Battle of Cephalonia

Last updated
Battle of Cephalonia
Part of the Arab–Byzantine wars
Byzantine-Arab naval struggle.svg
Map of the Arab–Byzantine naval conflict in the Mediterranean, 7th–11th centuries
Date880
Location
at or near Cephalonia, Greece
Result Byzantine victory
Belligerents
Byzantine Empire Aghlabids
Commanders and leaders
Nasar Unknown
Strength
Unknown; ships from the Imperial Fleet and troops from the Theme of the Peloponnese 60 "exceedingly large" ships
Casualties and losses
Unknown Very heavy

The Battle of Cephalonia was a naval battle fought between the Byzantine and Aghlabid fleets near Cephalonia, off the western coast of Greece. The battle was a major Byzantine victory, and one of the rare naval battles that took place during the night in the Middle Ages.

In 880, a fleet from the Aghlabid emirate of Ifriqiya sailed against the Byzantine Empire and raided the western coasts of Greece. John Skylitzes reports that it numbered sixty "exceedingly large" ships, and that it raided the Ionian Islands of Zakynthos and Cephalonia. When news of this raid reached the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, a fleet was dispatched to confront them, headed by the newly appointed droungarios of the Imperial Fleet, Nasar. [1] [2] Thanks to favourable wind, the fleet soon reached the port of Methone on the southern tip of Greece, but there was forced to halt, as many of the fleet's oarsmen had deserted in small groups out of fear of the impending battle. Nasar was therefore forced to tarry at Methone, where he brought his fleet back up to strength from the local troops of the theme of the Peloponnese. [3] In the meantime, Nasar informed Emperor Basil I of the events, and Basil was quickly able to capture the deserters. In order to restore discipline among the rest of the fleet, the Emperor then selected 30 Saracen prisoners of war, had their features obscured by soot, and had them publicly flogged in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, before sending them away, ostensibly to be executed at Methone. [2]

The Aghlabid fleet had also learned of the Byzantine fleet's reluctance to engage them, and had grown overconfident. The crews left their ships and pillaged the coasts heedlessly, so that when Nasar arrived with his fleet, they were caught unawares and were annihilated in a night attack. According to the report of Skylitzes, many perished on board their ships when they were set on fire. [4] As the historians John Pryor and Elizabeth Jeffreys write, Nasar's decision to attack at night was an "extremely bold" one, as darkness "made tactical manoeuvring impossible and outcomes unpredictable". Consequently, night battles at sea were very rare. [5] Following his victory, Nasar sailed to southern Italy to assist the army operating there under generals Prokopios and Leo Apostyppes. There he raided Sicily and scored another great victory over an Aghlabid fleet at the Battle of Stelai before returning to Constantinople. [1] [4]

Related Research Articles

The Battle of Lemnos in 1024 was the culmination of a raid by Kievan Rus' troops through the Dardanelles and into the Aegean Sea. It was the penultimate conflict between the Byzantine Empire and the Rus'.

Battle of Thessalonica (995)

The Battle of Thessalonica occurred in 995 or earlier, near the city of Thessalonica, Greece. The battle was part of the long Bulgarian–Byzantine war of the late 10th and early 11th centuries. The Bulgarians under their ruler, Tsar Samuil, succeeded in ambushing and destroying the Byzantine garrison of Thessalonica, killing its commander, Gregory Taronites, and capturing his son Ashot.

Battle of Kapetron Battle of the Byzantine–Seljuq wars, 1048

The Battle of Kapetron or Kapetrou was fought between a Byzantine-Georgian army and the Seljuq Turks at the plain of Kapetron in 1048. The event was the culmination of a major raid led by the Seljuq prince Ibrahim Inal into Byzantine-ruled Armenia. A combination of factors meant that the regular Byzantine forces were at a considerable numerical disadvantage against the Turks: the local thematic armies had been disbanded, while many of the professional troops had been diverted to the Balkans to face the revolt of Leo Tornikios. As a result, the Byzantine commanders, Aaron and Katakalon Kekaumenos, disagreed on how best to confront the invasion. Kekaumenos favoured an immediate and pre-emptive strike, while Aaron favoured a more cautious strategy until the arrival of reinforcements. Emperor Constantine IX chose the latter option and ordered his forces to adopt a passive stance, while requesting aid from the Georgian ruler Liparit IV. This allowed the Turks to ravage at will, notably leading to the sack and destruction of the great commercial centre of Artze.

Eustathios Daphnomeles was a Byzantine strategos and patrician who distinguished himself in the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria. He ranks as one of the most prominent and successful generals in the thirty-year war between Emperor Basil II and Samuel of Bulgaria, helping to end the long conflict by blinding and capturing the last Bulgarian leader, Ibatzes, in 1018.

