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{{Short description|940s conflict}}
{{Refimprove|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Siege of Constantinople by the Rus
| image = [[File:Greekfire-madridskylitzes1.jpg|
| caption = Greeks using their lethal fire, from the [[John Skylitzes|Madrid Skylitzes manuscript]].
| partof = [[Rus'–Byzantine War (disambiguation)|Rus'-Byzantine Wars]]
| date = 941–944<ref>Mauricio Borrero. Russia: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present. 2004. P. 389: "'''941–944''': Igor leads expedition on Constantinople".</ref><ref>James Stuart Olson, Lee Brigance Pappas, Nicholas Charles Pappas. An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994. P. 767: "'''944''': Igor ends his expedition against Constantinople".</ref>
| place = [[Constantinople]]<br />(modern-day [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]])
| result = Indecisive{{refn|group=n|
|result= [[Rus'–Byzantine Treaty (945)]]<ref>Janet Martin. Treasure of the Land of Darkness: The Fur Trade and Its Significance for Medieval Russia. Cambridge University Press, 2004. P. 115-116</ref><ref>Alexander A. Vasiliev. History of the Byzantine Empire, 324–1453. University of Wisconsin Press. P. 322</ref>|▼
*The first campaign was unsuccessful, Igor's flotilla was defeated
combatant1=[[Byzantine Empire]]|▼
*The second campaign was a success, the Byzantines pay tribute and conclude a peace treaty<ref> Vilhelm Ludvig Peter Thomsen. The Relations Between Ancient Russia and Scandinavia, and the Origin of the Russian State. Cambridge University Press. 2010. P. 25</ref>
combatant2= [[Kievan Rus'|Rus']]|▼
commander1=[[Theophanes (chamberlain)|Theophanes]]<br>[[Bardas Phokas the Elder|Bardas Phokas]]<br>[[John Kourkouas]]|▼
▲
commander2= [[Igor I of Kiev]]|▼
|strength2= 1,000 ships, c. 40,000 men<ref group=n>Sources give varying figures for the size of the Rus 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. [[Liudprand of Cremona]] wrote that the fleet numbered only 1,000 ships; Liudprand's report is based on the account of his step-father who witnessed the attack while serving as envoy at Constantinople. Modern historians find the latter estimate to be the most credible. Runciman (1988), p. 111.</ref>▼
▲| commander1 = [[Theophanes (chamberlain)|Theophanes]]<br>[[Bardas Phokas the Elder|Bardas Phokas]]<br>[[John Kourkouas]]
▲}}
▲| commander2 = [[Igor I of Kiev]]|
| strength1 = 15 ships (initially){{sfn|Норвич|2023|p=326}}
▲| strength2 = 1,000 ships, c. 40,000 men<ref group=n>Sources give varying figures for the size of the Rus 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. [[Liudprand of Cremona]] wrote that the fleet numbered only 1,000 ships; Liudprand's report is based on the account of his step-father who witnessed the attack while serving as envoy at Constantinople. Modern historians find the latter estimate to be the most credible. Runciman (1988), p. 111.</ref>
}}
{{Campaignbox Russo-Byzantine Wars}}
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== The invasion ==
{{
[[File:Byzantines repel the Russian attack of 941.jpg|thumb|Byzantines repel the Russian attack of 941]]
The [[Rus' (people)|Rus']] and their allies, the [[Pechenegs]], disembarked on the northern coast of [[Asia Minor]] and swarmed over [[Bithynia]] in May 941. As usual, they seemed to have been well informed that the Imperial capital stood defenseless and vulnerable to attack: the [[Byzantine Navy|Byzantine fleet]] had been engaged against the Arabs in the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], while the bulk of the [[Byzantine army|Imperial army]] had been stationed along the eastern borders.
