Knowledge (XXG)

Siege of Patras (805 or 807)

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199: 260:. This was followed by 218 years of independent Slavic occupation in the Peloponnese, until around 804/5. The archaeological record on the other hand shows Patras to have remained in Byzantine control throughout the period, although it is possible that part of the population indeed immigrated to Italy. 332:
defeated the Peloponnesian Slavs, and that this victory, in the year 804/5 or 805/6, marked the end of "218 years" of Slavic occupation in the Peloponnese. Emperor Nikephoros I is then said to have rebuilt Patras by bringing back the descendants of its original inhabitants from Rhegion, and to have
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was not coming or was delayed — Constantine VII writes that he arrived three days after the siege had ended — but on his return to the city, his horse slipped and both he and the flag fell down. The inhabitants of Patras interpreted this as a sign that aid was near, and sallied forth against the
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himself on horseback. The Slavs panicked at the sudden assault and fled, abandoning the siege. As a punishment, Constantine VII records that the Slavs were thereafter obligated to maintain at their own cost all officials or envoys passing through Patras, relieving the
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Whatever the exact course of events in the early 9th century, the failure of the Slavic attack on Patras consolidated the recently re-established Byzantine control over the Peloponnese, and Nikephoros I's policies led to the successful re-Christianization and
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soon emerged between the Slavs and the remaining Byzantine strongholds, with the mainly agricultural Slavs trading with the Byzantine-held coastal towns. Further north, in the Greek mainland, by the turn of the 7th to 8th century smaller Slavic districts or
299:), to find out whether he was coming to their aid or not. The envoy had been instructed on his return to give a signal through a flag he carried: if help was on its way, he was to dip the flag, otherwise to hold it erect. The rider found out that the 218:, while in the interior, various Slavic groups established themselves. A large native Greek population probably also remained in the land, either mixed with the Slavs or in its own autonomous communities. As elsewhere, a mostly peaceful 410:, it was raised to a separate metropolis and came to enjoy great political and financial influence. Henceforth, the metropolitan of Patras rivalled with his former superior in Corinth over control of the other sees of the Peloponnese. 320:, or to 807, when an Arab ("Saracen") fleet is known to have reached southern Greece, although the Arab participation may well be the result of a later interpolation, mixing the real Slavic revolt with subsequent Arab raids. The 289:", looted the countryside and laid siege to Patras. The city held out for a while, but as food began growing short, the inhabitants gave thought to surrendering. First, however, they dispatched a rider to the direction of 333:
engaged in a large-scale resettlement and Christianization program for the peninsula, bringing in Greek colonists from Italy and Asia Minor. Nikephoros' resettlement program at least is also confirmed by the chronicler
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held out longer. They were eventually subdued and forced to pay heavy tribute, but retained their autonomy. These two tribes rose up again a century later, in 921. Again they were quickly subdued, this time by the
252:—a work of highly disputed accuracy and chronology, but an essential source for the period—to have been one of the cities abandoned c. 587/8 as a result of the Slavic depredations, its population fleeing to 352:
from Hellas, if this had not been done slightly earlier. According to this interpretation, the Slavic revolt and attack on Patras followed as a reaction a few years later, between 807 and 811.
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of the peninsula. The defence of Patras also secured the Byzantine Empire's main maritime road of communication with Italy and the West, as it opened up the shorter route through the
881: 348:
as implying a first recovery of Patras c. 805 as the result of Skleros' campaign, which was probably concurrent with the establishment of the Peloponnese as a
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Constantine VII gives no precise date for the attack, but it has been usually dated to around 805, when the city of Patras was "re-founded", according to the
233:, who received Byzantine titles and recognized some form of imperial suzerainty. Imperial authority across Greece was greatly restored by the campaign of the 146:
control over the Peloponnese peninsula after two centuries of Slavic occupation over its western half. It also marked the beginning of the ascendancy of the
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The successful repulsion of the siege through the "intervention" of Saint Andrew also marked the abrupt rise of the see of Patras to prominence: formerly a
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in 783, who ventured from Constantinople overland to Thessalonica and from there south to the Peloponnese, subduing the Slavs of those regions.
