Situation on the Edessa Frontier

Name: Situation on the Edessa Frontier
Start: 1031
End: 1035

Type Event Region Mesopotamian frontier Time 1031–1035

After George Maniakes captured Edessa around 1031 and repelled the counterattack of the Marwanid Kurdish emir Abu'l-Ward, the empire established a de…

Timeline

1031Edessa · MesopotamiaManiakes used bribery and a night attack to persuade the commander Sulayman to hand over part of the defenses, first seizing three towers; after Abu'l-Ward's Kurdish forces failed to retake the city, they burned it and withdrew, and the Byzantines occupied the entire city and its citadel.
1033Mesopotamian frontier · MesopotamiaUsing Edessa as a base, Maniakes launched raids against the Marwanid Kurds and other Muslim forces and consolidated the defensive line, maintaining a Byzantine military presence in Upper Mesopotamia and making it a key stronghold on the empire's eastern frontier.

Sources

John Skylitzes, A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811–1057 — John Skylitzes (2010)
The Byzantine Empire, 1025–1204: A Political History — Michael Angold (2004)