941: Difference between revisions

* May&ndash;September &ndash; [[Rus'–Byzantine War (941)|Rus'–Byzantine War]]: The [[Kievan Rus'|Rus']] and their allies, the [[Pechenegs]], under the [[Varangians|Varangian]] prince [[Igor of Kiev|Igor I of Kiev]], cross the [[Black Sea]] with an invasion fleet of a 1,000 ships<ref>Sources give varying figures for the size of the Russian fleet. The number 10,000 ships appears in the [[Primary Chronicle]] and in Greek sources, some of which put the figure as high as 15,000 ships. [[Liutprand of Cremona]] wrote that the fleet numbered only 1,000 ships; Liutprand's report is based on the account of his step-father who witnessed the attack while surving as envoy in Constantinople. Modern historians find the latter estimate to be the most credible. Runciman (1988), p. 111.</ref> (40,000 men) and disembark on the northern coast of [[Asia Minor]]. While the [[Byzantine navy|Byzantine fleet]] is engaged against the [[Arabs]] in the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], the Rus' forces reach the gates of [[Constantinople]]. Emperor [[Romanos I Lekapenos|Romanos I]] organizes the defense of the capital and assembles 15 old ships (equipped with throwers of [[Greek fire]]) under the chamberlain (''[[protovestiarios]]'') [[Theophanes (chamberlain)|Theophanes]]. The Byzantines manage to repel the Rus' fleet (nearly annihilating the entire fleet) but can not prevent the invaders from pillaging the hinterland of Constantinople, venturing as far south as [[Nicomedia]] (modern-day [[İzmit]]). In September, [[John Kourkouas]] and [[Bardas Phokas the Elder|Bardas Phokas]] ("the Elder"), two leading generals, destroy the Rus' forces in [[Thrace (theme)|Thrace]]. Igor manages, with only a handful of boats, to escape to the [[Caspian Sea]].