866: 842: 728: 664: 207: 818: 796: 777: 752: 891: 275: 53: 896: 768: 886: 901: 871: 211: 738: 876: 334: 270: 683:
Charanis, Peter (1950). "The Chronicle of Monemvasia and the Question of the Slavonic Settlements in Greece".
861: 248: 171: 407: 376: 369:, instead of the longer, more dangerous route around the Peloponnese that was exposed to Arab attacks. 310: 179: 147: 349: 237: 183:
and opened the way for large-scale penetration and settlement of the Balkan hinterland by various
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on the other hand does not mention any siege of the city. Instead, it records that an Armenian
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According to Constantine VII, the Slavs rose up again in the early 840s, but were defeated by
692: 392: 282:(r. 802–811) the Slavs of the Peloponnese made war on the Greek population with the aid of " 198: 159: 138:
fleet. The siege's failure, attributed to the miraculous intervention of the city's patron,
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The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century
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Charanis, Peter (1946). "Nicephorus I, The Savior of Greece from the Slavs (810 A.D.)".
717: 215: 395:, but managed to remain autonomous and retain their distinct identity until well into 855: 362: 828: 712: 396: 305: 279: 192: 139: 832: 742: 191:. Most of the region's cities were sacked or abandoned and only a few, including 184: 131: 127: 166:
collapsed in the early 7th century as a result of disastrous military ventures
225: 188: 68: 55: 403: 295: 234: 143: 102: 384: 380: 286: 283: 257: 108: 837:. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press. 657:
The Peloponnese from the 4th to the 8th century: Changes and continuity.
704: 659:] (in Greek). Athens: National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation. 329: 290: 163: 113: 340:
Some scholars have tried to reconcile the conflicting accounts of the
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emerged around the fringes of imperial territory, ruled by their own
175: 47: 43: 772:. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 1597–1598. 696: 246:, on the northwestern coast of the Peloponnese, is claimed by the 197: 135: 16:
Military campaign involving Slavic tribes and the Byzantine empire
653:Η Πελοπόννησος από τον 4ο ως τον 8ο αιώνα: Αλλαγές και συνέχεια 187:. The Slavs raided as far as southern Greece and the coasts of 174:
in the East, which forced the effective abandonment of the
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Constantine Porphyrogenitus: De Administrando Imperio
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In Greece, the eastern coasts of the Peloponnese and
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besieging Slavs, allegedly led by the city's patron
716: 787:Moravscik, Gyula; Jenkins, R.J.H., eds. (1967). 719:Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250 21: 8: 620:Moravscik & Jenkins (1967), pp. 233, 235 521:Moravscik & Jenkins (1967), pp. 229, 231 747:. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 195:, remained occupied and in imperial hands. 150:in the peninsula's ecclesiastical affairs. 202:Byzantine Greece in the 9th/10th centuries 126:in 805 or 807 was undertaken by the local 18: 811:Constantine Porphyrogenitus and His World 762:Gregory, Timothy E. (1991). "Patras". In 723:. