18 giug 860 anni - Rus raid of Constantinople

Descrizione:

June 18, 860, at sunset, a fleet of about 200 Rus' vessels sailed into the Bosporus and started pillaging the suburbs of Constantinople. The attackers set homes on fire, drowning and stabbing the residents, destroying much of the area until they had eventually been driven off by the Tagmata and Constaninople garrison, but most had gotten away.

According to records, the attack is a responce to Roman policy that embargoing trade with Rus and the construction of the fortress Sarkel by Rome engineers, which restricting the Rus' trade route along the Don River. These policies is in favor of the Khazars, whom suffered a long decline after the battle of Lower Danube and continually challenged by the Pechenegs, the Magyars, and the Rus.

The loss in the suburbs of Constantinople is mostly due to underprepared, as no threat had ever come from beyond the Black Sea, and last time Constantinople itself had truly been attacked was four hundred years ago. The depleted tagmata and Imperial fleet were completely unprepared, and both were defeated in a short battle. Word was sent across the Hellespont to Asian tagmata, which raced to the capital, but was delayed as the beaten Imperial fleet was unable to organize their transfer. After an entire day of delay however the five thousand men from Asia crossed with their horses, and joined by two thousand Pontic troops who had arrived as well. Joining with the city garrison, and with what coordination existed with the European tagmata, besieged in their own camp, there was a sally and the Rus were beaten soundly. Taking their plunder with them the Rus got onto their boats and returned from whence they had come, leaving a battered city behind them.

In responce, Leo V, whom just ended his tour of the empire and back Constantinople six days after the attack, arranged for gold to be sent north to the Pechenegs to attack the Rus, The Pechenegs accepted. But when Leo's son, Constantine V took in charge, he reversed the policy and negotiated with the Rus at Cherson, agreed that Roman markets would be opened to Rus merchants, in return, Rus would far less likely to launch raids in the future and ensuring that prisoners were taken they were then ransomed back to the Roman rather than carried off into slavery in the north, usually at least.

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