Commemoration of the Abbasid invasion of the Greek city of Thessaloniki.
The Abbasids entered eastern Europe and besieged Constantinople from the east and west in the most brilliant naval battle in history.
On this day
The Abbasids succeeded in conquering the Greek city of Thessaloniki, which was then the second largest Byzantine city, and Constantinople became besieged from the east and west.
The conquest was on Ramadan 13, 291 AH
Corresponding to the date 07/29/904 AD
the beginning
The seventeenth Abbasid Caliph, Ali al-Muktafi Billah, knew that his life would be short because he was suffering from celiac disease, so he made a plan to conquer the second greatest Byzantine city after the city of Constantinople, which was the city of Thessaloniki, meaning that this conquest was not in the Byzantine cities in Anatolia, but in their cities in Europe. This will make the invasion of Constantinople easy in the future, as Constantinople will be besieged from the east and west. The other reason for targeting the city of Thessaloniki is that the Byzantines imprisoned the Abbasid prisoners there. There were many reasons that made Thessaloniki a strategic target for the sake of destroying the Byzantine state.
Before invading and carrying out the trick
In the year 904 AD, 54 ships from the Abbasid fleet sailed from the city of Tripoli in the Levant. They were led by Commander Leo of Tripoli (Rashiq al-Wardami), and he was joined by ships from the island of Crete, which belonged to the Abbasid state at that time. The sailing route was targeting the capital of the Byzantine Empire, the city of Constantinople, so the Byzantines prepared. They made fortifications and preparations to protect their capital.
The Abbasid fleet sent a small naval force towards Constantinople as a camouflage. The Byzantines deterred this small force, only to discover that this force was merely a camouflage, as the Abbasid fleet had changed its course towards the second largest Byzantine city, the city of Thessaloniki in southern Europe, which is located today in Northern Greece.
Thessaloniki preparations
The Byzantines were surprised as a result of the Abbasid fleet changing course from Constantinople to Thessaloniki. The Byzantine navy was unable to respond in time, and the walls of the city of Thessaloniki, especially those towards the sea, were in poor condition, as they were low and vulnerable to any military threat.
The Byzantine Emperor Leo VI sent warning letters to Thessaloniki, and when the news reached the citizens of Thessaloniki, a state of panic prevailed in the city, as there was no time to repair the walls, so the commander of Thessaloniki, Petronas, devised an alternative strategy, which was to build an underwater fence that would protect the city by preventing... Abbasid ships from approaching the city walls.
But another commander appeared in Thessaloniki, Commander John Kamenetz, who gave orders that contradicted those of the first commander He ordered the construction of the water fence to be stopped and the city wall to be strengthened.
Fall of Thessaloniki
The two commanders in the city issued contradictory orders, one of the reasons that facilitated the fall of the city. The Abbasid fleet arrived quickly and began to besiege the city. The siege lasted only 4 days. After the end of the four days, the Abbasids attacked the city and were able to storm the sea walls. The Abbasid army clashed with the Byzantine army. Inside the city, the Abbasids won a crushing and quick victory over them, and the city was captured in 07/29/904 AD.
The Abbasids were able to release more than 4,000 prisoners, captured about 22,000 Byzantines, and also took 60 Byzantine ships. Most importantly, they tightened the noose on the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, which also became besieged from the western European side. This invasion is considered one of the worst disasters that ever occurred. It joined the Byzantine Empire
***** Sources:
1) John Kaminiates: The Capture of Thessaloniki
2) Alexander Vasiliev: Byzance et les Arabes. Tome II, 1re partie. La dynastie macédonienne (867-959)
3) Warren Treadgold: A History of the Byzantine State and Society
4) Tayeb El-Hibri: The Abbasid Caliphate: A History