The Capture of Thessaloniki in 904
Thessaloniki, one of the largest cities of the Byzantine empire in the early tenth century, was captured and pillaged in 904 by a Muslim force led by Leo of Tripoli. The following account of the short siege comes from John Kaminiates, who was captured and taken as a prisoner with his father and brothers. He wrote a letter to Gregory of Kappadokia while he was in captivity, concluding it around the end of September 905. Prior to this section, John Kaminiates gives a detailed description of Thessaloniki and its defences, then reveals that information has come to the city that a naval force under Leo of Tripoli (numbered at fifty-four large galleys by other sources) has turned away from an attack on Constantinople and is headed to his city. Preparations are quickly made, with one person named Petronas leading the efforts to strengthen the harbour defences. He was constructing an underwater barrier, known as porporella, which Kaminiates believed would have been able to fend off the attack, but when the military command was taken over by a strategos named Leo Chitzilakes, this plan was abandoned in favour of raising the sea walls. A second strategos named Niketas was also sent by Emperor Leo VI to Thessaloniki, but in a tragic incident, when he met Leo Chitzilakes they were both on horseback and Leo's mount unexpectedly threw the rider off, seriously injuring Leo and leaving him unable to be of any use for the upcoming siege. The account given below begins while Kaminiates describes the prayers that were being undertaken to ask for protection of the city.
Chapter 23: While
we were thus exerting ourselves in vain, someone arrived with the news that the
ships of the barbarians were already nearing the neck of land described as the
'Jetty.' This occurred at daybreak on Sunday the 29th of July in the six
thousand four hundred and twelfth year of the Creation of the World (AD 904).
The report spread like wildfire through the city and there was turmoil, din and
confusion on all sides, as people shouted out now one thing now another, trying
to decide what to do about the immediate situation, and everybody armed himself
as best he could and hastened to man the walls. And they were not yet properly
deployed along the
Chapter
24: While we were in this situation, the leader of the barbarian forces
decided to patrol the entire section of the wall that is washed by the sea. He
was a sinister and thoroughly evil person, who flaunted a style of behaviour
singularly appropriate to the wild animal after which he was named and for whose
ferocious ways and ungovernable temper he was more than a match.
Assuredly, you yourself also know the man by reputation, a reputation which
celebrates his wickedness with the claim that he has outshone all previous
paragons of impiety by descending to such depths of madness as to gaze
insatiably upon the spilling of human blood and to love nothing better than the
slaughter of Christians. He too was once a Christian, was reborn in the saving
grace of baptism and taught the precepts of our religion. But when he was taken
prisoner by the barbarians, he embraced their impiety in exchange for the true
piety of the faith and there is no way in which he more eagerly seeks to
ingratiate himself with them than by making his deeds conform to his name and by
taking a particular pride in flaunting the actions of a felon and a
brigand. And so Leo, this untamable beast, this felon, sailed around the wall
gazing intently and searching out with studied malice a possible point from
which to launch his attack. The other ships dropped anchor at a single point on
the eastern shoreline and began to make their preparations. Our citizens also
donned their armour, manned the battlements and braced themselves for the
ensuing contest. And truly it was a contest - the great contest which had been
so loudly proclaimed, not the mere trial of strength of a wrestler competing
against his opponent for the applause of the spectators, not a contest that
offers a material reward and holds out a fleeting moment of enjoyment for the
winner or the simple stigma of defeat for the loser; what was at stake was
whether so great a city would win the unparalleled distinction of surviving so
great a danger or suffer the inconsolable grief of in some way succumbing to the
fate that menaced her.
Chapter
25: But when that wild beast had surveyed the entire extent of the wall and
had noticed that the entrance to the harbour was barred by an iron chain and
obstructed by the sunken hulks of a number of ships, he decided to launch his
attack just at those points which he perceived to be free of those blocks of
stone which, lurking on the seabed where they had earlier been placed, impeded
the access of his ships and where his fleet would not be under heavier fire from
that part of the wall which had already been built up to some considerable
height. He chose a location, in fact, where a great depth of sea water beat
against a particularly low stretch of wall, made a careful note of his position,
and then, returning to his men, gave the signal for battle. They swooped down
with their ships towards those points which had been described to them, letting
out harsh and savage cries and rowing furiously in the direction of the wall.
