Constantinople}}
{{rquote|right|All roads lead to Rome.|Common Arab saying<ref> In this context, the saying applied to overcoming the might of the Romans and taking Nova Roma itself, being Constantinople.</ref>}}
In 674 the Umayyad Caliph Muawiyah I besieged [[Constantinople]] under [[Constantine IV]]. In this battle, the Umayyads were unable to breach the [[Theodosian Walls]] and blockaded the city along the River [[Bosporus]]. The approach of winter however forced the besiegers to withraw to an island {{convert|80|mi|km}} away.<ref name="Walls">''[http://www.ospreypublishing.com/title_detail.php/title=S759X~ser=FOR The Walls of Constantinople, AD 324–1453]'', [[Osprey Publishing]], ISBN 1-84176-759-X.</ref>
However, prior to the siege a [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] [[Christianity|Christian]] [[refugee]] named Kallinikos (Callinicus) of [[Baalbek|Heliopolis]] had recently invented for the Byzantine Empire a devastating new weapon that came to be known as "[[Greek fire]]".<ref name="Theophanes"/><ref name="Walls"/> At the [[Battle of Syllaeum]] in 677, the [[Byzantine navy]] used the weapon to decisively defeat the Umayyad navy in the [[Sea of Marmara]] and lift the siege in 678. Among those killed in the siege was Eyup, the standard bearer of Muhammed and the last of his companions; to Muslims today, his tomb is considered one of the holiest sites in Istanbul.<ref name="Walls"/> The Byzantine victory halted the Umayyad expansion into [[Europe]] for almost thirty years.
[[Image:Byzantijnse stadsmuren.JPG|thumb|300px|left|The [[Theodosian Walls]] of [[Constantinople]].]]
The initial conflict came to a close during the reigns of the Byzantine Emperor [[Leo III the Isaurian]] and the Umayyad Caliph [[Umar II|Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz]], after the [[Second Arab siege of Constantinople]] in (717-718), where the Arab ground forces, led by [[Maslama]],<ref name="Walls"/> were defeated by Constantinople's walls and the timely arrival of allied [[Bulgars|Bulgar]] forces even as the Umayyad naval fleet was defeated by Greek fire:
{{long quotation|"Maslama had drawn up the Muslims in a line (I had never seen one longer) with the many squadrons. Leo, the [[autocrat]] of [[Rûm]], sat on the tower of the gate of Constantinople with its towers. He drew up the foot soldiers in a long line between the wall and the sea opposite the Muslim shore. We showed arms in a thousand ships, light ships, big ships in which there were stores of [[History of Arab Egypt|Egyptian]] clothing, etc, and galleys with the fighting men… 'Umar and some of those from the ships were afraid to advance against the harbour mouth, fearing for their lives. When the Rum saw this, [[galley]]s and light ships came out of the harbour mouth against use and one of them went to the nearest Muslim ship, threw on it grapnels with chains and towed it with its crew into Constantinople. We lost heart."<ref name="Ibn Asakir">[[Ibn Asakir]], ''[[History of Damascus (book)|History of Damascus]]'' [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0041-977X%281959%2922%3A1%2F3%3C350%3ANAC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P&size=LARGE]</ref><ref name="Walls"/>
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== Later conflicts ==
{{main|Byzantine-Arab Wars (780 - 1180)|History of Islam in southern Italy|Macedonian dynasty}}
{{see also|Iconoclasm}}
The primary conflict ended with the siege of Constantinople in 718, and although later conflicts continued into the 11th century, the conquests of the Arabs began to retard. Arab attempts at taking [[Anatolia]] failed until the arrival of the [[Seljuk]]s.