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Lecapenus arranged a defense of [[Constantinople]] by having 15 retired ships fitted out with throwers of [[Greek fire]] fore and aft. Igor, wishing to capture these Greek vessels and their crews but unaware of the fire-throwers, had his fleet surround them. Then, at an instant, the Greek-fire was hurled through tubes upon the Rus' and their allies; [[Liudprand of Cremona]] wrote: "The Rus', seeing the flames, jumped overboard, preferring water to fire. Some sank, weighed down by the weight of their breastplates and helmets; others caught fire." The captured Rus' were [[Decapitation|beheaded]].<ref> Liutprand of Cremona, ''Antapodosis'' (Tit for Tat), Book 5, Chapter 15, in ''The Works of Liutprand of Cremona'', F. A. Wright, ed. and trans., (London: George A. Routledge and Sons, 1930), pp. 185-186.</ref>
The Byzantines thus managed to dispel the Rus' fleet but not to prevent the pagans from pillaging the hinterland of Constantinople, venturing as far south as [[Nicomedia]]. Many atrocities were reported: the Russian Primary Chronicle said that the Rus’ used their victims for target practice
In September, [[John Kourkouas]] and [[Bardas Phokas the Elder|Bardas Phokas]], two leading generals, speedily returned to the capital, anxious to repel the invaders. The Kievans promptly transferred their operations to [[Thrace]], moving their fleet there. When they were about to retreat, laden with trophies, the Byzantine navy under Theophanes fell upon them. Greek sources report that the Rus' lost their whole fleet in this surprise attack, so that only a handful of boats returned to their bases in the [[Crimea]]. The captured prisoners were taken to the capital and beheaded. Khazar sources add that the [[Caspian expeditions of the Rus|Rus' leader managed to escape]] to the [[Caspian Sea]], where he met his death fighting the Arabs.
==Aftermath==
[[Igor of Kiev|Igor]] was able to mount a new naval campaign against [[Constantinople]] as early as 944/945.<ref>Janet Martin. Treasure of the Land of Darkness: The Fur Trade and Its Significance for Medieval Russia. Cambridge University Press, 2004. P. 115-116</ref> Under threat from an even larger force than before, the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] opted for diplomatic action to circumvent invasion. They offered tribute and trade privileges to the [[Kyivan Rus'|Rus']].<ref>Janet Martin. Medieval Russia, 980-1584. Cambridge University Press, 2007. P. 19</ref><ref>Vilhelm Ludvig Peter Thomsen. The Relations Between Ancient Russia and Scandinavia, and the Origin of the Russian State. Cambridge University Press. 2010. P. 25</ref><ref>Alexander A. Vasiliev. History of the Byzantine Empire, 324–1453. University of Wisconsin Press. P. 322</ref> The Byzantine offer was discussed between Igor and his generals after they reached the banks of the [[Danube]], eventually accepting them.<ref>Alexander A. Vasiliev. History of the Byzantine Empire, 324–1453. University of Wisconsin Press. P. 322</ref> The [[Rus'–Byzantine Treaty (945)|Rus'–Byzantine Treaty of 945]] was ratified as a result.<ref>Janet Martin. Treasure of the Land of Darkness: The Fur Trade and Its Significance for Medieval Russia. Cambridge University Press, 2004. P. 115-116</ref> This established friendly relations between the two sides.<ref>Alexander A. Vasiliev. History of the Byzantine Empire, 324–1453. University of Wisconsin Press. P. 322</ref>
== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist|group=n}}
== References ==
===
{{reflist}}
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*{{cite book |title=A History of the Vikings |last=Kendrick |first=Thomas D. |author-link=T. D. Kendrick |year=2004 |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |location=Mineola, NY |isbn=0-486-43396-X }}
*{{cite book |title=The Vikings in History |last=Logan |first=Donald F. |year=1992 |edition=2nd |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=0-415-08396-6 }}
*{{cite journal |last=
* {{Cite book | first = Steven | last = Runciman | author-link = Steven Runciman | title = The Emperor Romanus Lecapenus and His Reign: A Study of Tenth-Century Byzantium | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1988 | isbn = 978-0-521-35722-7 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XHVzWN6gqxQC}}
*{{cite book |title=The History of the Byzantine Empire |volume=2 |last=Uspensky |first=Fyodor |author-link=Fyodor Uspensky |year=1997 |publisher=Mysl |location=Moscow }}
*{{cite journal |last=Zuckerman |first=Constantine |author-link=Constantine Zuckerman |year=1995 |title=On the Date of the Khazar's Conversion to Judaism and the Chronology of the Kings of the Rus' Oleg and Igor |journal=Revue des Études Byzantines |volume=53 |pages=237–270 |doi=10.3406/rebyz.1995.1906 }}
* {{cite book |last=Норвич |first=Джон |title=История Византийской империи: От основания Константинополя до крушения государства | year = 2023 | ISBN = 978-5-389-19591-2}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rus'-Byzantine War (941)}}
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