Siege of Constantinople (626)

Avar–Persian siege of Constantinople
	Part of Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 and the Avar–Byzantine Wars
	; Depiction of the siege from the Chronicle of Constantine Manasses
Date	June–July 626
Location	Constantinople, Byzantine Empire; (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey)41°0′44.06″N 28°58′33.67″E / 41.0122389°N 28.9760194°E
Result	Byzantine victory; Siege broken
Territorial; changes	Byzantines retake Anatolia
Belligerents
Sassanid Empire; Avar Khaganate; Sclaveni ; Bulgars	Byzantine Empire
Commanders and leaders
Bayan III ; Shahrbaraz; Kardarigan	Patriarch Sergius; Magister Bonus; Theodore
Strength
George of Pisidia:; 80,000 troops; 30,000 from vanguard;	Theodore Synkellos:; Less than 8,000 troops, outnumbered 10+ to 1; Modern estimates:; 15,000 troops 12,000 cavalrymen; 1,000–2,000 palace guards; sailors;
	class=notpageimage\| Location within Istanbul Siege of Constantinople (626) (Mediterranean) Siege of Constantinople (626) (Black Sea)

The siege of Constantinople in 626 by the Sassanid Persians and Avars, aided by large numbers of allied Slavs and Bulgars^[4] ended in a strategic victory for the Byzantines. The failure of the siege saved the empire from collapse, and, combined with other victories achieved by Emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641) the previous year and in 627, enabled Byzantium to regain its territories and end the destructive Roman–Persian Wars by enforcing a treaty with borders status quo c. 590.

^ The Walls of Constantinople AD 324–1453, p. 47. Stephen Turnbull, 2004. ISBN 978-1-84176-759-8
^ Hurbanič, Martin (2019). The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626. Springer. p. 135. ISBN 978-3030166847.
^ Hurbanič, Martin (2019). The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626. Springer. pp. 163–164. ISBN 978-3030166847.
^ The Walls of Constantinople AD 324–1453, p. 47. Stephen Turnbull, 2004. ISBN 978-1-84176-759-8

[1] The Walls of Constantinople AD 324–1453, p. 47. Stephen Turnbull, 2004. ISBN 978-1-84176-759-8

[2] Hurbanič, Martin (2019). The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626. Springer. p. 135. ISBN 978-3030166847.

[3] Hurbanič, Martin (2019). The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626. Springer. pp. 163–164. ISBN 978-3030166847.

[4] The Walls of Constantinople AD 324–1453, p. 47. Stephen Turnbull, 2004. ISBN 978-1-84176-759-8

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