The Arab raid against Rome took place in 846. Muslim raiders plundered the outskirts of the city of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, sacking the basilicas of Old St Peter's 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

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

s) began the conquest of Sicily. In 842, Arab forces under the rule of Muhammad Abul Abbas took Messina,

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. Around the same time Radelchis and Siconulf, 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 before attacking Rome. The '' Annals of Fulda'', on the other hand, describe the raiders as

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

( 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 M ...

(Spain) or the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

, 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 (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

occupied the

Pontine Islands The Pontine Islands (, also ; it, Isole Ponziane ) are an archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Lazio region, Italy. The islands were collectively named after the largest island in the group, Ponza. The other islands in the archipe ...

and the isle of

Licosa Licosa is a southern Italian village and hamlet (''frazione'') of Castellabate, a municipality in the province of Salerno, Campania. As of 2009 its population was of 82. History The toponym derives from the Greek word Λευκωσία (Leukosia ...

, 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 dramati ...

, Gaeta and

Sorrento Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana ra ...

. Deprived of their island bases, these Saracens occupied the harbour of Miseno 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 List of rivers of Italy, 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 ...

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 n ...

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 (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

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 ...

, and adorned with a representation of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

. 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 The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

, Frisians and

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

) 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 Spolet ...

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 on the right bank of the

, in order to protect the Church of St. Peter. The encircled territory, defended by Castel Sant'Angelo, 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.

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

Background

Raid

Aftermath

See also

Notes

Sources