Zirid campaign in Illyria

Zirid campaign in Illyria
	Part of The Zirid-Byzantine conflict
Date	Between 1026 and 1035
Location	Illyria, Greece, and Thrace
Result	Raids along the coasts of Illyria, Greece, and Thrace
Belligerents
Zirid Empire; Kalbids of Sicily;	Byzantine Empire;
Commanders and leaders
Al-Muizz ibn Badis; Al-Akhal;	Romanos III Argyros;

The Zirid Campaign in Illyria was a series of naval raids conducted by the Zirid dynasty, alongside the Kalbid Emirate of Sicily, against Byzantine territories in the eastern Adriatic Sea (Illyria), Greece, and Thrace, between 1026 and 1035.^[1]

Context[edit]

The campaign emerged from a power struggle in the region. The Byzantine Empire,^[2] under Emperor Basil II, planned a military expedition against the Kalbids in Sicily. Fearing this attack, the Kalbid ruler, al-Akhal,^[3] sought assistance from the Zirid Emir, Al-Muizz ibn Badis.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Course of the Campaign[edit]

1026: A Zirid fleet sent to reinforce Sicily was destroyed by a storm. However, the death of Basil II and the subsequent hesitation of the Byzantine general Orestes stalled the Byzantine offensive, allowing the Muslims to maintain control in Sicily.^[8]
1026-1035: Taking advantage of the weakened Byzantine presence, the Zirids^[9] and Kalbids^[10] launched a series of raids across the Adriatic, targeting Illyria, Greece, and Thrace, including some Greek islands.^[11]

Response[edit]

1034: The Italian city-state of Pisa, likely with Genoese support,^[12] launched a counterattack, raiding and capturing the Zirid port city of Annaba in Algeria.^[13]^[14]^[15]

Significance[edit]

The Zirid campaign, though ultimately limited in scope, highlighted the vulnerability of Byzantine holdings in the face of resurgent Muslim naval power in the central Mediterranean. It also marked the growing involvement of Italian maritime republics like Pisa and Genoa in regional conflicts.^[16]^[17]^[18]

References[edit]

^ Mercier, Ernest (1840-1907) Auteur du texte (1888). Histoire de l'Afrique septentrionale (Berbérie) depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à la conquête française (1830). Tome 1 / par Ernest Mercier...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Beihammer, Alexander Daniel (2017-02-17). Byzantium and the Emergence of Muslim-Turkish Anatolia, Ca. 1040-1130. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-98386-0.
^ Whitby, Mary (November 2007). Byzantines and Crusaders in Non-Greek Sources, 1025-1204. OUP/British Academy. ISBN 978-0-19-726378-5.
^ Jr, Everett Jenkins (2010-11-25). The Muslim Diaspora (Volume 1, 570-1500): A Comprehensive Chronology of the Spread of Islam in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-4713-8.
^ Akyeampong, Emmanuel Kwaku; Jr, Professor Henry Louis Gates (2012-02-02). Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.
^ Barker, Phil (2019-05-18). DBMM Army Lists Book 3: The Early Medieval Period 476 AD to 1971 AD. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-0-244-48627-3.
^ Lugan, Bernard (2020-06-23). Histoire de l’Afrique – Des origines à nos jours - 2e édition. Editions Ellipses. ISBN 978-2-340-04371-8.
^ Brown, Gordon S. (2015-05-12). The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-5127-2.
^ Sabry, Fouad (2024-04-20). Intellectual Legacy: The Scholar Who Shaped History and Philosophy, Unlocking the Legacy of Ibn Khaldun. One Billion Knowledgeable.
^ Fage, J. D.; Oliver, Roland Anthony (1975). The Cambridge History of Africa. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-21592-3.
^ Richards, D. S. (2014-04-04). The Annals of the Saljuq Turks: Selections from al-Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh of Ibn al-Athir. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-83255-3.
^ Curta, Florin (2011-01-30). Edinburgh History of the Greeks, c. 500 to 1050: The Early Middle Ages. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-4489-6.
^ Meisegeier, Michael (2022-02-24). Pas d'églises paléochrétienne en Afrique du Nord: - à la place, un art roman africain (in French). BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN 978-3-7543-6024-8.
^ Kaegi, Walter E. (2010-11-04). Muslim Expansion and Byzantine Collapse in North Africa. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-19677-2.
^ Underwood, Douglas R. (2019-04-09). (Re)using Ruins: Public Building in the Cities of the Late Antique West, A.D. 300-600. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-39053-9.
^ Barbera, Henry (1994). Medieval Sicily: The First Absolute State. Legas. ISBN 978-1-881901-05-1.
^ O'Connell, Monique; Dursteler, Eric R. (2016-05-23). The Mediterranean World: From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Napoleon. JHU Press. ISBN 978-1-4214-1901-5.
^ Kaegi, Walter E. (1995-03-30). Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-48455-8.

