Second Arab Siege of Constantinople

In 717 a major Umayyad army led by Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik advanced on Constantinople while an Arab fleet attempted to blockade the Byzantine capital. Leo III had only recently taken the imperial throne and faced the possibility that the empire’s political centre could fall during one of the most dangerous moments in its history.

The city’s land walls, Byzantine naval operations and the use of Greek fire helped prevent a successful blockade. The besieging forces also suffered through winter, shortages and disease, while attacks by Bulgarian forces increased the pressure on the Umayyad army. The expedition was finally withdrawn in 718 after very heavy losses.

The siege is a central historical framework for Theodore Brun’s A Burning Sea. Erlan and Lilla arrive in Byzantium as imperial intrigue and the approaching Umayyad assault converge, allowing the fictional narrative to move from the legendary Scandinavian setting of the earlier books into a well-attested geopolitical crisis.