Justinian campaigns (533–555): The Eastern Roman emperorJustinian launched an ambitious reconquest of Italy, North Africa and parts of Spain. However, new invaders like theAvars,Lombards andSlavs, alongside a pandemic known as thePlague of Justinian and variousvolcanicwinters ended his ambition of recuperate the West and consolidate the reconquest.
By 650 (pictured) the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) empire had lost all its southern provinces, except theExarchate of Africa, to the Rashidun Caliphate. At the same time the Slavs invaded and settled in the Balkans. The losses continued in the next century
The Eastern Roman emperorHeraclius adopted the Greek language as official language in 610. Constantinople's territorial control shrunk to Greece and Anatolia, because of Persian, Avar and finally Arab invasions. Due to these changing circumstances, the reign of Heraclius is often regarded as the turning point from which historiography stops calling it the "Eastern Roman Empire", and starts speaking of the "Byzantine Empire".[1]
645–656: Renewed war with the Caliphate, loss ofCyprus and most of Armenia. The Rashidun advance towards Constantinople halted following the outbreak of theFirst Fitna.
668–678: Renewed attacks on the Byzantine Empire byMuawiyah II, leading to theFirst Arab Siege of Constantinople. Following its failure, a truce was agreed, providing for payment of tribute, men and horses to the Empire.
686–688: Successful Byzantine offensive established Byzantine control over Armenia andCaucasian Iberia, followed by favourable peace agreement with theUmayyad Caliphate, in return for the withdrawal of theMardaites into the Empire.
688–689: Balkan campaign ofJustinian II secured the coast between Thrace and Macedonia. Many Slavs were captured and resettled in imperial territory. Over 30,000 were incorporated into the Byzantine army.
689: Justinian II leads his army into Syria whenAbd al-Malik ibn Marwan stops the payment of tributes due to Mardaites raids. Approximately 12,000 Mardaites are deported to the Empire. Peace is re-established and tributes resumed.
692–718: Almost constant war with the Arabs in various fronts. The defeat at theBattle of Sebastopolis and internal instability led to the gradual loss of Armenia and Cilicia, and despite some successes by EmperorHeraclius, the Byzantines generally maintained a defensive stance against the annual Arab raids into Anatolia.Carthage fell in 697. Recovered soon after, it wasagain lost in 698, marking the end of Byzantine North Africa. From 712 on, the Arab raids penetrated ever deeper into Anatolia, with the final objective of mounting an assault on Constantinople itself. The repulsion of theSecond Arab Siege of Constantinople (717–718) was a major Byzantine success. Consider to be one of history's most important battles, the victory halted Muslim advance into Southeastern Europe for centuries.
708: War with Bulgaria ends in defeat atAnchialus.
720–740 : Annual Arab raiding expeditions (ṣawā'if) against Byzantine Anatolia resume. Stiffening Byzantine resistance leads to the victory atAkroinon at 740.
741–752: Campaigns ofConstantine V against the Arabs, who were embroiled incivil war, leading to the recovery of all of Armenia andCyprus.
755–767: War with theBulgars.Constantine V defeats the Bulgar khanTelets, leading to the conclusion of a favourable peace treaty in 767.
772–775: War with the Bulgars underTelerig, launched as a pre-emptive strike byConstantine V.
775–783: War with theAbbasids. After the death of Constantine V in 775, Arab raids resumed. After a heavy defeat at Germanicopolis in 779/780, the Abbasids launched a series of major invasions underHarun al-Rashid, which led to the conclusion of a truce in 783.
780–783: Raids by the Bulgars underKardam, leading to an agreement of non-aggression in exchange for annual payments.
803–809: War with the Abbasids, resulting fromNikephoros I's cessation of annual tribute payments. The Arabs underHarun al-Rashid achieved significant early successes, but the outbreak of a revolt inKhorasan facilitated a Byzantine counter-offensive in 807–809. A truce in 809 restored the territorial status quo.
808–816: Wars with the Bulgars, beginning with the Bulgariancapture of Sofia. A large-scale retaliatory campaign ended in the disastrousbattle of Pliska (811), following whichKrum of Bulgaria raided Eastern Thrace and secured a major victory atVersinikia. Following his death in 814,Leo V the Armenian defeated the Bulgars atMesembria and secured a 30-year peace.
830–841: War with the Abbasids, with large-scale invasions launched by caliphsal-Ma'mun andal-Mu'tasim. Despite a crushing defeat at theBattle of Dazimon and thesack of Amorium in 838, EmperorTheophilos was able to conclude a truce in 841 without territorial losses, although raids by the Muslim border emirates continued.
ca. 844–878: Wars with thePaulicians ofTephrike end with the destruction of the Paulician state and its incorporation into the Empire.
