The Siege of 674-678: Constantinople's First Arab Assault

Long before Mehmed II breached the Theodosian Walls, another empire tried to take Constantinople—and failed. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the first Arab siege of the Byzantine capital, a seven-year-long struggle from 674 to 678 CE under Caliph Muawiyah I. They examine how the Umayyad navy, fresh from conquering the Levant and Egypt, blockaded the city from the Sea of Marmara, and how the Byzantines under Emperor Constantine IV fought back with a terrifying new weapon: Greek fire. Lucas explains the role of the Christian Syrian refugee Kallinikos of Heliopolis in inventing this napalm-like substance, and how it was deployed from Byzantine ships to burn the Arab fleet. The conversation also covers the strategic significance of the winter base at Cyzicus, the role of the Bulgarian alliance in distracting Arab forces, and the eventual peace treaty that stabilized the Byzantine-Umayyad border for a generation. This is the story of how Constantinople survived its first major Islamic assault, buying centuries of life for the Eastern Roman Empire.

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