Siege of Nicaea (727) 727
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 727 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Turkey | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Arab–Byzantine wars | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 40.4290, 29.7195 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Nicaea of 727 was an unsuccessful attempt by the Umayyad Caliphate to capture the Byzantine city of Nicaea, the capital of the Opsician Theme. Ever since its failure to capture the Byzantine Empire's capital, Constantinople, in 717–718, the Caliphate had launched a series of raids into Byzantine Asia Minor. In 727, the Arab army, led by one of the Caliph's sons, penetrated deep into Asia Minor, sacked two Byzantine fortresses and in late July arrived before Nicaea. Despite constant attacks for 40 days, the city held firm and the Arabs withdrew and returned to the Caliphate. The successful repulsion of the attack was a major boost for Byzantine emperor Leo III the Isaurian's recently initiated campaign to abolish the veneration of icons in the Empire; Leo claimed it as evidence of divine favour for his policy. The siege of Nicaea marks also the high point of the Umayyad raids, as new threats and defeats on their far-flung frontiers decreased Umayyad strength elsewhere, while Byzantine power strengthened afterwards.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Nicaea (727) (revision 1370743990), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Nicaea (1113) 1113 · 0 km
- Siege of Nicaea (1328–1331) 1328 · 0 km
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Other battles of the Arab–Byzantine wars
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- Siege of Constantinople (674–678) 674
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- Battle of Akroinon 740
- Siege of Kamacha 766
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All 34 battles of the Arab–Byzantine wars →
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