Battle of Akroinon

Battle of Akroinon
Part of the Arab–Byzantine Wars
Map of Anatolia (Asia Minor) c. 740 AD. Akroinon is located at the center of the western edge of the central Anatolian plateau
Date 740 AD Location Akroinon, Byzantine Empire (present-day Afyon, Turkey) 38°45′N 30°32′E / 38.750°N 30.533°E / 38.750; 30.533 Result Byzantine victory
Belligerents
Umayyad Caliphate	Byzantine Empire
Commanders and leaders
Abdallah al-Battal † al-Malik ibn Shu'aib †	Leo III Constantine V
Strength
20,000[1][2]	unknown
Casualties and losses
13,200[1][2]	unknown

The Battle of Akroinon was fought at Akroinon or Akroinos (near modern Afyon) in Phrygia, on the western edge of the Anatolian plateau, in 740 between an Umayyad Arab army and the Byzantine forces. The Arabs had been conducting regular raids into Anatolia for the past century, and the 740 expedition was the largest in recent decades, consisting of three separate divisions. One division, 20,000 strong under Abdallah al-Battal and al-Malik ibn Shu'aib, was confronted at Akroinon by the Byzantines under the command of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian r. 717–741) and his son, the future Constantine V (r. 741–775). The battle resulted in a decisive Byzantine victory. Coupled with the Umayyad Caliphate's troubles on other fronts and the internal instability before and after the Abbasid Revolt, this put an end to major Arab incursions into Anatolia for three decades.