Battle of Raban
Battle of Raban | |||||||
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Part of the Arab–Byzantine Wars | |||||||
Map of the Arab-Byzantine frontier zone | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Byzantine Empire |
Emirate of Aleppo | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
John Tzimiskes Basil Lekapenos | Sayf al-Dawla |
The Battle of Raban was an engagement fought in autumn 958 near the fortress of
Background
In the period from 945 to 967, the
His main enemy during the first decade of continuous conflict with the Byzantines was the
Tzimiskes's raids and the battle of Raban
In spring 956, Sayf al-Dawla pre-empted Tzimiskes from a planned assault on Amida in the Jazira, and invaded Byzantine territory first. Tzimiskes then seized a pass in Sayf al-Dawla's rear, and attacked him during his return. The hard-fought battle, fought amidst torrential rainfall, resulted in a Muslim victory as Tzimiskes lost 4,000 men. At the same time, however, Leo Phokas invaded Syria and defeated and captured Sayf al-Dawla's cousin, whom he had left behind in his stead.[2][6] In 957, Nikephoros took and razed the fortress of Hadath, and in the next spring, Tzimiskes invaded the Jazira.[2][8] There, he captured the fortress of Dara, and scored a crushing victory near Amida over an army led by one of Sayf al-Dawla's favourite lieutenants, the Circassian Nadja. Of Nadja's 10,000 troops, Tzimiskes reportedly killed half and captured more than half of the survivors.[2][9]
Reinforced with more troops under the
Aftermath
The victory at Raban made clear that the Byzantines were gaining the upper hand over the Hamdanids. Their success also enabled them to retain control of Samosata, meaning that they had broken through the fortified frontier zone protecting northern Syria.[9][7] Nevertheless, the Hamdanid ruler was still in control of a potent military and capable of launching raids into Byzantine territory, until he suffered a catastrophic defeat in November 960 at the hands of Leo Phokas. Thereafter, Hamdanid military power was broken, Cilicia was annexed by the Byzantines in 964–965, and even Aleppo itself was captured briefly by the Byzantines in 962.[4][10]
References
- ^ Bianquis 1997, pp. 106–107; Kennedy 2004, pp. 276–278.
- ^ a b c d e f g Bianquis 1997, p. 107.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, p. 276.
- ^ a b c Kennedy 2004, p. 277.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, pp. 479–484, 489.
- ^ a b c Treadgold 1997, p. 492.
- ^ a b c d Shepard 2010, p. 151.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, pp. 492–493.
- ^ a b c Treadgold 1997, p. 493.
- ^ Bianquis 1997, pp. 107–108; Treadgold 1997, pp. 495–497, 500–501.
Sources
- ISBN 978-90-04-10422-8.
- ISBN 978-0-58-240525-7.
- Shepard, Jonathan (2010). "Raban, Battle of". In Rogers, Clifford (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, Volume 3. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 151–152. ISBN 978-0-19-533403-6.
- Treadgold, Warren (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2630-2.