And banging on rawhide drums, they raised a fearful din, and they tried with
many other kinds of bluff to frighten the defenders on the battlements. But
those who were manning the wall shouted back even louder and invoked the aid of
the saving weapon of the cross against the enemy forces. And they did this to
such an effect that the barbarians, at the sound of so many people uttering a
cry more fearsome than any they had previously heard, were dazed for a while and
did not expect to achieve anything. Estimating the numbers of the citizens from
the loudness of their shouts, they concluded that it would be no easy matter to
enter the fray against such odds and to sack so great a city, the like of which
they had never seen. Nevertheless, in order not to create the impression of
having lost their nerve at the start of their offensive, they advanced neither
fearlessly, nor with the rage which they later displayed, but with a certain
blend of frenzy and fear, protecting themselves against their opponents by means
of a barrage of missiles. Then their approach became more reckless and they
strove to bring the fighting nearer, rousing themselves to fury like barking
dogs and thoroughly enraged by the weapons that were hurled down at them from
the wall. The citizens, in fact, were anything but remiss in their use of
archery, and used it to great and conspicuous effect by stationing all the
Sklavenes [a southern Slav peoples] gathered from the neighbouring regions at
those points from which it was easiest to shoot accurately and where there was
nothing to deflect the momentum of their missiles.
Chapter 26: But
while both parties were shooting and being shot at, and neither side was gaining
the upper hand, a detachment of barbarians, consisting no doubt of individuals
bolder and more daring than the rest, leaped overboard. They took with them a
wooden ladder, which they propelled through the water and with which they
attempted to scale the wall, paying no heed to the weapons discharged against
them from that quarter. In fact, they kept their bodies underwater until they
got close up and swam in holding their shields over their heads. Once they got
near, however, left without the protection afforded by the water and using their
shields to cover their heads, they struggled manfully against a rain of
missiles. Then, rapidly drawing up the ladder against the rampart, they tried to
scale the wall. But death forestalled their plan and before they could form a
clear idea of how to carry out their scheme they lost their lives. No sooner, in
fact, had their feet touched the rungs of the ladder than a volley of stones as
thick as hail was unleashed against them, toppling them off and sending them
headlong to a watery grave. Whereupon the ships all drew back quickly, not
daring for the time being to venture anything further of the kind. They
resorted, instead, to discharging from a distance a hail of missiles that
darkened the air, but they too came equally under fire from well-aimed shafts
that rarely missed their mark and from shot from the stone-throwing engines, the
mere sound of which as it whistled through the air struck terror into the hearts
of the barbarians.
Chapter
27:
Already Niketas, who has been mentioned before, the one who
had been sent by the emperor, was hurrying up and down the entire length of the
wall, encouraging the people in the following words: 'Men of Thessaloniki, I
held a different opinion of you before this moment and would not have considered
you to be so gallant and daring in action, since you had neither been put to the
test nor had you proved yourselves in this sphere in the past. But now the
present crisis has afforded an occasion for entertaining high hopes of you. I
see that you all have strong bodies and stout hearts, that you are wholly
committed to the present action, that you scorn the enemy and that you gallantly
brush aside their ruses. You are quite right to do so. For the struggle concerns
you yourselves, men of substance and of principle, and it concerns the rest of
the city, whose title to fame has no serious contender. If you prove superior to
the present peril you will become a fitting object of praise in the estimation
of all men. But should you suffer some reverse and succumb to the threats of the
barbarians, there will be nothing to which one can liken the extent of your
misfortune and the depth of your shame. Therefore, stand your ground
courageously and endeavour to secure victory for your native city and for
yourselves and do not turn and flee from the enemy, lest, having for the sake of
one small moment of weakness placed yourselves in such terrible danger, you
leave behind you a novel tale for posterity to tell.' With these fighting words
he encouraged the people and went the rounds, instilling no small degree of
confidence into the hearts of all. And the strategos [Leo Chitzilakes], as
though oblivious of his own affliction, though it was grievous (resulting as it
did from the fall that we related earlier) and unbearably painful, also went
around, mounted on a mule, not sitting astride it but sidesaddle, to the extent
that the pains in his shattered limbs permitted. He posted the more stalwart
members of the imperial guard at certain vital points along the wall, so that
for their part they might also spur on those near them to imitate their actions,
and thus dispose them to battle.