[1] Mercier, Ernest (1840-1907) Auteur du texte (1888). Histoire de l'Afrique septentrionale (Berbérie) depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à la conquête française (1830). Tome 1 / par Ernest Mercier...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[2] Beihammer, Alexander Daniel (2017-02-17). Byzantium and the Emergence of Muslim-Turkish Anatolia, Ca. 1040-1130. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-98386-0.

[3] Whitby, Mary (November 2007). Byzantines and Crusaders in Non-Greek Sources, 1025-1204. OUP/British Academy. ISBN 978-0-19-726378-5.

[4] Jr, Everett Jenkins (2010-11-25). The Muslim Diaspora (Volume 1, 570-1500): A Comprehensive Chronology of the Spread of Islam in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-4713-8.

[5] Akyeampong, Emmanuel Kwaku; Jr, Professor Henry Louis Gates (2012-02-02). Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.

[6] Barker, Phil (2019-05-18). DBMM Army Lists Book 3: The Early Medieval Period 476 AD to 1971 AD. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-0-244-48627-3.

[7] Lugan, Bernard (2020-06-23). Histoire de l’Afrique – Des origines à nos jours - 2e édition. Editions Ellipses. ISBN 978-2-340-04371-8.

[8] Brown, Gordon S. (2015-05-12). The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-5127-2.

[9] Sabry, Fouad (2024-04-20). Intellectual Legacy: The Scholar Who Shaped History and Philosophy, Unlocking the Legacy of Ibn Khaldun. One Billion Knowledgeable.

[10] Fage, J. D.; Oliver, Roland Anthony (1975). The Cambridge History of Africa. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-21592-3.

[11] Richards, D. S. (2014-04-04). The Annals of the Saljuq Turks: Selections from al-Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh of Ibn al-Athir. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-83255-3.

[12] Curta, Florin (2011-01-30). Edinburgh History of the Greeks, c. 500 to 1050: The Early Middle Ages. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-4489-6.

[13] Meisegeier, Michael (2022-02-24). Pas d'églises paléochrétienne en Afrique du Nord: - à la place, un art roman africain (in French). BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN 978-3-7543-6024-8.

[14] Kaegi, Walter E. (2010-11-04). Muslim Expansion and Byzantine Collapse in North Africa. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-19677-2.

[15] Underwood, Douglas R. (2019-04-09). (Re)using Ruins: Public Building in the Cities of the Late Antique West, A.D. 300-600. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-39053-9.

[16] Barbera, Henry (1994). Medieval Sicily: The First Absolute State. Legas. ISBN 978-1-881901-05-1.

[17] O'Connell, Monique; Dursteler, Eric R. (2016-05-23). The Mediterranean World: From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Napoleon. JHU Press. ISBN 978-1-4214-1901-5.

[18] Kaegi, Walter E. (1995-03-30). Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-48455-8.

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Context[edit]

Course of the Campaign[edit]

Response[edit]

Significance[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]