Rus'–Byzantine War (860)

The Siege of Constantinople Opel (860) by the Rus represents the first major attack by the Rus on Byzantine territory

As early as 830, the Rus had some Byzantine cities attacked in Paphlagonia, Konstantin Opel itself, however, spared. On the evening of June 18th 860 then appeared about 200 boats Rus prior to the capital of the Byzantine Empire. After they had destroyed some of the suburbs and killed its inhabitants, they destroyed parts of the Byzantine fleet. At the time of the attack were neither Emperor Michael III. with his army, still present the Byzantine main force of the fleet. The residents had no choice but to put behind the walls in heavily fortified security. Until August 4, plundered and pillaged the Rus Princes' Islands and lands in the vicinity of Constantinople. Your deduction is attributed to divine intervention in later, sometimes very different versions of Christian chroniclers. It is reported that the hastily returned from his campaign against the Arabs Emperor Michael and Patriarch Photios I threw the veil of the Virgin Mary in the Bosphorus and a storm boats Rus scattered then.

Swell

  • John Deacon, Chronicon
  • Leon Grammatikos, Corpus Historiae Scriptorum Byzantinae, Bonn 1842
  • Nicholas I, Papae Epistolae, in: Monumenta Historica Germaniae. Epistolae VI. ( Karolini aevi IV ), Berlin 1925
  • Logothetenchronik
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