Chapter 28: The
barbarians attacked not once but several times in the course of that day, but
they suffered more casualties than before and withdrew. At a preconcerted signal
they suspended operations at sea, retired with their ships and dropped anchor
beside a stretch of coast to the east of the city. Then they disembarked and
began to shoot at those who were positioned on the high section of wall where
the so called 'Rome Gate' stands, close to
Chapter 29: But
when daybreak came and announced the second day of fighting, the strategoi [Leo
Chitzilakes and Niketas] once more went to great lengths to put us on our mettle
and prepare us for action. As the sun's rays spread daylight over the air, the
barbarians disembarked and launched a further attack against the wall. They
deployed, distributing themselves along certain points in battle formation. And
concentrating their greatest numbers on the openings in the wall where the gates
stood, they brought the full weight of their weapons to bear against us. Some
used bows and arrows, others the handmade thunder of stones. Others applied
themselves to stone-throwing engines and sent giant hailstones of rock hurtling
through the air. Death threatened us in many shapes, and since it came from all
directions, it lent a further dimension of terror to the experience of those who
happened to be nearby. Against the already-mentioned gate alone they placed
seven stone-throwing engines heavily protected on all sides, which they had
previously equipped specially for this purpose during their progress by way of
Thasos.
In front of these they brought
up wooden ladders, which they placed against the wall and tried to climb up,
providing themselves with cover by means of a barrage of stones from the stone-throwing
engines, whose relentless fire made it impossible for anyone to venture forth
with impunity on to the wall. And already they had attached a ladder to the
battlements of the outwork and their plan would have been realized, had not a
heavenly power given certain daring men the strength to leap down on to the
spot. They wounded the barbarians with their spears and sent them pitching
backwards together with the ladder. When they saw that this strategem too had
failed, they fled and even left the ladder behind. We were so far emboldened as
to mock them and to hurl missiles at them and stones from the stone-throwing
engines even more eagerly than on the day before. And we no longer allowed them
to get anywhere near the wall for even a short time, even though they were
kindled to greater fury and sharpened their tusks like wild boars and would have
torn us up alive with them, had it been possible. How terrifying it was to hear
them raving like maniacs against us! What towering fits of anger they displayed,
when they gnashed their teeth furiously and their demonic nature was revealed by
the way they continually foamed at the mouth! Nor would they take any food
throughout the entire course of that day but were insatiable for battle in spite
of the tremendous heat. Indeed they were not even vaguely aware of the fact that
their own bodies were broken with fatigue and scorched by the sun which was
beating down on their heads. Their one preoccupation was either to sack the city
and vent their rage upon us or, in the event of failure, to despair of life and
to dispatch themselves with their own weapons. For once the wrath of the
barbarians has been kindled, it is borne along by an unreasoning impulse, and
will not desist until it witnesses the shedding of its own or its opponent's
blood.
Chapter 30: But
since it was highly dangerous for them to approach the wall, they relied
exclusively on missiles and on stone-throwing engines. Drawing themselves up in
rows, they took their stand some distance away yet near enough for their shots
to fall upon the city with undiminished force. Protecting themselves with their
shields and throwing their entire being into the struggle, they stood like
statues with bodies of bronze or some other hard material and displayed
limitless qualities of endurance and a fighting spirit that defied description.
And in fact, when the sun was in its noonday course, when more than any other
time of day it heats the air up like a furnace, they kindled their inborn fury
with that last extreme of heat and goading their irrational frenzy still further
with the stimulus of despair, they
Chapter
32: Then, when they had stopped fighting, they went aboard their ships and
after a brief spell of inaction, they began to carry out the plan of attack they
had cunningly contrived beforehand. The plan involved a peculiar kind of gamble.
