This was found in the peninsula of Cyzicus on the southern shore of the Sea of Marmara, where a raiding fleet under Fadhala ibn 'Ubayd wintered in 670 or 671. Yazid led several campaigns against the Byzantine Empire and in 670 participated in an attack on Constantinople. [Sunnan Abu Dawud, Volume No. "- Tareekh kamil Vol III, Page 231- events of Hijri 49. According to this camp, Yazid was a righteous man and he was promised salvation citing the Hadith about the conquest of Constantinople as evidence. Yazid reached as far as Chalcedon and took the important Byzantine center Amorion. The Arab land army in Asia Minor was also defeated by the Byzantines, forcing the Arabs to lift the siege. Immense resources were poured into the undertaking, including the creation of a huge fleet. [26][27][15][28] In fact, the "siege" of Constantinople was a series of engagements around the city, which may even be stretched to include Yazid's 669 attack. [41], The failure of the Arabs before Constantinople coincided with the increased activity of the Mardaites, a Christian group living in the mountains of Syria that resisted Muslim control and raided the lowlands. As reported by the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes the Confessor, the Arab attack was methodical: in 672–673 Arab fleets secured bases along the coasts of Asia Minor, and then proceeded to install a loose blockade around Constantinople. Translation: Aslam Abi Imran (ra) said: We went out on an expedition from Madina with the intent to attack Constantinople. The war lasted four years and was a tough battle for both sides. The siege left several traces in the legends of the nascent Muslim world, although it is conflated with accounts of another expedition against the city a few years previously, led by the future Caliph Yazid I. These defeats forced the Arabs to abandon the siege in 678. Siege of Constantinople (674–678). A [8] Nomination as caliph Just better. [18], The details of the clashes during the subsequent years around Constantinople are unclear, as Theophanes condenses the siege in his account of the first year, and the Arab chroniclers do not mention the siege at all but merely provide the names of leaders of unspecified expeditions into Byzantine territory. In fact, the "siege" of Constantinople was a series of engagements around the city, which may even be stretched to include Yazid's 669 attack. Muslim raids against the Cilician frontier zone and deep into Asia Minor began as early as 640, and continued under Mu'awiya, then governor of the Levant. Narrated AbuAyyub: AbuImran said: We went out on an expedition from Medina with the intention of (attacking) Constantinople. He ruled for three years from 680 until his death in 683. 90–95. 25 &Bidayah wan Nihayah, Vol 7, Pg No. Finally, the young Muslim navy scored a crushing victory over its Byzantine counterpart in the Battle of Phoenix in 655. "- Its garrison of 12,000 men was regularly rotated back to Syria, a small fleet was attached to it for defence and raiding, and the Arabs even sowed wheat and brought along animals to graze on the island. "At the time of attack on Constantinople, Yazid was drunk at home along with his drunkard friends. [6], In spring 669, after receiving additional troops, Fadhala entered Asia Minor and advanced as far as Chalcedon, on the Asian shore of the Bosporus across from the Byzantine capital, Constantinople. That is why one still need Aql (brain) and ‘Ilm (knowledge) before telling a lie. Mu'awiya and Uthman belonged to the wealthy Umayyad clan of the Quraysh tribe, a grouping of Meccan clans to which the Islamic prophet Muhammad and all the preceding caliphs belonged. ‘The Muslims first entered the Roman territories in 42 A.H. and they fought with them and killed a number of them.’ 2 According to Ibn Kathir, in his book al-Bidaya wal-Nihaya, Mu’awiya was the first to attack Constantinople, in the year 32 A.H. Sheikh Muhammad Khudri writes: ‘In the 4 Book of Jihad Hadith 2924 although volume 4 … The Arab sources on the other hand report that the Muslims crossed over into Europe and launched an unsuccessful attack on Constantinople itself, before returning to Syria. [19] It is only known that Abdallah ibn Qays and Fadhala ibn 'Ubayd raided Crete and wintered there in 675, while in the same year Malik ibn Abdallah led a raid into Asia Minor. Army was made ready to attack Constantinople under the command of Amir Yazid bin Muawiya. The Caliphate's division during this Second Muslim Civil War allowed Byzantium to achieve not only peace, but also a position of predominance on its eastern frontier. Armenia and Caucasian Iberia reverted for a time to Byzantine control, and Cyprus became a condominium between Byzantium and the Caliphate. Yazid reached Chalcedon and took the important Byzantine center Amorion. by Muhafzialislam (Abdullah Attari) with 