SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE (717-718)

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aukepalmhof
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SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE (717-718)

Post by aukepalmhof » Tue May 01, 2018 9:12 pm

In 1937 Greece issued a set of stamps on historical facts of the country, two of this stamp have a maritime theme, the 2d shows us the Battle of Salamis see: http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewt ... mis#p19159 while the 15p stamp shows us a deck of a ship.
On the internet I found that this stamps shows us Leon Isavros and the destruction of the Arabs, but by searching on the internet for this name it did give a blank. A few times the name Leo III the Isaurian came forwards, he was Byzantine Emperor at that time, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_III_t ... tantinople I do not believe he himself is depict on this stamp but he was a Greek and a large part of his fleet was owned and crewed by Greek know at that time as “karabisianoi fleet” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karabisianoi
The vessel used by the “karabisianoi” was the DROMON and most probably this type of vessel is depict, DROMON see http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewt ... mon#p15050

Siege of Constantinople (717–718)
Leo entered Constantinople on 25 March 717 and forced the abdication of Theodosios III, becoming emperor as Leo III. The new Emperor was immediately forced to attend to the Second Arab siege of Constantinople, which commenced in August of the same year. The Arabs were Umayyad forces sent by Caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik and serving under his brother Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik. They had taken advantage of the civil discord in the Byzantine Empire to bring a force of 80,000 to 150,000 men and a massive fleet to the Bosphorus.
Careful preparations, begun three years earlier under Anastasius II, and the stubborn resistance put up by Leo wore out the invaders. An important factor in the victory of the Byzantines was their use of Greek fire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_fire The Arab forces also fell victim to Bulgarian reinforcements arriving to aid the Byzantines. Leo was allied with the Bulgarians but the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor was uncertain if they were still serving under Tervel of Bulgaria or his eventual successor Kormesiy of Bulgaria.
Unable to continue the siege in the face of the Bulgarian onslaught, the impenetrability of Constantinople's walls, and their own exhausted provisions, the Arabs were forced to abandon the siege in August, 718. Sulayman himself had died the previous year and his successor Umar II would not attempt another siege. The siege had lasted 12 months.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_III_the_Isaurian
Greece 1937 15p sg?, scott?
Attachments
1937 warship Greece.jpg

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