=== Iconoclast controversy ===
Among the effects of the Byzantine-Arab Wars was the religious and civil unrest it stirred in the heart of [[Byzantium]]. The ''Iconomachia'', or "Wars of the [[Icon]]s", began when a 726 edict of Leo the Isaurian decreed the [[crucifix]] be replaced by a plain [[Cross]], sparking off the controversy of [[Iconoclasm]].<ref name="Europe245"/> Writings suggest that at least part of the reason for the removal may have been military reversals against the [[Muslims]] and the eruption of the volcanic island of [[Thera]],<ref name="thera">[http://www.decadevolcano.net/santorini/santorini_volcanism.htm Volcanism on Santorini / eruptive history]</ref> which Leo possibly viewed as evidence of the wrath of God brought on by [[Iconodule|Iconoduly]] in the Church.<ref name="Theophanes"/><ref name="wrathOfGod">According to accounts by [[Patriarch Nikephoros I of Constantinople|Patriarch Nikephoros]] and the chronicler [[Theophanes]]</ref> While fighting the Arabs, Leo had noticed the puritanical values of the Arabs that forbade representational religious art as [[idolatry]], and he believed the Byzantine Empire would receive successes by following their example.<ref name="Woods">[[Thomas Woods]], ''How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization'', (Washington, DC: Regenery, 2005), ISBN 0-89526-038-7</ref> "He saw no need to consult the church, and he appears to have been surprised by the depth of the popular opposition he encountered".<ref name="treadgold1">Warren Treadgold, ''A History of the Byzantine State and Society'', Stanford University Press, 1997, ISBN 0804726302</ref>
[[Image:Histamenon nomisma-Nicephorus II and Basil II-sb1776.jpg|thumb|left|260px|[[Nikephoros II]] and his stepson [[Basil II]]. Under the [[Macedonian dynasty|Makedonoi]], the Byzantine Empire became the strongest power in Europe, recovering territories lost in the war.]]
In 732, Leo launched a fleet to arrest [[Pope Gregory III]] for defying the edict and recover [[Ravenna]].<ref name="Europe273">''Europe: A History'', p273. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1996. ISBN 0-19-820171-0</ref> The ships sank en route in the [[Adriatic Sea]], but the strife was far from over.<ref name="Europe273"/> The controversy weakened the Byzantine Empire, and was a key factor in the schism between the [[Patriarch of Constantinople]] and the [[Bishop of Rome]].<ref name="Europe246">''Europe: A History'', p246. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1996. ISBN 0-19-820171-0</ref><ref name="Europe273"/>
Meanwhile between 750 and 770, Constantine launched a series of campaigns against the Arabs and Bulgars in an attempt to reverse so many losses.<ref>Haldon, John. Byzantium at War 600 - 1453. New York: Osprey, 2000. </ref>
[[Image:Byzantine Empire Themata-950.png|300px|thumb|right|The ''[[Theme (Byzantine administrative unit)|themata]]'', ''circa'' AD 950. Syria would be added by the end of the century, bringing the Empire to its greatest height since the war began.]]
Civil war occurred in the Byzantine Empire, often with Arab support. With the support of Caliph [[Al-Ma'mun]], Arabs under the leadership of [[Thomas the Slav]] invaded, so that within a matter of months, only two ''[[Theme (Byzantine administrative unit)|themata]]'' in Asia Minor remained loyal to Emperor [[Michael II]].<ref name="Thomas">{{cite book | author=John Julius Norwich| title=A Short History of Byzantium | publisher=Penguin | year=1998 | id=ISBN 0-14-025960-0}}</ref> When Thomas captured [[Thessalonica]], the Empire's second largest city, it was quickly re-captured by the Byzantines.<ref name="Thomas"/> Thomas's 821 siege of Constantinople did not get past the [[Walls of Constantinople|city walls]], and he was forced to retreat.<ref name="Thomas"/>
=== Asia Minor, Crete and Sicily ===
The Arabs did not relinquish their designs on Asia Minor and in 838 began another invasion, sacking the city of [[Amorion]].<ref>Haldon, John. Byzantium at War 600 - 1453. New York: Osprey, 2000.</ref> With internal Byzantine unity weakened, along with their ties to the West, Crete fell to the [[Saracens]] in 824, and Sicily was slowly lost over a 75-year period. Using [[Tunisia]] as their launching pad, the Arabs started by conquering Palermo in 831, [[Messina]] in 842, [[Enna]] in 859.
