Siege
Siege and Defence of Castles During the First Crusade II
UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1754: Siege of a town led by Godefroy de Bouillon (c1060-1100) 1st Crusade (1095-1099), showing Saracens firing arrows at Crusaders as they attempt to scale the walls. From manuscript of Roman de Godefroy de Bouillon. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images) The technological skills of the Franks were not limited to constructing siege engines and artillery. They…
Most Recent
626 AD Avar Siege of Constantinople
Avar khagan Haganos laid siege to the city, an advance guard of some 30,000 men forced the Byzantine army guarding the wall to fall back to the protection of the Theodosian Walls. Very important events took place in the Balkan Peninsula after the death of Justinian, although unfortunately present knowledge…
Ottoman Siege of Vienna 1683
The relief of Vienna on September 12, 1683. In the decisive battle at Kahlenberg, the united imperial army succeeded in liberating Vienna after two months of siege at the hands of the Turkish army. Plan of Vienna, with the Turkish approaches. In June 1683 the Ottomans were at the gates…
Second Arab Siege of Constantinople in 717–718
Date: August 717–15 August 718. Location: on the Sea of Marmara, modern Istanbul. Forces Engaged: Byzantine: unknown. Commander: Emperor Leo the Isaurian. Muslim: 210,000. Commander: Maslama. Importance: Defeat of Muslim forces in their first serious attempt to overpower the Byzantine Empire led to another seven centuries of Christian power in…
The siege of Ostend and the Spinola offensives 1601-8
Ostend’s military machines by Pompeo Giustiniani 1 & 3, the construction of wicker filled with stones and earth were buried in the trenches by the besiegers; they were used in the western part of the town to allow the fording of the Old Haven. 2 & 4, to the east,…
Siege of La Rochelle
The siege of the Huguenot stronghold of La Rochelle by the forces of Louis XIII, 1627-9, was a huge operation that lasted for fifteen months. The king’s forces had to devise massive seaward barriers to prevent the English, who had occupied the fle de Re, from assisting their Huguenot allies.…
The Medieval Siege
In ancient times, cities often had strong walls around them, and warfare against these cities had always involved the basic tasks of breaking the walls, going over or under the walls, or starving the defenders into surrender. In the Middle Ages, Europe’s decentralized political structure put a new twist on…