23 reads. He announced in Makkah and Madinah that the Muslims were going to attack Constantinople, since the companions knew the Prophets tradition… In 54/674, they besieged Constantinople for the second time. [5] He also prophesied the first assault on Constantinople. Arab sources on the other hand report that the Muslims crossed over into Europe and launched an unsuccessful attack on Constantinople itself, before returning to Syria. It mentions how Constantine IV had ships driven (probably on wheels) across the Thracian Chersonese from the Aegean to the Sea of Marmara, a major undertaking for imperial navy ships and one which only makes sense if the Dardanelles was blocked by the Arabs at Cyzicus. It was witnessed by Umm Haram as foretold by Prophet Muhammad, and Yazid ibn Mu’awiya led the first attack on Constantinople in 52 AH. to attack Constantinople, as given in Al Isabaa fi marifati Sahabah. Mu'awiya dispatched another army, led by his son (and future Caliph) Yazid, to Fadala's aid. Had it fallen, the Empire's remaining provinces would have been unlikely to hold together, and would have become easy prey for the Arabs. As a result, the veracity of Theophanes's account has been questioned by recent scholarship, which places more emphasis on the Arabic and Syriac sources. So, this is the short history of attacks upon Constantinople before Yazid. The Arab historians Ibn Wadih and al-Tabari report that Yazid was dispatched by Mu'awiya with reinforcements to Constantinople in 676, and record that Abdallah ibn Qays led a campaign in 677, whose target is unknown. Thus the tomb was left in peace, and even became a site of veneration by the Byzantines, who prayed there in times of drought. Muhammad ibn Abdallah's fleet wintered at Smyrna, a fleet under a certain Qays (perhaps Abdallah ibn Qais) wintered in Lycia and Cilicia, and a third fleet, under Khalid, joined them later. Yazid I : biography 645 – 683 Historical evaluation Some scholars regard Yazid as a just, noble, religious and administratively efficient ruler and that his nomination by his father Muawiya as Caliph was proper. Muawiyah received information on the progress of the army and conveyed this new to Yazid who said "In this case I shall convene a function at home, joined by my fellow drunkards. Lilie, Ralph-Johannes (1976) (in German). On its way back to Syria, the Arab fleet was almost annihilated in a storm off Syllaion. As the Byzantine chronicler reports, "Every day there was a military engagement from morning until evening, between the outworks of the Golden Gate and the Kyklobion, with thrust and counter-thrust". The peace treaty, of a nominal 30-year duration, provided that the Caliph would pay an annual tribute of 3,000 nomismata, 50 horses and 50 slaves. Abd al-Rahman bin Khalid bin Walid was the leader of our group. 71–77; El-Cheikh (2004), pp. According to Muslim tradition, Constantine IV threatened to destroy his tomb, but the Caliph warned that if he did so, the Christians under Muslim rule would suffer. [53][54] The most prominent among them in later tradition is Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, one of the early companions (Anṣār) and standard-bearer of Muhammad, who died of illness before the city walls during the siege and was buried there. [14][15] Given the lack of any mention of such an assault in Byzantine sources, it is most probable that the Arab chroniclers—taking account of Yazid's presence and the fact that Chalcedon is a suburb of Constantinople—"upgraded" the attack on Chalcedon to an attack on the Byzantine capital itself. Accounts of what followed differ. As the Byzantine chronicler reports, "Every day there was a military engagement from morning until evening, between the outworks of the Golden Gate and the Kyklobion, with thrust and counter-thrust". Yazid (May Allah give him what he deserves, and May Allah be pleased with his Father Ameer Mua'wiya - Radhi Allahu Anhu) ... We went out on an expedition from Madina with the intent to attack Constantinople. Yazid participated in the attack of 52 A.H. Imam Badruddin 'Aini, noted Commentator of Sahih Bukhari, preferred this opinion and said that this opinion is to be preferred that Yazid participated in the 52 A.H.attack of Constantinople.Umdatul Qari, Vol 10, Kitab ul Jihad, Pg No. Therefore, the Syrian fabricator of this Hadith was Jahil and didn't know the history that Muslims had already attack Constantinople 7 times before Yazid was forcefully sent there. In 324 the ancient city of Byzantium became the new capital … So, this is the short history of attacks upon Constantinople before Yazid. [4][5][6] Following the murder of Caliph Uthman and the outbreak of the First Muslim Civil War, Arab attacks against Byzantium stopped. 