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 337:, who puts it slightly later, in 810/1. 418: 508: 506: 379:. In the south, the two tribes of the 278:(r. 913–959), in the reign of Emperor 882:Sieges involving the Byzantine Empire 293:, the seat of the military governor ( 7: 210:remained in Byzantine hands as the 791:. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. 769:The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium 629:Curta (2006), pp. 115–116, 202–203 14: 834:The Making of Byzantium, 600–1025 500:Avramea (2012), pp. 157–158, 220 482:Avramea (2012), pp. 141–142, 220 276:Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos 268:According to Chapter 49 of the 142:, marked the consolidation of 134:, reportedly with aid from an 1: 678:. I, Part I. New York: 75–92. 512:Gregory (1991), pp. 1597–1598 867:800s in the Byzantine Empire 473:Charanis (1950), pp. 141–166 162:'s military position in the 813:. Oxford University Press. 691:. Washington, DC: 141–166. 638:Toynbee (1973), pp. 100–101 602:Avramea (2012), pp. 220–221 557:Curta (2006), p. 111 note 1 434:Whittow (1996), pp. 266–270 918: 566:Charanis (1946), pp. 81–83 539:Charanis (1946), pp. 83–84 491:Charanis (1946), pp. 80–81 452:Fine (1991), pp. 60–64, 79 575:Toynbee (1973), pp. 95–97 464:Curta (2006), pp. 114–115 443:Curta (2006), pp. 106–110 96: 26: 652: 346:De administrando imperio 335:Theophanes the Confessor 271:De administrando imperio 676:Byzantina-Metabyzantina 651:Avramea, Anna (2012). 425:Curta (2006), pp. 70–75 322:Chronicle of Monemvasia 318:Chronicle of Monemvasia 249:Chronicle of Monemvasia 593:Fine (1991), pp. 81–82 584:Fine (1991), pp. 80–81 203: 897:9th century in Greece 685:Dumbarton Oaks Papers 548:Toynbee (1973), p. 99 408:Metropolis of Corinth 377:Theoktistos Bryennios 201: 105:inhabitants of Patras 887:South Slavic history 739:Fine, John V. A. Jr. 611:Curta (2006), p. 112 530:Curta (2006), p. 111 168:against the Persians 148:Metropolis of Patras 902:Invasions of Greece 892:Arab–Byzantine wars 65: /  764:Kazhdan, Alexander 204: 111:of the Peloponnese 872:History of Patras 844:978-0-520-20496-6 730:978-0-521-81539-0 666:978-960-250-501-4 328:at Corinth named 120: 119: 116:fleet (uncertain) 92: 91: 88:Byzantine victory 69:38.250°N 21.733°E 909: 848: 824: 802: 783: 758: 734: 722: 708: 679: 670: 639: 636: 630: 627: 621: 618: 612: 609: 603: 600: 594: 591: 585: 582: 576: 573: 567: 564: 558: 555: 549: 546: 540: 537: 531: 528: 522: 519: 513: 510: 501: 498: 492: 489: 483: 480: 474: 471: 465: 462: 453: 450: 444: 441: 435: 432: 426: 423: 393:Krenites Arotras 313:of this burden. 160:Byzantine Empire 80: 79: 77: 76: 75: 70: 66: 63: 62: 61: 58: 28: 27: 19: 917: 916: 912: 911: 910: 908: 907: 906: 877:Medieval Achaea 852: 851: 845: 827: 821: 807:Toynbee, Arnold 805: 799: 786: 780: 761: 755: 737: 731: 711: 697:10.2307/1291076 682: 673: 667: 654: 650: 647: 642: 637: 633: 628: 624: 619: 615: 610: 606: 601: 597: 592: 588: 583: 579: 574: 570: 565: 561: 556: 552: 547: 543: 538: 534: 529: 525: 520: 516: 511: 504: 499: 495: 490: 486: 481: 477: 472: 468: 463: 456: 451: 447: 442: 438: 433: 429: 424: 420: 416: 367:Corinthian Gulf 358: 266: 264:Siege of Patras 156: 124:siege of Patras 112: 73: 71: 67: 64: 59: 56: 54: 52: 51: 50: 22:Siege of Patras 17: 12: 11: 5: 915: 913: 905: 904: 899: 894: 889: 884: 879: 874: 869: 864: 862:800s conflicts 854: 853: 850: 849: 843: 825: 819: 803: 797: 784: 778: 759: 753: 735: 729: 