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[[File: Constantinople 2.jpg|300px|thumb|left| The reconstructed walls of Constantinople]]
The Arab siege of Constantinople in 717-718, (commonly known as the second Arab siege) is regarded as one of the most important battles in European history. This was the most determined effort by the Caliphs to conquer the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Leo III managed to defeat the besieging Muslims army and navy. This had the following important consequences it battle saved the successor state to the Roman Empire and allowed it was to continue in one form or for another for over 600 years. It ended the Arab campaign to conquer the Byzantines and helped to undermine the Umayyad Caliphate. Moreover, the Byzantine victory prevented the Muslims from entering Eastern Europe, therefore preventing the Islamization of the region. Finally, the siege also indirectly led to a religious revolution known as Iconoclasm.
====Background====
====The Siege of Constantinople====
[[File: Siege of Con Two.jpg|350px|thumb|left|A manuscript showing the Bulgars attacking the Arabs in 718]]
In Autumn 717 the Caliph Umar II ordered his brother Masalama to besiege Constantinople. He led an army of 80,000 and a fleet of some two hundred ships, mostly oared galleys.<ref> Davis, Paul K. "Constantinople: August 717–15 August 718" <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195143663/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0195143663&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=af9472455d3cb5895f9d3b9f349c6f4a 100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present]</i> (Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2001). pp. 99–102</ref> The Caliph personally directed the attack from Damascus. Leo III was an experienced soldier and he had strengthened the walls of the city and had stockpiled supplies. He ordered any civilian who did not have three years supply of food to leave the city. The Byzantine navy was able to keep the Bosporus open despite continued efforts of the Arab fleet to blockade the waterway and cut off the city from the Black Sea. The Christian navy had a secret weapon, and this was ‘Greek Fire.’ <ref> Davis, p. 100</ref> This was a flammable liquid that could be directed upon the enemy with devastating effects. The Byzantines used Greek Fire in a similar manner to a modern flamethrower.
This weapon allowed the Christian ships to destroy many Arab galleys. The Byzantines received regular supplies by sea, but the Arabs suffered great hardship, especially in winter. The Caliph sent reinforcements from Egypt. Despite many assaults, the Arabs could not breach the walls of Constantinople. Leo III then entered an alliance with the Bulgars, a Turkish people who had established a powerful kingdom on the borders of Byzantium.<ref>Davis, p. 101</ref> They agreed to attack the Arab forces besieging the capital of the Christian Empire, in return for payments of gold. In the summer of 718 AD, the Bulgars attacked the Arabs and destroyed a 5000-strong foraging party. The Umayyad forces were almost trapped between the walls of Constantinople and the Bulgars. The Caliph ordered a retreat from Constantinople but during this, the Bulgar Khan's forces massacred some 30,000 Muslim soldiers before they could board the ships. The Byzantine navy pursued the Muslim navy and destroyed many galleys, many more Muslim ships were lost in a storm.<ref>Davis, p. 101</ref>
[[File:Siege of con four.jpg|200px|thumb|left| A coin with the portrait of Leo III]]
The Byzantine Empire was to resist Muslim attacks until it's fall in 1453. It has been described as the bulwark of Europe by many historians. If the Arabs had succeeded in capturing the city, they could have conquered the Christian Empire and used it as the gateway into Europe. At this time Eastern Europe was largely tribal and pagan, but the Byzantine Church was slowly spreading its influence, especially in the Slav and the Bulgar realms. Eventually, the Byzantines secured the conversion of the peoples of the Balkans and later Russia. The Orthodox churches in Eastern Europe and Russia are the ‘daughter churches’ of the Byzantine Church.<ref>Meyendorff, John. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0913836907/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0913836907&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=54b9a005dc6c444f0ade105baf1f1862 The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church]</i> (Yonkers: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1982), p. 19</ref> Moreover, through the influence of the Greek Orthodox Church, the culture of Constantinople was transmitted throughout Eastern Europe and Russia. This is evident in the Cyrillic Alphabet and in the art of Eastern Europe in later centuries.
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However, if the Arabs had been able to capture Constantinople this would almost certainly not have occurred. Instead, the Caliphs armies would have eventually conquered many European territories and as in their other conquests, they would have spread their Muslim faith and Arab culture. It seems likely that Russia would also have embraced Islam. If the Arab army had captured Constantinople much of Eastern Europe and possibly Russia could have become part of the Muslim world.<ref>Meyendorff, p. 134</ref> The victory of Leo III prevented the Muslims from entering the Balkans for many centuries and when the Ottomans did, they found that Christianity was entrenched, so much so, that almost five centuries of Muslim rule did not lead to the region, becoming Islamized. For this reason, the defeat of the Arab siege was as significant as the Battles of Tours and Marathon in the history of Europe.
====Conclusion====
The failure of Umar II to capture the Christian metropolis of Constantinople was of immense historical significance. Because the Christian Emperor was able to withstand the Muslim army the future of the Byzantine Empire was secure, and it even expanded and was to survive until the 15th century. The defeat of the Umayyad’s also prevented the expansion of Islam into Eastern Europe at a time when the Slavs and other peoples could have been susceptible to the influence of Islam. Because Leo III had defeated the Muslims he kept them out of Eastern Europe for several hundred years and this allowed the region to become Orthodox Christian in faith and culture. The siege weakened the Umayyad dynasty in Damascus and contributed to their demise. Finally, Leo III interpreted his victory as divine approval for the doctrine of Iconoclasm, which convulsed the Empire for over a century.
====Suggested Readings====
* Kaldelis, Anthony, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0190625945/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0190625945&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=8b8e1285dfa849ad5f453fa35d1f89f6 A Cabinet of Byzantine Curiosities: Strange Tale of Surprising Facts from History's Most Orthodox Empire] (Oxford University Press, 2017)
* Hawting, G.R. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415240735/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0415240735&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=06d75c26844fff0201735e07b03465a7 The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate, AD 661–750]</i> (London, Rutledge, 2000)
* Haldon, John F. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/052131917X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=052131917X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6842a4ec7c5dd1b5d90fa5f0351fa77b Byzantium in the Seventh Century: The Transformation of a Culture]</i> (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1990)
* Meyendorff, John. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0913836907/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0913836907&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=54b9a005dc6c444f0ade105baf1f1862 The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church]</i> (Yonkers: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1982)
* Davis, Paul K. "Constantinople: August 717–15 August 718" <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195143663/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0195143663&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=af9472455d3cb5895f9d3b9f349c6f4a 100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present]</i> (Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2001)
====References====