90–91, Lilie (1976), pp. Following the disastrous Battle of Yarmouk in 636, the Byzantine Empire withdrew the bulk of its remaining forces from the Levant into Asia Minor, which was shielded from the Muslim expansion by the Taurus Mountains. Constantine's armament included siphon-bearing ships intended for the deployment of a newly developed incendiary substance, Greek fire. It was witnessed by Umm Haram as foretold by Prophet Muhammad, and Yazid ibn Mu’awiya led the first attack on Constantinople in 52 AH. According to the report of Theophanes, the Emperor Constantine IV (r. 661–685), upon learning of the Arab fleets' approach, began equipping his own fleet for war. He placed the year of the attack at 49 AH which corresponds to 669/70 AD thus corresponding with the dates given by chartophylax George. AbdurRahman ibn Khalid ibn al-Walid was the leader of the company. While the city was quickly recovered, the Arabs next attacked Carthage and Sicily in 669. 99–107; Treadgold (1997), pp. In fact, the "siege" of Constantinople was a series of engagements around the city, which may even be stretched to include Yazid's 669 attack. A peace treaty was signed soon after, and following the outbreak of another Muslim civil war, the Byzantines even experienced a period of ascendancy over the Caliphate. [Sunnan Abu Dawud, Volume No. [59][60] Henry Yule remarked with some surprise the accuracy of the account in Chinese sources, which even named the negotiator of the peace settlement as "Yenyo", or Ioannes Pitzigaudes, the unnamed envoy sent to Damascus in Edward Gibbon's account in which he mentions an augmentation of tributary payments a few years later due to the Umayyads facing some financial troubles. pp. No , he did not . Arab troops under Fadhala ibn 'Ubayd arrived too late to assist Saborios, who had died after falling from his horse, and they spent the winter in the Hexapolis around Melitene awaiting reinforcements. The Byzantine Empire ended up winning the first battle, yet they had good strategies. The siege left several traces in the legends of the nascent Muslim world, although it is conflated with accounts of another expedition against the city a few years previously, led by the future Caliph Yazid I. Under the rule of his father Amir Muawiya. At about the same time, the Muslim army in Asia Minor, under the command of Sufyan ibn 'Awf, was defeated by the Byzantine army under the generals Phloros, Petron and Cyprian, losing 30,000 men according to Theophanes. Finally, the Byzantines, under Emperor Constantine IV, managed to destroy the Arab navy using a new invention, the liquid incendiary substance known as Greek fire. Stratos, Andreas N. (1983). [66], On the other hand, the historian Marek Jankowiak argues that a major Arab siege did occur but that Theophanes (writing about 140 years after the events, based on an anonymous source itself written about 50 years after the events) misdated and garbled the events, and that the proper dating of the siege should be 667–669, with spring 668 for the major attack. The Arab attacks on Chalcedon were repelled, and the Arab army was decimated by famine and disease. 244. From 715 Maslama was the leading general in the plans of his brother, Caliph Sulayman, to conquer the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, as Sulayman himself was too ill to lead the campaign in person. [26], Constantinople was the nerve centre of the Byzantine state. 77–78; Treadgold (1997), p. 325; Mango & Scott (1997), pp. Two major Arab Muslims sieges and attacks were made on Constantinople in the seventh and the eighth centuries, first, in the time of Caliph Muawiya (R.A) and second in the time of Caliph Sulayman bin Abdul ... As went to Palestine, another led by Abu Ubaydah bin Jarrah and Yazid b. Abi Sufyan went to Syria. This was a far cry from previous centuries. This left the field open for the warriors of the nascent Rashidun Caliphate to complete their conquest of Syria, with Egypt too falling shortly after. [24][15] Throughout this period, overland raids into Asia Minor continued, and the Arab troops wintered on Byzantine soil. Imam At-Tabri says in his Tarikh On its way back to Syria, the Arab fleet was almost annihilated in a storm off Syllaion. 