In the 820s CE, Byzantium was embroiled in a destructive civil war. Taking advantage of the Byzantines being occupied with killing one another, a group of exiled Andalusian Arabs landed on the island of Crete and conquered it. From their new island home, they launched devastating raids throughout the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. These raids posed a serious threat to Byzantiums communications and commercial routes. Several attempts were made to recapture the island but all failed. In 960 CE, the Byzantines made one last attempt to recapture the island.The Emirate of Crete & Nikephoros PhokasByzantine armies landing on Crete, in Codex Grcus Matritensis Ioannis Skyllitzes (BNE MSS Graecus Vitr. 26-2, fol. 140v), c. 12th century CE. Source: Biblioteca Nacional de EspaaThe Arabs launched numerous devastating raids on Byzantine territories from their island capital of Chandax (modern-day Heraklion) on Crete. Not only were these raids and piracy ruinous for Byzantiums commerce and a serious menace to the empires coastal communities, but the Emirate of Crete was also able to incorporate some of the Aegean islands into their sphere of influence and submit them to taxation. Other communities had to be relocated away from the threat of Cretan attacks. Furthermore, Crete served as a forward base for several other raids from Muslim states from the Levant. A prime example was the sack of Thessalonica in 904.It was thus understandable that Byzantium desperately needed to retake Crete from the Arabs. In 825 and again in 826, the Byzantines sent forces against Crete, but both times met with failure. Another attempt was made in 843 and again in 866 when the imperial fleet was destroyed by the Arab navy. Two more attempts were made to capture Crete, in 911 and again in 949. These campaigns also ended in disaster, bleeding the empire of valuable men and resources.In 955, after suffering a string of serious defeats, the aging Bardas Phokas who was the Domestic of the Schools (commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army) was replaced by his eldest son, Nikephoros Phokas. Nikephoros was a brilliant general and strategist who immediately reformed the army and started to reverse the many losses suffered by the Byzantines, winning battle after battle. His military successes secured the borders sufficiently to push the Muslim aggressors onto the back foot so that the Byzantines could once again turn their attention to Crete.The Cretan ExpeditionMap of the Emirate of Crete during the 10th century. Source: Wikimedia CommonsEmperor Constantine VII began the preparations for Crete, but due to his untimely death in 959, his son, Romanos II, took over. Byzantium could not afford another failed campaign against Crete, so it assembled a much larger fleet and recruited many more soldiers than any other campaign previously sent against the island. While the sources are not forthcoming with reliable numbers for the expedition, it was possibly twice the size of the 949 expedition.Due to his successes in the field, Nikephoros Phokas took over the overall command of the expedition. The Domestic of the Schools assembled his forces in Asia Minor, and they sailed across to Crete on numerous transport ships. These were accompanied and protected by a powerful navy, which included several dromon ships able to cast Greek Fire (an incendiary chemical weapon).Byzantine Fire Ships, in Codex Grcus Matritensis Ioannis Skyllitzes (BNE MSS Graecus Vitr. 26-2, Bild-Nr. 77, fol. 34v. b), c. 12th century CE. Source: Biblioteca Nacional de EspaaThe armada sailed from Ephesus, reaching the shores of Crete on July 13, 960. According to Leo the Deacon, the Byzantines were met with stiff resistance when landing their forces on the island, but they disembarked their army fully armed and mounted using ramps from their transport ships. A grueling fight ensued, but the Byzantines broke the island defenders. In the pursuit, they wrought unspeakable slaughter on the Muslim forces as they fled to the safety of the walls of Chandax.Nikephoros set up a camp and placed Chandax under siege by surrounding the city and occupying the port with his navy. The Domestic of the Schools attempted a direct assault on the walls in the hopes of capturing the city quickly. However, the defenders put up a stiff resistance and the Byzantine attacks were repelled. The failed assaults forced Nikephoros to settle in for a long-drawn-out siege.Resistance in the CountrysideCretan Arabs ambush unsuspecting Byzantines, in Codex Grcus Matritensis Ioannis Skyllitzes (BNE MSS Graecus Vitr. 26-2), c. 12th century CE. Source: Biblioteca Nacional de EspaaNikephoros sent one of his officers, Nikephoros Pastilas, with a select group of soldiers to raid and plunder the countryside and scout for Arab troops roaming the hills. According to Leo, Pastilas was a brave and capable commander who had fought countless battles against the Arabs and carried on his face and chest numerous scars of sword wounds inflicted in battle.Finding easy plunder as the countryside was very fertile and not having encountered any resistance, Pastilas and his men dropped their guard and indulged in the luxuries of the Cretan plunder. Arab guerrilla fighters, however, were lurking in the hills, waiting for just such an opportunity. While the Byzantines succumbed to the effects of wine, the Arabs attacked. The Byzantines, despite being intoxicated, put up a brave fight. The foremost was Pastilas, but according to Leo, after Pastilas lost a lot of blood and was stricken by many arrows, he fainted and collapsed on the battlefield. When their commander fell, the Byzantines broke. Only a few men escaped the slaughter.Byzantine Traction Trebuchet at the Siege of a City, in Codex Grcus Matritensis Ioannis Skyllitzes (BNE MSS Graecus Vitr. 26-2), c. 12th century CE. Source: Biblioteca Nacional de EspaaNikephoros Phokas realized that he needed to deal with the Arab forces roaming the countryside if he was going to conduct a successful siege of Chandax. From the prisoners he had captured, Nikephoros learned that the Muslims were organizing a counter-offensive to relieve Chandax. Under cover of night, the Domestic selected a group of young and