List of Byzantine wars

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This is a list of the wars or external conflicts fought during the history of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire (395–1453). For internal conflicts see the list of Byzantine revolts and civil wars.

For conflicts of the Ancient Roman Kingdom, Republic and Empire see the:

List of Roman wars and battles
.


5th century and earlier

Main article:
List of Roman wars and battles

6th century

Justinian the Great, at its greatest extent since the fall of the Western Roman Empire (its vassals
in pink)

7th century

By 650 the Empire had lost all its southern provinces, except the Exarchate of Africa, to the Rashidun Caliphate. At the same time the Slavs invaded and settled in the Balkans. The losses continued in the next century

The Eastern Roman emperor Heraclius adopted the Greek language as official language in 610. Constantinople's territorial control shrunk to Greece and Anatolia, because of Persian, Avar and finally Arab invasions. Due to these changing circumstances, the reign of Heraclius is often regarded as the turning point from which historiography stops calling it the "Eastern Roman Empire", and starts speaking of the "Byzantine Empire".[1]

8th century

  • 708: War with Bulgaria ends in defeat at Anchialus.
  • 720–740 : Annual Arab raiding expeditions (ṣawā'if) against Byzantine Anatolia resume. Stiffening Byzantine resistance leads to the victory at Akroinon at 740.
  • 741–752: Campaigns of Constantine V against the Arabs, who were embroiled in civil war, leading to the recovery of all of Armenia and Cyprus.
  • 755–767: War with the
    Telets
    , leading to the conclusion of a favourable peace treaty in 767.
  • 772–775: War with the Bulgars under Telerig, launched as a pre-emptive strike by Constantine V.
  • 775–783: War with the
    Abbasids. After the death of Constantine V in 775, Arab raids resumed. After a heavy defeat at Germanicopolis in 779/780, the Abbasids launched a series of major invasions under Harun al-Rashid
    , which led to the conclusion of a truce in 783.
  • 780–783: Raids by the Bulgars under Kardam, leading to an agreement of non-aggression in exchange for annual payments.
  • 783: Expedition of
    Sclaviniae
    of Greece.
  • 791–792 and 796: Campaigns against the Bulgarians under Constantine VI end in defeat at the Battle of Marcellae.
  • 797–798: Large-scale invasion by Harun al-Rashid leads to the resumption of annual payments to the Caliphate in return for peace.

9th century

  • 803–809: War with the Abbasids, resulting from Nikephoros I's cessation of annual tribute payments. The Arabs under Harun al-Rashid achieved significant early successes, but the outbreak of a revolt in Khorasan facilitated a Byzantine counter-offensive in 807–809. A truce in 809 restored the territorial status quo.
  • 808–816: Wars with the Bulgars, beginning with the Bulgarian
    Krum of Bulgaria raided Eastern Thrace and secured a major victory at Versinikia. Following his death in 814, Leo V the Armenian defeated the Bulgars at Mesembria
    and secured a 30-year peace.
  • 827–902: Muslim conquest of Sicily.
  • 830–841: War with the Abbasids, with large-scale invasions launched by caliphs
    Battle of Dazimon and the sack of Amorium in 838, Emperor Theophilos
    was able to conclude a truce in 841 without territorial losses, although raids by the Muslim border emirates continued.
  • 830s: Rus' raid in Paphlagonia.
  • ca. 844–878: Wars with the
    Tephrike
    end with the destruction of the Paulician state and its incorporation into the Empire.
  • 851–863: War with the Abbasids and their clients. Successful Byzantine raids in Syria, Mesopotamia and Egypt are checked by a series of Muslim invasions of Anatolia in 860. Another invasion in 863 sees the complete annihilation of the Muslim army at the Battle of Lalakaon.
  • 860:
    Rus' raid
    against Constantinople.
  • 852, 855–856: Short wars with Bulgaria, ending in the recovery of several cities in northern Thrace.
  • 871–885: Campaigns led by Basil I in person against northern Mesopotamia (871–873) are followed by a series of expeditions against the Muslims in Sicily and Southern Italy. The final loss of Sicily could not be averted, but the Arabs are driven from Southern Italy and Dalmatia, laying the foundations of the Catepanate of Italy.
  • 894–896/897:
    Battle of Bulgarophygon
    . The Byzantines agree to pay tribute and restore the market for Bulgarian goods to Constantinople.

10th century

11th century

12th century

13th century

14th century

15th century

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "zevende eeuw". Encarta Encyclopedie Winkler Prins (in Dutch). Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum. 2002.
  2. ^ Ziemann, Daniel. (2019) Das erste Bulgarische Reich: Eine frühmittelalterliche Großmacht zwischen Byzanz und dem Abendland. In: Handbuch zur Geschichte Südosteuropas v. 1, p. 601-638.

Sources

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