If, thanks to it, they should be able to sack the city, they would have an easy
success since there is no more effective siege tactic in existence, especially
when the offensive is conducted from the water with no intervening dry land to
cramp one's style. But if, along with their previous ventures, this too were to
fail, they would first dispatch with their weapons those who had put the idea
into their heads and had made them sail so far to no purpose, and then would
return home. Having agreed, therefore, upon this plan, they began early in the
night to put into effect their complicated scheme. Lighting lamps everywhere,
they coupled the ships together in adjacent pairs and lashed their sides
together with stout cables and iron chains so that they would not easily drift
apart. Then they hoisted by means of the rigging at the fore the pieces of wood
that stand up in the middle, which sailors call masts, and attaching by their
handles to these the steering-paddles of each ship, they slung them high up in
the air across the ropes leading to the prow so that their blades projected
beyond the side of the ship. The result was a remarkable and novel contraption.
For when the steering paddles had been suspended aloft by their handles in the
manner described, they placed long strips of wood over them in rows, one next to
the other, flooring in by this ingenious method the intervening space. They then
fenced in the edges on all sides with boards, and secured the ends of the
steering-paddle handles by making them fast to very strong cables at the stern
end of the ships. In this manner they devised towers that were more effective
than those surmounting walls on dry land. In them they posted armed barbarians,
an elite force mounted aloft on account of their physical strength and
natural daring and destined to deal us the coup de grace. They ordered some to
shoot arrows, others to fling large stones (big enough to fill a man's hand) at
those manning the inner circuit of the fortification. Others were equipped with
fire (it too artificially contrived) which had been prepared in advance in
earthenware vessels and which they were instructed to hurl at those advancing to
confront them. All these expedients were effective and appropriate because they
no longer had to operate on land but, thanks to the devilish invention already
described, had been placed on a higher level than the structure of the
fortification and they were thus provided with a useful vantage point for the
accomplishment of their evil designs.
Chapter 33: But when on that
same night these impious men had brought all their preparations into effect and
no detail of what was being done escaped our notice because, as has been pointed
out, they had plentiful illumination and the beach on which they had forged
ahead with their plans was nearby, all of us were overcome by fear and
consternation, not knowing how to preserve our safety for the future. One could
see that the entire population was in a state of utter confusion and
helplessness, unable to make up their minds from one moment to the next, and
that their very lives were in jeopardy. There was indeed no concern to ward off
impending disaster, only a morbid obsession with the question of how soon and
how painfully death would occur. Flight was no longer an available or a safe
option with the barbarians occupying positions all around the wall and keeping a
close watch on the gates. Yet the danger that met the eye made waiting out of
the question. Abandoning all hope of safety, they walked as though dazed up and
down the wall, completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of their misfortune. But
some, in whose hearts the flame of courage had not been entirely extinguished,
decided while waiting for the enemy to make some preparations to defend the wall
and repel their advance. These consisted of pitch, firebrands, quicklime and
other flammable substances got ready in earthenware vessels for possible use
against ships riding at anchor, the idea being to hurl these objects in their
midst and put them out of action.
Chapter 35: Then, when the
barbarians saw that the entire wall had been cleared and that the mass desertion
of its defenders now guaranteed their safety, they sallied forth eagerly from
the ships, leaped down on to the battlements and set fire to the gates, thus
signalling to the other ships that their mission had been accomplished. These
too hove swiftly into sight and dispatched against the city their contingents of
barbarians, naked except for a small loincloth, and armed with swords. Once
these barbarians were inside, they slew all those whom they found writhing about
on the ground in the vicinity of the wall, regardless of whether they found them
prostrated and paralysed with fear and so unable to move or languishing without
any hope of flight owing to the injuries they had sustained during their earlier
falls. After that they split up, and moved down the main thoroughfares.
This section comes from John Kaminiates: The Capture of Thessaloniki, edited and translated by David Frendo and Athanasios (Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, 2000). We thank the Australian Association for Byzantine Studies for allowing us to republish this section. Please view the AABS website to learn about this and their other publications and activities.