List of sieges of Constantinople

Topographical map of Constantinople during the Byzantine period, corresponding to the modern-day Fatih district of Istanbul. The city was known as Byzantium under Roman Empire.

The following is a list of sieges of Constantinople, a historic city located in an area which is today part of Istanbul, Turkey. Constantinople was built on the land that links Europe to Asia through Bosporus and connects the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. As a transcontinental city within the Silk Road, Constantinople had a strategic value for many empires and kingdoms who tried to conquer it throughout history.

Originally known as Byzantium in classical antiquity, the first recorded siege of the city occurred in 510 BC by the Achaemenid Empire under the command of Otanes. Following this successful siege, the city fell under the rule of Persians until it won its independence again, and around 70 BC it became part of the Roman Republic, which was succeeded by the Roman Empire. Despite being part of Rome, it was a free city until it became under siege by Septimius Severus between 193–196 and was partially sacked during the civil war. After it was captured by Constantine the Great in 324, it became the capital of the Roman Empire, under the name of New Rome. It later became known as Constantinople, and in the years that followed it came under attack by both Byzantine pretenders fighting for the throne and also by foreign powers for a total of 22 times. The city remained under Byzantine rule until the Ottoman Empire took over as a result of the siege in 1453, known as the Fall of Constantinople, after which no other sieges took place.

Constantinople was besieged 36 times throughout its history. Out of the ten sieges that occurred during its time as a city-state and while it was under Roman rule, six were successful, three were repelled and one was lifted as a result of the agreement between the parties. Three of these sieges were carried out by the Romans who claimed the throne during civil war. Of all the sieges that took place from its founding by Constantine the Great till 1453, only three were successful, 21 were unsuccessful, and three were lifted by reaching mutual agreements. Four of these sieges took place during civil wars. The Sack of Constantinople that took place in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade caused the city to fall and to be established as the capital of the Latin Empire. It also sent the Byzantine imperial dynasty to exile, who founded the Empire of Nicaea. Constantinople came under Byzantine rule again in 1261 who ruled for nearly two centuries. The city was taken by the Ottomans with the siege in 1453, and as a result the Byzantine Empire came to an end. The city has been under the rule of Turks since the last siege, except for the period of Allied occupation from 1920 to 1923.

Sieges

Date Attackers Defenders Forces used Result Reference(s)
510 BC Achaemenid Empire Byzantium Naval and land Successful
478 BC Delian League Achaemenid Empire Naval Successful
408 BC Athens Byzantium, Megara, Boeotia Naval and land Successful
340–339 BC Macedonia Byzantium, Athens Naval and land Unsuccessful
278–277 BC Galatians Byzantium Land Lifted
251 BC Seleucid Empire Byzantium, Heraclea Pontica,
Ptolemaic Kingdom
Naval and land Unsuccessful
73–72 BC Pontus Byzantium Naval and land Unsuccessful
193–194 Septimius Severus Pescennius Niger Naval and land Successful
313 Maximinus II Licinius Land Successful
324 Constantine the Great Licinius Naval and land Successful
378 Goths Roman Empire Land Unsuccessful
626 Pannonian Avars, Sasanian Empire Byzantine Empire Naval and land Unsuccessful
654 Rashidun Caliphate Byzantine Empire Naval and land Unsuccessful
669 Umayyads Byzantine Empire Naval and land Unsuccessful
674–678 Umayyads Byzantine Empire Naval and land Unsuccessful
715 Theodosius III, Byzantine Empire Anastasios II, Byzantine Empire Naval and land Successful
717–718 Umayyads Byzantine Empire Naval and land Unsuccessful
813 First Bulgarian Empire Byzantine Empire Land Unsuccessful
821–822 Thomas the Slav Michael II Naval and land Unsuccessful
860 Rus' Khaganate Byzantine Empire Naval and land Unsuccessful
907 Kievan Rus' Byzantine Empire Naval and land Unsuccessful
913 First Bulgarian Empire Byzantine Empire Land Unsuccessful [citation needed]
921 First Bulgarian Empire Byzantine Empire Land Unsuccessful
923 First Bulgarian Empire Byzantine Empire Land Unsuccessful [citation needed]
941 Kievan Rus' Byzantine Empire Naval and land Unsuccessful
1047 Leo Tornikios Constantine IX Monomachos Land Unsuccessful
1203 Crusaders Byzantine Empire Naval and land Lifted
1204 Crusaders Byzantine Empire Naval and land Successful
1235–1236 Empire of Nicaea, Second Bulgarian Empire Latin Empire, Duchy of the Archipelago Naval and land Unsuccessful
1260-1261 Empire of Nicaea Latin Empire Naval and land successful
1376 Andronikos IV Palaiologos, Genoa John V Palaiologos Land Successful
1391 Ottoman Empire Byzantine Empire Naval and land Unsuccessful
1394–1402 Ottoman Empire Byzantine Empire Naval and land Unsuccessful
1411 Musa Çelebi Byzantine Empire Land Unsuccessful
1422 Ottoman Empire Byzantine Empire Land Unsuccessful
1453 Ottoman Empire Byzantine Empire Naval and land Successful

Footnotes

  1. ^ The "Result" column is relative to the side that carries out the siege.
  2. ^ As a result of the agreement reached with the mediator of Bithynia, the siege was lifted.
  3. ^ While some sources have used Cicero and Tacitus's writings as a reference to argue that the city was in fact under a siege until it "repelled the enemies", other ancient writings found mention that a siege was planned through the sea but did not take place because of stormy weather conditions.
  4. ^ Byzantine sources give 860 and Russian sources give 866 as the year in which this siege occurred, although it is accepted that the latter is wrong.
  5. ^ The besieging army retreated after Byzantine allies,the Hungarians attacked the Ottoman lands.
  6. ^ The year in which the siege started is controversial. Fahameddin Başar, Halil İnalcık and Konstantin Josef Jireček gave it as 1394, while Feridun Emecen and Haldun Eroğlu believed that it was 1396. In addition, some sources mention that the siege started in 1391 and ended in 1396, and that between these years, there was only one siege, the severity of which increased and decreased from time to time.
  7. ^ The siege was lifted after Timur attacked the Ottoman lands.
  8. ^ The siege was lifted after Mehmed Çelebi's move to Rumeli territory to fight against Musa Çelebi.
  9. ^ The siege was lifted after Mustafa Çelebi's move to Anatolian lands to fight against Murad II.

This page was last updated at 2024-02-22 21:52 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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