al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al-Qustantiniya fi al-Asr al-Umawi

al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al-Qustantiniya fi al-Asr al-Umawi (The Last Campaign Against Constantinople in the Umayyad Era) is a historical study by the Saudi historian Sulayman al-Suwaykit examining the final Umayyad military siege of Constantinople during the reign of Caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al…+1.

Background and Scope

The study addresses the massive land and sea offensive mobilized by the Umayyad Caliphate against the Byzantine capital, analyzing its strategic planning, execution, and ultimate failure al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al…. The author begins with an overview of the geographic and military importance of Constantinople—founded as the Roman capital in 330 CE by Emperor Constantine I—and reviews earlier Umayyad attempts to take the city under Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, including the first siege in 49–50 AH (669–670 CE) and the second campaign during the Seven Years' War in 54–60 AH (673–679 CE) al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al…+2. The work also details the preparatory frontier campaigns and fortress captures across Anatolia during the reigns of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik, such as the capture of Tyana in 88 AH al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al…+1.

Structure and Content

The book follows the chronological trajectory of the campaign across several thematic segments al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al…:

• Preparations and Mobilization: It details the defensive countermeasures instituted by Byzantine Emperor Anastasios II—including stockpiling three-year provisions and strengthening the city walls—and the comprehensive mobilization under Caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al…+2. The Caliph established his base at Dabiq, appointed his brother Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik as overall commander, placed Umar ibn Hubayra al-Fazari over the navy, and mobilized an army reported at roughly 120,000 troops along with a fleet estimated at 1,000 vessels (or 1,800 according to some accounts) al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al…+2.
• The March and Siege Operations: The work tracks the advance of the land army through Mar'ash, Amorium, Sardis, and Pergamum to Abydos, where it linked up with the naval forces arriving from Syria, Egypt, and North Africa before crossing to the European shore al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al…+2. It reconstructs the land blockade, the deployment of catapults, naval engagements impacted by Greek fire, and the closure of the Golden Horn with iron chains al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al….
• Diplomacy and Betrayal: It traces the negotiations between Maslama and the Byzantine general Leo III the Isaurian (known in Arabic sources as Ilyun), Leo's ascent to the imperial throne (717–741 CE), and his subsequent breach of his pact with the Muslims al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al…+1.
• Factors of Failure and Withdrawal: The study outlines the key causes behind the siege's collapse, including harsh winter conditions, famine, Byzantine use of Greek fire, Bulgarian attacks allied with Leo III, the failure to encircle the northern marine approach completely, and the sudden death of Caliph Sulayman, which led Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz to order the expedition's withdrawal al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al…+2.

Methodological Findings

Al-Suwaykit highlights Tarikh Dimashq by Ibn Asakir as the most precise Arabic primary source for the campaign due to its inclusion of firsthand accounts from participants, notably the naval veteran al-Layth ibn Tamim al-Farisi al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al…. Based on these contemporary transmissions, the work establishes several critical conclusions:

• Confirming Umar ibn Hubayra al-Fazari as the admiral of the Islamic fleet, countering modern assertions based solely on Western sources that named an unspecified Sulayman al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al…+1.
• Determining that the siege spanned more than a full year, beginning in late 97 AH and concluding several months into 99 AH al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al….
• Substantiating the historical meeting and initial mutual-counsel agreement between Maslama and Leo III, while demonstrating Leo's entrance into Constantinople prior to the Muslim army's arrival at the walls al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al….
• Refuting popular anecdotal narratives concerning Leo's alleged burning or theft of the Muslim army's grain supplies, as well as later unverified claims that Maslama entered Constantinople and built a mosque within its walls during this expedition al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al….
• Cautioning against the uncritical reliance of some modern Arab writers on one-sided Western narratives that exaggerated Muslim setbacks and Byzantine victories al-Hamla al-Akhira ala al….