vigorous soldiers, as described by Leo, and slipped out of the Byzantine camp. They were led by native born Cretans, mostly likely Christians, to where the enemy was gathering their forces on a secluded hilltop.The Byzantines surrounded the Muslim position. Nikephoros gave the signal and trumpets and war drums sounded through the night sky, followed by the terrifying war cry of the Byzantines. The Muslims were caught completely by surprise. Surrounded and caught off guard with many of the soldiers still in their beds, the enemy was massacred. Nikephoros gave his soldiers the order to collect the heads of their fallen enemies, awarding them one silver coin for every gruesome trophy they took.Upon his return, Nikephoros doubled down on his siege efforts. He ordered his men to impale the severed heads on spears and plant them before the city for all the besieged to see. He followed up this terror tactic by catapulting the remaining severed heads into the city. Leo describes the reaction of the inhabitants:When the Cretans saw the line of spears and the heads impaled on them, and the heads that were hurled at the town and crushed against its battlements, and when they clearly recognized them as the heads of fellow countrymen and relatives, straightaway they were seized with horror and mental confusion, and were paralyzed at the piteous and unexpected sight.Nikephoros II Phokas, in manuscript Marc. Lat. 342 (X 158, coll. 3749), fol. 1r., c. 15th century CE. Source: Biblioteca Marciana, VeniceDespite this, the besieged city stood defiant against the Byzantine onslaught:Spears were thrown in all directions, arrows fell like snowflakes in winter and the rocks hurled incessantly by the stone-throwing machines crashed against the battlements. As for the barbarians, they resisted stoutly under the pressure of necessity, defending themselves and shooting arrows from the wall, hurling axes from above, and dropping enormous stones; they overlooked no means of defense in the battle, and retaliated for everything they suffered.The siege dragged on into winter. Nikephoros halted his attacks on the city to wait for spring. The winter of 960 was a particularly harsh one. Both the Byzantines and the defenders of Chandax ran low on supplies. However, the eunuch Joseph Bringas, the Chief Palace Minister, managed to gather supplies and sail them across to Crete, bringing desperate relief to Nikephoros forces. In the meantime, the Domestic never ceased training his army and honing their skill and discipline.Byzantine Siege Assault, in Codex Grcus Matritensis Ioannis Skyllitzes (BNE MSS Graecus Vitr. 26-2), c. 12th century CE. Source: Biblioteca Nacional de EspaaWith the arrival of spring, the Byzantines once again pressed the siege, assaulting the walls with siege towers, rams, and stone-throwing artillery. At the same time, sappers were busy undermining the foundations of the city walls. These sappers removed the stones at the base of the wall, replacing them with wooden frames. On March 7, 961, these frames were set alight. As they burned away, the wall and its two towers that were supported by these wooden frames collapsed. When the dust settled, the Byzantines charged the breach.The Muslims rushed forward to defend the gap, putting up a fierce resistance and since their lives were at risk, they fought like demons. Eventually, the defenders courage broke under the pressures, and they fled into the crowded streets of the city. The Byzantines streamed into the city and merciless slaughter followed wherever they went. When Nikephoros rode in among his men, he beseeched them to stop, saying it was a sign of inhumanity to cut down and slay like enemy men who had given themselves up in surrender.Chandax had been taken by force of arms. The emir and his family were captured alive and sent off to Constantinople. Nikephoros collected the customary dedication of spoils for the state treasury and gave his men three days to plunder the city. For his victory, Nikephoros was awarded a Triumph in the old Roman fashion, parading the spoils and prisoners taken from Crete in the Hippodrome of Constantinople.AftermathByzantine Dromon Fleet Once Again Rule the Waves, in Codex Grcus Matritensis Ioannis Skyllitzes (BNE MSS Graecus Vitr. 26-2, fol. 38v), c. 12th century CE. Source: Biblioteca Nacional de EspaaThe Emirate of Crete had fallen, and the island was back in Byzantine hands after more than a century. Crete was made into a new separate theme (a military and administrative division of the empire) under a Strategos (military governor).More importantly, Byzantine naval supremacy in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean was re-established after the reconquest of the island. The devastating raids by the Cretan corsairs and pirates that plagued the Byzantine territories and commerce were finally brought to an end. This allowed the Byzantines to reassert their control over the maritime trade routes, bolstering the empires economy. The capture of Crete was a key achievement that solidified Byzantiums position as the dominant power in the eastern Mediterranean world.

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I wouldnt blame you if you spent the weekend watching the news and scrolling through social media to see whether World War 3 had started. Along the way, you might have noticed people tweeting about a puzzling move from OpenAI.The company removed any mention of Jony Ives io startup, which OpenAI recently acquired for $6.5 billion to manufacture ChatGPT hardware. The announcement video featuring Jony Ive and Sam Altman disappeared. That was the clip where both executives confirmed OpenAI is developing its own AI hardware and shared the first teaser of the device.Some people might have wondered if OpenAI suddenly scrapped plans to make ChatGPT hardware despite the massive investment. But the answer is much simpler. The ChatGPT io hardware is still happening, though OpenAI removed the information following a court order prompted by a trademark complaint from a company called iyO.Continue reading...The post OpenAI just took down its page about ios ChatGPT hardware, but its not canceled appeared first on BGR.

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