179) (This was first naval Attack … Read The first Attack on Constantinople from the story Yazid Ibn Mua'wiya: Innocent or Cursed? [16], The campaign of 669 clearly demonstrated to the Arabs the possibility of a direct strike at Constantinople, as well as the necessity of having a supply base in the region. [10] The undertaking was not haphazard, but followed a careful, phased approach: first the Muslims had to secure strongpoints and bases along the coast, and then, with Cyzicus as a base, Constantinople would be blockaded by land and sea and cut off from its agrarian hinterland, on which it depended for its food supply. The Byzantines attempted to obstruct the Arab plans with a naval attack on Egypt, but it was unsuccessful. [34][15][35], At the same time, the preoccupation with the Arab threat had reduced Byzantium's ability to respond to threats elsewhere: in Italy, the Lombards used the opportunity to conquer most of Calabria, including Tarentum and Brundisium, while in the Balkans, a coalition of Slavic tribes attacked the city of Thessalonica and launched seaborne raids in the Aegean, even penetrating into the Sea of Marmara. A 244. The Arab attacks on Chalcedon were repelled, and the Arab army was decimated by famine and disease. The latter, located midway between Syria and Constantinople, was converted into a forward supply base and centre for Muslim naval raids. It marked the culmination of Mu'awiya's campaign of attrition, pursued steadily since 661. Abd al-Rahman bin Khalid bin Walid was the leader of our group. Narrated AbuAyyub: AbuImran said: We went out on an expedition from Medina with the intention of (attacking) Constantinople. Muslims reached Constantinople in this attack and laid siege to it and Yazid was the commander on the behalf of his father." According to Howard-Johnston, "The blockade of Constantinople in the 670s is a myth which has been allowed to mask the very real success achieved by the Byzantines in the last decade of Mu'awiya’s caliphate, first by sea off Lycia and then on land, through an insurgency which, before long, aroused deep anxiety among the Arabs, conscious as they were that they had merely coated the Middle East with their power". The Syriac chroniclers also place the decisive battle and destruction of the Arab fleet by Greek fire in 674, during an Arab expedition on the coasts of Lycia and Cilicia, rather than Constantinople. His fleet, equipped with Greek fire, routed the Arab fleet. [25], In 674, the Arab fleet sailed from its bases in the eastern Aegean and entered the Sea of Marmara. This left the field open for the warriors of the nascent Rashidun Caliphate to complete their conquest of Syria, with Egypt too falling shortly after. [10][11][12] In 668, the Arabs sent aid to Saborios, strategos of the Armeniac Theme, who had rebelled and proclaimed himself emperor. [31], The narrative on the siege accepted by modern historians relies largely on Theophanes' account, while the Arab and Syriac sources do not mention any siege, but rather individual campaigns, some of which reached as far as Constantinople (the capture of an island named near the city is recorded for 673/674, and Yazid's 676 expedition is also said to have reached Constantinople). Yazid was born in Syria between 642 and 649. He was a brave man fond of […] [12] In 673, another Arab fleet, under Gunada ibn Abu Umayya, captured Tarsus in Cilicia, as well as Rhodes. [13] Throughout this period, overland raids into Asia Minor continued, and the Arab troops wintered on Byzantine soil. They based their plea on certain excuses like Hadith of Constantinople. [Sunnan Abu Dawud, Volume No. ‘The Muslims first entered the Roman territories in 42 A.H. and they fought with them and killed a number of them.’ 2 According to Ibn Kathir, in his book al-Bidaya wal-Nihaya, Mu’awiya was the first to attack Constantinople, in the year 32 A.H. Sheikh Muhammad Khudri writes: ‘In the Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. So, this is the short history of attacks upon Constantinople before Yazid. One of them is that the city if Caesar mentioned in the Hadith is not Constantinople, but Hims, which was the capital city of the Roman Empire in the era of the Prophet, as given in Fath Ul Bari. 369ff. This was followed by the landing of Byzantine forces in Syria in 677/678, which began the Mardaite uprising that threatened the Caliphate's grip on Syria enough to result in the peace agreement of 678/679. The saying was known to Muslim. Muawiya was forced to sign a treaty with the Byzantines in which he agreed to pay them an annual subsidy and Muslims historiographical work explained less about the Arab Muslims siege and attack on Constantinople but emphasized the reasons which forced them to fight against the Romans. Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (Arabic: يزيد بن معاوية بن أبي سفيان ‎, romanized: Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya ibn ʾAbī Sufyān ; 646 [b] – 11 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I , was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate . Siege of Constantinople (674–678) is similar to these military conflicts: Arab–Byzantine wars, Siege of Constantinople (717–718), Index of Byzantine Empire-related articles and more. These defeats forced the Arabs to abandon the siege in 678. She was a Christian, like most of her tribe. [16] It should also be noted that both Byzantine and Arab chroniclers record the siege as lasting for seven years instead of five. [13] The first maritime battle in Muslim history was in 28 AH in the rule of Mu’awiya.