Nasar, originally baptized Basil, was a distinguished Byzantine military leader in the Byzantine–Arab conflicts of the latter half of the 9th century.

Battle of Petroe

The Battle of Petroe, also known as the Battle of Hades, was fought on 20 August 1057 between two rival Byzantine armies: the loyalist forces of the Byzantine emperor Michael VI Stratiotikos under the proedros Theodore, and the supporters of the rebel general Isaac Komnenos.

Battle of Azaz (1030) Battle of the Arab–Byzantine wars

The Battle of Azaz was an engagement fought in August 1030 near the Syrian town of Azaz between the Byzantine army, led by Emperor Romanos III Argyros in person, and the forces of the Mirdasid Emirate of Aleppo, likewise under the personal command of Emir Shibl al-Dawla Nasr. The Mirdasids defeated the much larger Byzantine army and took great booty, even though they were eventually unable to capitalise on their victory.

Nikephoros Komnenos

Nikephoros Komnenos was a Byzantine military leader under the emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII. He served as governor of the Armenian region of Vaspurakan, and is one of the first known members of the Komnenos family, which came to rule the Byzantine Empire in 1081–1185.

Constantine Arianites was a Byzantine general active in the Balkans against the Pechenegs.

Michael Kourtikios was a senior Byzantine military commander and a partisan of Bardas Skleros during the latter's rebellion against Basil II.

Battle of Stelai

The Battle of Stelai was a naval battle fought in 880 between the Byzantine and Aghlabid fleets off the southern Italian peninsula. The battle was a major Byzantine victory. Its location is disputed, hence it is also known as the First Battle of Milazzo or the Battle of Punta Stilo in modern literature.

Siege of Ragusa (866–868)

The Siege of Ragusa by the Aghlabids of Ifriqiya lasted for fifteen months, beginning in 866 until the lifting of the siege at the approach of a Byzantine fleet in 868. The failure of the siege and the re-appearance of the Byzantines in the region of Dalmatia signalled the beginning of new aggressive western policy by the new Byzantine emperor, Basil I. Its immediate effects were the re-establishment of Byzantine authority there in the form of the Theme of Dalmatia, and the beginning of the Christianization of the Slavs of the western Balkans, but within a few years it led to renewed Byzantine involvement and presence in southern Italy as well.

Battle of Kardia

The Battle of Kardia was a naval battle fought in c. 872/3 between the fleets of the Byzantine Empire and the Cretan Saracens off Kardia, in the Gulf of Saros. The battle was a major Byzantine victory.

Photios was a Byzantine renegade and convert to Islam who served the Emirate of Crete as a naval commander in the 870s.

Abu ʿAmr Shuʿayb ibn ʿUmar ibn ʿIsā al-Balluti, also Saet or Saïpes (Σαΐπης) in the Byzantine sources, was the second Emir of Crete, ruling c. 855 – c. 880.

Siege of Euripos

The Siege of Euripos occurred in the mid-880s, when an Abbasid fleet, led by the emir of Tarsos, Yazaman al-Khadim, laid siege to the city. The local Byzantine commander, Oiniates, successfully defended the city and destroyed a large part of the besieging force.

Battle of the Gulf of Corinth

The Battle of the Gulf of Corinth was a battle fought in c. 873 between the fleets of the Byzantine Empire and the Cretan Saracens in the Gulf of Corinth. The Byzantines under Niketas Ooryphas managed to surprise the Saracens, resulting in a major Byzantine victory.

Battle of Milazzo (888)

The Battle of Milazzo was a naval battle fought in 888 between the Byzantine and Aghlabid fleets off northeastern Sicily. The battle was a major Aghlabid victory. It is sometimes known as the Second Battle of Milazzo, counting the Battle of Stelai as the First Battle of Milazzo.

Nikephoros Proteuon was a Byzantine governor and was briefly the candidate of a court faction to succeed Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos.

Aaron was a younger son of the last tsar of the First Bulgarian Empire, Ivan Vladislav. After the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria he entered Byzantine service along with his brothers, and held a series of higher military commands in the eastern provinces of the Byzantine Empire during the 1040s and 1050s, rising from patrikios to protoproedros in the process. In this capacity, he fought in the first battles against the invading Seljuq Turks, as well as, unsuccessfully, against the uprising in 1057 of his brother-in-law Isaac I Komnenos.

References

  1. 1 2 PmbZ, Nasar (#25490).
  2. 1 2 Wortley 2010, p. 149.
  3. Wortley 2010, pp. 149–150.
  4. 1 2 Wortley 2010, p. 150.
  5. Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 66.

Sources