=== Byzantine resurgence ===
[[Image:Italy 1000 AD.svg|thumb|right|160px|Italy around 1000]]
However, religious peace came with the emergence of the [[Macedonian dynasty]] in 867, as well as a strong and unified Byzantine leadership;<ref name="Europe"/> while the [[Abassids]] empire had splintered into many factions. [[Basil I]] revived the Byzantine Empire into a regional power, during a period of territorial expansion, making the Empire the strongest power in [[Europe]], with an ecclesiastical policy marked by good relations with [[Papacy|Rome]]. Basil allied with the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis II]] against the Arabs, and his fleet cleared the [[Adriatic Sea]] from their raids. With Byzantine help, Louis II captured [[Bari]] from the Arabs in 871. The city became Byzantine territory in 876. However, the Byzantine position on [[Sicily]] deteriorated, and [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]] fell to the [[Emirate of Sicily]] in 878. Catania would be lost in 900, and finally the fortress of [[Taormina]] in 902. Sicily would remain under Arab control until the Norman invasion in 1071.
Although most of Sicily was lost, the general Nicephorus Phocas the Elder succeeded in taking [[Taranto]] and much of [[Calabria]] in 880. Crete was retaken by the Byantines in 960, and would be held until 1204, when it fell to the [[Venice]] during the [[Fourth Crusade]]. The successes in the [[Italian Peninsula]] opened a new period of Byzantine domination there. Above all, the Byzantines were beginning to establish a strong presence in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], and especially the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]].
[[Image:The seizure of Edessa in Syria by the Byzantine army and the Arabic counterattack from the Chronicle of John Skylitzes.jpg|thumb|left|320px|The Byzantine seizure of Edessa. The Byzantines were able to campaign far into Syria and subject some rulers as vassals, a clear sign of Byzantine resurgence.]]
After putting an end to the internal strife, [[Basil II]] launched a campaign against the Arabs in 995. The Byzantine civil wars had weakened the Empire's position in the east, and the gains of [[Nikephoros II Phokas]] and [[John I Tzimiskes]] came close to being lost, with [[Aleppo]] besieged and Antioch under threat. Basil won several battles in [[Syria]], relieving Aleppo, taking over the [[Orontes]] valley, and raiding further south. Although he did not have the force to drive into Palestine and reclaim [[Jerusalem]], his victories did restore much of [[Syria]] to the empire — including the larger city which was the seat of the [[Patriarch of Antioch]].<ref name="Read"/> No emperor since [[Heraclius]] had been able to hold these lands for any length of time, and the Empire would retain them for the next 75 years. [[Piers Paul Read]] writes that by 1025, Byzantine land "stretched from the [[Straits of Messina]] and the northern Adriatic in the west to the [[River Danube]] and [[Crimea]] in the north, and to the cities of Melitine and [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]] beyond the [[Euphrates]] in the east."<ref name="Read"/>
Under Basil II, the Byzantines established a swath of new [[Theme (Byzantine administrative unit)|''themata'']], stretching northeast from Aleppo (a Byzantine protectorate) to Manzikert. Under the Theme system of military and administrative government, the Byzantines could raise a force at least 200,000 strong, though in practice these were strategically placed throughout the Empire. With Basil's rule, the Byzantine Empire reached its greatest height in nearly five centuries, and indeed for the next four centuries.<ref name="Europe1237">See map depicting Byzantine territories from the 11th century on; ''Europe: A History'', p 1237. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1996. ISBN 0-19-820171-0</ref>
==Conclusion==
{{main|Second Crusade|Manuel I Komnenos}}
[[Image:Manuelcomnenus.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The [[Komnenos]] launched an invasion of Egypt.]]
The wars drew near to a closure when the [[Turkic peoples|Turks]] and various [[Mongols|Mongol invaders]] replaced the threat of either power. From the 11th and 12th centuries onwards, the Byzantine conflicts shifted into the [[Byzantine-Seljuk wars]] with the [[Seljuk Turks]]. After the defeat at the [[Battle of Manzikert]] by the Turks in 1071, the Byzantine Empire, with the help of Western [[Crusade]]rs, re-established its position in the [[Middle East]] as a superpower. Meanwhile, the major Arab conflicts were in the Crusades, and later against [[Mongolian Empire|Mongolian invasions]], especially that of the [[Golden Horde]] and [[Timur]].