851–863: War with the Abbasids and their clients. Successful Byzantine raids in Syria, Mesopotamia and Egypt are checked by a series of Muslim invasions ofAnatolia in 860. Another invasion in 863 sees the complete annihilation of the Muslim army at theBattle of Lalakaon.
852, 855–856: Short wars with Bulgaria, ending in the recovery of several cities in northern Thrace.
871–885: Campaigns led byBasil I in person against northern Mesopotamia (871–873) are followed by a series of expeditions against the Muslims inSicily andSouthern Italy. The final loss of Sicily could not be averted, but the Arabs are driven from Southern Italy andDalmatia, laying the foundations of theCatepanate of Italy.
894–896/897:War with Bulgaria under TsarSimeon erupts over trade rights. It ends with a Bulgarian victory after theBattle of Bulgarophygon. The Byzantines agree to pay tribute and restore the market for Bulgarian goods to Constantinople.
964–975: Sustained Byzantine offensive in the East, underNikephoros II Phokas andJohn I Tzimiskes, leads to the conquest ofCilicia,Cyprus, much of western Armenia and northern Syria. Aleppo becomes an imperial vassal.
992–999: War with theFatimids overAleppo. Initial Fatimid victories overMichael Bourtzes lead to the direct intervention ofBasil II, who clears northern Syria of the Fatimids and secures a ten-year truce
1068-1071:Siege of Bari The Normans conquered Bari and put an end to the Catepanate of Italy.
1071:Battle of Mantzikert The Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantines and began the invasion of Anatolia.
1078: Suleyman creates the Sultanate of Rum after conquering Nicaea.
1081–1085: War against the firstNorman invasion of the Balkans. Early Byzantine defeat atDyrrhachium (1081), but the successful defence ofThessaly and naval victories with Venetian aid led to the eventual abandonment of the invasion after the death ofRobert Guiscard.
1081–1095: Seljuk campaigns in the Aegean:Tzachas of Smyrna launches fleets in the Aegean and seizes a number of islands, but is eventually defeated by the Byzantines.
1086–1091: Uprising of theBogomils in the Balkans, aided by theCumans andPechenegs. Early Byzantine defeat atDristra (1086), but the Pechenegs were decisively defeated at theBattle of Levounion in 1091.
1096–1097: TheFirst Crusade passed through Byzantium on its way to theHoly Land.Recovery ofNicaea with the Crusaders' aid, and subsequent reconquest of much of western Asia Minor byJohn Doukas.
1107–1110: Provided diplomatic and economic support to the Norwegians during theNorwegian Crusade
1110–1117: Renewed war with theSeljuk Turks. Initial Turkish advances are reversed in a treaty concluded after the Byzantine victory at theBattle of Philomelion.
1124–1126: War with Venice over the non-renewal of trading privileges byJohn II Komnenos. The Venetian fleet ravaged the coasts of Greece, forcing the emperor to back down.
1171–1177:War with Venice. Initial Venetian moves in the Aegean checked by the Byzantine fleet. Truce concluded in 1177, peace treaty in 1183.
1176–1180: War with the Seljuks. Initial campaign against ends in the defeat at theBattle of Myriokephalon, resulting in the gradual loss of territory in Anatolia.
1235: Joint Nicaean-Bulgariansiege of Constantinople fails
1254–1256: Bulgaria attacks Nicaea after the death ofJohn III Vatatzes, in an attempt to recover lost territory. EmperorTheodore II Laskaris campaigns against the Bulgarians and drives them back.
ca. 1272–1280: Campaigns ofLicario recoverEuboea and many Aegean islands for the Empire.
sometime in 1273–1275: Large-scale campaign againstJohn I Doukas of Thessaly. The Byzantine army is defeated atNeopatras, but the navy scores a major victory atDemetrias.
1274–1275: Byzantine offensive againstAngevin holdings inAlbania drive the Angevin forces out of most of the country, although repeated assaults on their last two strongholds ofDyrrhachium andValona fail.
1279: Unsuccessful campaigns against Bulgaria, defeat atDevina.
1280–1281:Angevin offensive in Albania is repulsed atBerat, and most of Albania is retaken.
1302–1305: War with theOttoman Turks. After a defeat in theBattle of Bapheus, the Byzantines hire theCatalan Company. After a series of victories against the Turks, the Catalans turn against Byzantium following the murder of their leader.
1304–1305: The Bulgarians attack Byzantium, and manage to recover the port cities on the Black Sea coast.
1326–1338: Gradual capture of the remaining Byzantine cities in northwestern Anatolia by the Ottomans,Bursa in 1326,Nicaea in 1331 andNicomedia in 1337. Defeats of the Byzantines in battles atPelekanon andPhilokrene.
