19 September
After a siege lasting almost a month the Rashidun Arabs under Khalid ibn al-Walid capture Damascus from the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire). Continue reading “AD 634 – Siege of Damascus”
15 August
The Second Arab siege of Constantinople (717–718) was finally raised after a year of conflict. Continue reading “718 – Raising of the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople”
15 August
The Second Arab siege of Constantinople in 717–718 was a combined land and sea offensive by the Muslim Arabs of the Umayyad Caliphate against the capital city of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire), Constantinople. Continue reading “717 – Second Arab Siege of Constantinople begins”
15 August
The Battle of Yarmouk was a major battle between the army of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) and the Muslim Arab forces of the Rashidun Caliphate.
19 April
The Battle of Callinicum took place on this day in 531 AD, between the armies of the Byzantine Empire under Belisarius and the Sassanid Persians under Āzārethes. Continue reading “531 – Battle of Callinicum”
6 April
Mehmed II or Mohammed II (30 March 1432 – 3 May 1481), best known as Mehmed the Conqueror, was an Ottoman sultan who ruled first for a short time from August 1444 to September 1446, and later from February 1451 to May 1481. At the age of 21, he conquered Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and brought an end to the Eastern Roman Empire. Mehmed continued his conquests in Anatolia with its reunification and in Southeast Europe as far west as Bosnia. Mehmed is considered a hero in modern-day Turkey and parts of the wider Muslim world. Among other things, Istanbul’s Fatih district, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge and Fatih Mosque are named after him.
Continue reading “1453 – Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople”
10 December
Michael V (1015 – 24 August 1042) was Byzantine emperor for four months in 1041–1042, the nephew and successor of Michael IV and the adoptive son of his wife, the Empress Zoe. He was popularly called “the Caulker” (Kalaphates) in accordance with his father’s original occupation. Continue reading “1041 – Michael V succeeds to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire”
27 November
Maurice Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus 539 – 27 Nov 602 was Byzantine Emperor from 582 to 602. Maurice was murdered on this day in 602. It is said that the deposed emperor was forced to watch his six sons executed before he was beheaded himself. Empress Constantina and her three daughters were spared and sent to a monastery. Continue reading “602 – Emperor Maurice is executed”