709: 680: 671: 665: 646: 643: 641: 640: 631: 622: 613: 604: 595: 586: 577: 568: 559: 550: 541: 532: 523: 514: 502: 493: 484: 475: 466: 454: 445: 436: 427: 417: 415: 412: 397:Frankish times 357: 354: 350:separate theme 265: 262: 208:Central Greece 155: 152: 130:tribes of the 118: 117: 106: 99: 98: 94: 93: 90: 89: 86: 82: 81: 74:38.250; 21.733 42: 40: 36: 35: 32: 24: 23: 15: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 914: 903: 900: 898: 895: 893: 890: 888: 885: 883: 880: 878: 875: 873: 870: 868: 865: 863: 860: 859: 857: 846: 840: 836: 835: 830: 829:Whittow, Mark 826: 822: 820:0-19-215253-X 816: 812: 808: 804: 800: 798:0-88402-021-5 794: 790: 785: 781: 779:0-19-504652-8 775: 771: 770: 765: 760: 756: 754:0-472-08149-7 750: 746: 745: 740: 736: 732: 726: 721: 720: 714: 713:Curta, Florin 710: 706: 702: 698: 694: 690: 686: 681: 677: 672: 668: 662: 658: 649: 648: 644: 635: 632: 626: 623: 617: 614: 608: 605: 599: 596: 590: 587: 581: 578: 572: 569: 563: 560: 554: 551: 545: 542: 536: 533: 527: 524: 518: 515: 509: 507: 503: 497: 494: 488: 485: 479: 476: 470: 467: 461: 459: 455: 449: 446: 440: 437: 431: 428: 422: 419: 413: 411: 409: 405: 400: 398: 394: 391: 386: 382: 378: 375: 370: 368: 364: 363:Hellenization 355: 353: 351: 347: 343: 338: 336: 331: 327: 323: 319: 314: 312: 307: 302: 298: 297: 292: 288: 285: 281: 277: 273: 272: 263: 261: 259: 255: 251: 250: 245: 241: 239: 236: 232: 228: 227: 221: 220:modus vivendi 217: 213: 209: 200: 196: 194: 190: 186: 185:Slavic tribes 182: 181: 177: 173: 169: 165: 161: 153: 151: 149: 145: 141: 137: 133: 129: 125: 115: 110: 107: 104: 101: 100: 95: 87: 84: 83: 78: 49: 45: 41: 38: 37: 33: 30: 29: 25: 20: 833: 810: 788: 767: 743: 718: 688: 684: 675: 656: 634: 625: 616: 607: 598: 589: 580: 571: 562: 553: 544: 535: 526: 517: 496: 487: 478: 469: 448: 439: 430: 421: 401: 389: 373: 371: 359: 345: 341: 339: 325: 321: 317: 315: 306:Saint Andrew 300: 294: 280:Nikephoros I 269: 267: 247: 242: 224: 219: 205: 193:Thessalonica 178: 157: 140:Saint Andrew 123: 121: 97:Belligerents 274:of Emperor 132:Peloponnese 72: / 856:Categories 414:References 238:Staurakios 226:sclaviniae 189:Asia Minor 154:Background 34:805 or 807 741:(1991) . 404:suffragan 390:strategos 374:strategos 356:Aftermath 342:Chronicle 326:strategos 311:local see 301:strategos 296:strategos 235:logothete 172:the Arabs 170:and then 144:Byzantine 103:Byzantine 831:(1996). 809:(1973). 715:(2006). 385:Melingoi 381:Ezeritai 344:and the 287:Saracens 258:Calabria 39:Location 766:(ed.). 705:1291076 645:Sources 406:of the 330:Skleros 291:Corinth 284:African 254:Rhegion 231:archons 164:Balkans 114:Saracen 60:21°44′E 57:38°15′N 841:  817:  795:  776:  751:  727:  703:  663:  244:Patras 216:Hellas 176:Danube 128:Slavic 85:Result 48:Greece 44:Patras 701:JSTOR 655:[ 212:theme 180:limes 109:Slavs 839:ISBN 815:ISBN 793:ISBN 774:ISBN 749:ISBN 725:ISBN 661:ISBN 383:and 158:The 136:Arab 122:The 31:Date 693:doi 256:in 214:of 858:: 699:. 687:. 505:^ 457:^ 399:. 46:, 847:. 823:. 801:. 782:. 757:. 733:. 707:. 695:: 689:V 669:.

Index

Patras
Greece
38°15′N 21°44′E / 38.250°N 21.733°E / 38.250; 21.733
Byzantine
Slavs
Saracen
Slavic
Peloponnese
Arab
Saint Andrew
Byzantine
Metropolis of Patras
Byzantine Empire
Balkans
against the Persians
the Arabs
Danube
limes
Slavic tribes
Asia Minor
Thessalonica

Central Greece
theme
Hellas
sclaviniae
archons
logothete
Staurakios
Patras

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