The Arab raid against Rome took place in 846.
Muslim raiders plundered the outskirts of the city of
Rome, sacking the basilicas of
Old St Peter's
Old St. Peter's Basilica was the building that stood, from the 4th to 16th centuries, where the new St. Peter's Basilica stands today in Vatican City. Construction of the basilica, built over the historical site of the Circus of Nero, began duri ...
and
St Paul's-Outside-the-Walls, but were prevented from entering the city itself by the
Aurelian Walls.
Background
In the 820s, the
Aghlabids of
Ifriqiya (known by
medieval Italians as the
Saracens) began the
conquest of Sicily. In 842, Arab forces under the rule of
Muhammad Abul Abbas took
Messina
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in t ...
,
Sicily. Around the same time
Radelchis and
Siconulf
Siconulf (also ''Siconolf'', ''Sikenolf'', ''Siconolfo'', or ''Siconulfus'') was the first prince of Salerno, the brother of Sicard, prince of Benevento (832–839), who was assassinated by Radelchis. In response to Sicard's murder, the people ...
, rivals engaged in civil war over the
Principality of Benevento
The Duchy of Benevento (after 774, Principality of Benevento) was the southernmost Lombard duchy in the Italian Peninsula that was centred on Benevento, a city in Southern Italy. Lombard dukes ruled Benevento from 571 to 1077, when it was conq ...
, hired Arab mercenaries.
There is disagreement among the chroniclers over the origins of the raiders who attacked Rome, although most sources describe them as Saracens. According to the ''
Liber Pontificalis'' and the ''
Chronicle of Monte Cassino'', the raiders were Saracens from Africa who raided
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast o ...
before attacking Rome. The ''
Annals of Fulda
The ''Annales Fuldenses'' or ''Annals of Fulda'' are East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious (died 840) to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Francia with the ac ...
'', on the other hand, describe the raiders as
Moors ( la, mauri), which generally indicated Muslims from
al-Andalus
Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the Mu ...
(Spain) or the
Maghreb, as opposed to Ifriqiya. The author of the ''
Annals of Xanten'' was unsure: he called the raiders "either Moors or else Saracens". It is possible that the annals, which are from north of the Alps, were using "Moors" as a synonym for "Saracens". No Italian source describes the raiders of 846 as Moors.
In 842 or thereabouts, according to the ''
Deeds of the Bishops of Naples'', Saracens from
Sicily occupied the
Pontine Islands and the isle of
Licosa, but were driven off by Duke
Sergius I of Naples
Sergius I (died 864) was the first duke of Naples of his dynasty, often dubbed the "Sergi," which ruled over Naples for almost three centuries from his accession in 840 until the death of his namesake Sergius VII in 1137.
Sergius was originally t ...
and a coalition he had formed with
Amalfi
Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic c ...
,
Gaeta
Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples.
The town has played a consp ...
and
Sorrento. Deprived of their island bases, these Saracens occupied the harbour of
Miseno
Miseno is one of the ''frazioni'' of the municipality of Bacoli in the Italian Province of Naples. Known in ancient Roman times as Misenum, it is the site of a great Roman port.
Geography
Nearby Cape Miseno marks the northwestern end of the B ...
near Naples. From there they launched their attack on Rome the next year. This source can be reconciled with those which give the raiders an African origin, since the Muslims then conquering Sicily under the Aghlabids were originally from Africa.
Raid
A large force landed at
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
and
Ostia in 846, annihilating the garrison of Nova Ostia. The Arabs struck following the
Tiber
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...
and the
Ostiense
Ostiense is the 10th ''quartiere'' of Rome, identified by the initials Q. X.
The toponym comes from the original name of the Porta San Paolo, a gate in the city walls of Rome, was , because it was located at the beginning of Via Ostiense. It no ...
and
Portuense roads, as the Roman militia hastily retreated to the safety of the Roman walls.
At the same time, other Arab forces landed at
Centumcellae, marching towards Rome.
Some
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name t ...
s, such as St. Peter's and Saint Paul Outside the Walls, were outside the Aurelian Walls, and thus easy targets. They were "filled to overflowing with rich liturgical vessels and with jewelled reliquaries housing all of the relics recently amassed". The most important among them were the golden cross erected above the alleged tomb of Petrus, the so-called ''Pharum Hadriani'', and the silver table donated to the church by
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...
, and adorned with a representation of
Constantinople. As a result, the raiders pillaged the surroundings of the city and desecrated
the two holy shrines. Some historians believe the raiders had known exactly where to look for the most valuable treasures.
No contemporary account hints at any attempt to penetrate the city, but it is possible that the Romans defended the walls, while around Saint Peter's, members of the Vatican ''
scholae'' (
Saxons,
Lombards,
Frisians and
Franks) attempted to resist, but were defeated.
In the meantime, an army coming from
Spoleto
Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome.
History
Sp ...
and headed by Lombard Duke
Guy, attacked the Arabs, hindered by booty and prisoners, in front of the city walls, pursuing a part of them until Centumcellae, while another group tried to reach Misenum by land. The Saracens were able to embark, but a storm destroyed many ships, bringing on the beaches many corpses adorned with jewels which could be recovered. After that, the Lombard army headed south, reaching the Arabs at Gaeta, where another battle was engaged. On that occasion, only the arrival of Cesarius, son of
Sergius, ''Magister Militum'' of Naples, decided the battle in favour of the Christians.
Aftermath
Shortly after the siege,
Pope Leo IV built the
Leonine Wall
Leonine may refer to:
Lions
* Leonine facies, a face that resembles that of a lion
Popes Leo
* Leonine City, a part of the city of Rome
* Leonine College, a college for priests in training, in Rome, Italy
* Leonine Prayers, a set of prayers that ...
on the right bank of the
Tiber
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...
, in order to protect the Church of St. Peter. The encircled territory, defended by
Castel Sant'Angelo
The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (; English: ''Castle of the Holy Angel''), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleu ...
, was named
Leonine City after the pope, and was considered a separate town, with its own administration. It joined the city in the sixteenth century, becoming the fourteenth
rione
A (; plural: ) is a neighbourhood in several Italian cities. A is a territorial subdivision. The larger administrative subdivisions in Rome are the , with the being used only in the historic centre. The word derives from the Latin , the 14 su ...
of Rome,
Borgo. In 849,
another Arab raid against Rome's port,
Ostia, would be repelled; The Saracen survivors were made prisoners, enslaved and sent to work in chain gangs building the Leonine Wall which was to encompass the Vatican Hill. Rome would never again be threatened by an Arab army.
See also
*
Early Caliphate navy
The Arab Empire maintained and expanded a wide trade network across parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. This helped establish the Arab Empire (including the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid caliphates) as the world's leading extensive economi ...
*
History of Islam in southern Italy
*
Battle of Ostia
The naval Battle of Ostia took place in 849 in the Tyrrhenian Sea between Muslim army and an Italian league of Papal States, Papal, Duchy of Naples, Neapolitan, Duchy of Amalfi, Amalfitan, and Duchy of Gaeta, Gaetan ships. The battle ended in favo ...
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
{{Holy See
840s conflicts
Medieval Rome
Arab–Byzantine wars
846
9th century in the Papal States
Battles involving the Aghlabids
Attacks on churches in Europe