[[Image:AntiochRamparts.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Fortifications of Antioch, 12th century. The city came under Byzantine protection during this time which gave the city a respite from direct Arab & Turk attack by Zenghi]]
During the [[Second Crusade]], [[Baldwin III of Jerusalem|Baldwin III]] [[Siege of Ascalon|seized Ascalon]] in 1153, and the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] was able to advance into Egypt and briefly occupy [[Cairo]] in the 1160s. The Emperor Manuel married [[Maria of Antioch]], cousin of the [[Crusade]]r King [[Amalric I of Jerusalem]], while Amalric married Manuel's grand-niece [[Maria Komnene, Queen consort of Jerusalem|Maria Komnene]]. In 1168 a formal alliance was negotiated by future Archbishop [[William of Tyre]], and in 1169 Manuel launched a joint expedition with Amalric to Egypt. Manuel's ambitious campaign was a dramatic demonstration of how powerful the Empire had become, involving a fleet of over 200 ships equipped with [[siege engine|siege weapons]] and Greek fire; William of Tyre was particularly impressed by the large transport ships used to transport the [[cataphract|cavalry forces]] of the [[Komnenian army]].<ref name=William>[[William of Tyre]], ''A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea''</ref> Manuel's wider strategy was to use the Latin Crusaders as a shield for the Empire, and his intervention in Egypt was because he believed control of Egypt would be the deciding factor of the [[Second Crusade]].<ref name=Angold>{{cite book | author=[[Michael Angold]]| title=The Byzantine Empire, 1025-1204 | publisher=Longman | year=1997 | id=ISBN 0-582-29468-1}}</ref> A successful conquest would have consolidated Crusader control in the [[Holy Land]], and restored the grain supply of the rich province to the Empire.
Furthermore, it would bind the Crusaders more closely to the Empire, a goal which Manuel would pursue with determination throughout his reign and which would be evident when King Amalric subsequently placed his whole kingdom under the protection of Manuel, effectively extending the agreement on Antioch by making the entire Kingdom of Jerusalem at least nominally part of the Empire. However, this was a personal arrangement, in the [[feudal]] tradition of [[Western Europe]], and as such only applied for as long as Manuel and Amalric were the rulers of their respective states.
[[Image:Byzantium1173.JPG|thumb|320px|right|The Byzantine Empire at the end of the wars, ''c.'' 1180.]]
The invasion could even have expected support from the native [[Coptic Christian]]s, who had lived under Islamic rule for over five hundred years. However, the failure of co-operation between the Crusaders and the Byzantines jeopardised the chances to take the province. The Byzantine fleet sailed only with provisions for three months: by the time the crusaders were ready, supplies were already running out, and eventually the fleet retired after an ineffectual attempt to capture [[Damietta]]. Each side sought to blame the other for failure, but both also knew that they depended on each other: the alliance was maintained, and further plans were made, which ultimately were to come to naught.<ref name=William />
Seljuk Sultan [[Kilij Arslan II]] used this time to eliminate his rivals and build up his power in [[Asia Minor]]. The balance of power in the eastern Mediterranean was changing, and the effects of Manuel's failure in Egypt would still be felt long after his death. The rise of [[Saladin]] was only made possible when, in 1171, he was proclaimed [[Sultan of Egypt]]; his uniting of Egypt and Syria would ultimately lead to the [[Third Crusade]]. Meanwhile, the Byzantine alliance ended with the death of Manuel I in 1180; Manuel would be the last Emperor truly sympathetic to the Crusades.<ref name="Castle">''[http://www.ospreypublishing.com/title_detail.php/title=S8278 Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1192–1302]'', [[Osprey Publishing]], ISBN 1841768278.</ref>
==Effects==
<!-- Alternative image: [[Image:Charlemagne and Pope Adrian I.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The Byzantine-Arab Wars provided the conditions that developed [[feudalism]] in [[Middle Ages|Medieval Europe]].]]-->
[[Image:Karl den store krons av leo III.jpg|thumb|right|220px|The Byzantine-Arab Wars provided the conditions that developed [[feudalism]] in [[Middle Ages|Medieval Europe]].]]
As with any war of such length, the drawn-out Byzantine-Arab Wars had long lasting effects for both the Byzantine Empire and the Arab states. The Byzantines experienced extensive territorial loss, while the Arabs gained strong control in the Middle East and Africa. The focus of the Byzantine Empire shifted from the western reconquests of Justinian to a primarily defensive position on its eastern borders. Without Byzantine interference in the emerging Christian states of medieval Europe, the situation gave a huge stimulus to [[feudalism]] and [[Medieval technology|economic self-sufficiency]].<ref name="Europe257">''Europe: A History'', p 257. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1996. ISBN 0-19-820171-0</ref>
Moreover, the view of modern historians is that one of the most important effects was the strain it put on the relationship between Rome and Byzantium. While fighting for survival against the Arabs, it was no longer able to provide the protection it had once offered to the Papacy; worse still, according to [[Thomas Woods]], the Emperors "routinely intervened in the life of the Church in areas lying clearly beyond the state's competence".<ref name="Woods"/> The Iconoclast controversy of the 8th and 9th centuries can be taken as a key factor "which drove the [[Roman Catholic Church|Latin Church]] into the arms of the [[Franks]]."<ref name="Europe246"/> Thus it has been argued that [[Charlemagne]] was an indirect product of [[Muhammad]]:
:"The [[Frankish Empire]] would probably never have existed without Islam, and Charlemagne without Mahomet would be inconceivable."<ref name="Pirenne">[[Henri Pirenne|Pirenne, Henri]]
*''Mediaeval Cities: Their Origins and the Rivival of Trade'' (Princeton, NJ, 1925). ISBN 0691007608
*See also ''Mohammed and Charlemagne'' (London 1939) Dover Publications (2001). ISBN 0-486-42011-6.</ref>
The [[Holy Roman Empire]] of Charlemagne's successors would later come to the aid of the Byzantines under Louis II and during the Crusades, but relations between the two empires would be strained; based on the ''[[Chronicon Salernitanum|Salerno Chronicle]]'', we know the Emperor Basil had sent an angry letter to his western counterpart, reprimanding him for usurping the title of emperor.<ref>Dolger F, ''Regesten der Kaiserurkunden des ostromischen Reiches''. I, p 59, №487. Berlin, 1924.</ref> He argued that the [[Francia|Frankish]] rulers were simple ''[[reges]]'', and that each nation has its own title for the ruler, whereas the imperial title suited only the ruler of the Eastern Romans, Basil himself.
==See also==
*[[Muslim conquests]]
*[[Aegyptus (Roman province)]]
*[[Muslim conquest of Egypt]]
*[[Muslim conquest of Syria]]
*[[Umayyad conquest of North Africa]]
*[[Battle of Tours]]
*[[Spread of Islam]]
==Bibliography==
* {{cite book
| author = Kaegi, W.E.
| year = 1995
| title = Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| isbn = 0-5214-8455-3
}}
* {{cite book
| author = Kennedy, Hugh N.
| year = 2001
| title = The Armies of the Caliphs: military and society in the early Islamic state
| publisher = Routledge
| isbn = 0-4152-5092-7
}}
* {{cite book
| author = Kennedy, Hugh N.
| year = 2006
| title = The Byzantine And Early Islamic Near East
| publisher = Ashgate Publishing
| isbn = 0-7546-5909-7
}}
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:7th century conflicts]]
[[Category:8th century conflicts]]
[[Category:9th century conflicts]]
[[Category:10th century conflicts]]
[[Category:11th century conflicts]]
[[Category:12th century conflicts]]
[[Category:History of North Africa]]
[[Category:History of Caucasus]]
[[Category:Islamic conquests]]
[[Category:Wars involving the Byzantine Empire]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Umayyad Caliphate]]
[[fr:Guerres entre Arabes et empire byzantin]]
[[nl:Byzantijns-Arabische oorlogen]]
[[ru:Арабо-византийские войны]]