The Battle of Sebastopolis was fought at Sebastopolis (mostly identified with Elaiussa Sebaste in

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

but also with modern Sulusaray) in 692 CE between the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...

under Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The battle ended the peace that had existed between the two powers since 680. The Umayyad army was led by

Muhammad ibn Marwan Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Muḥammad ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam () (died 719/720) was an Umayyad prince and one of the most important generals of the Umayyad Caliphate in the period 690–710, and the one who completed the Arab conquest of Armenia. ...

. The Byzantines were led by

Leontios Leontius ( el, Λεόντιος, Leóntios; – 15 February 706), was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. Little is known of his early life, other than that he was born in Isauria in Asia Minor. He was given the title of ''patrikios'', and mad ...

and included a "special army" of 30,000 Slavs under their leader,

Neboulos Neboulos ( el, Νέβουλος) was a South Slavic or Bulgar military commander in the service of the Byzantine emperor Justinian II (r. 685–695 and 705–711), who defected with many of his men to the Arabs during the crucial Battle of Sebasto ...

. The Umayyads, incensed at the breaking of the treaty, used copies of its texts in the place of a flag. Though the battle seemed to be tilting to the Byzantine advantage, the defection of upwards of 20,000 Slavs ensured a Byzantine defeat.Ostrogorsky, George, ''History of the Byzantine state'',(Rutgers University Press, 1969), 131.Hendy, Michael F., ''Studies in the Byzantine Monetary Economy C. 300-1450'', (Cambridge University Press, 2008), 631.Haldon, John F., ''Byzantium in the seventh century'', (Cambridge University Press, 1997), 72. One source states that the Emperor

Justinian II Justinian II ( la, Iustinianus; gr, Ἰουστινιανός, Ioustinianós; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" ( la, Rhinotmetus; gr, ὁ Ῥινότμητος, ho Rhinótmētos), was the last Eastern Roman emperor of the ...

massacred the remaining Slavs, including women and children, at the Gulf of

Nicomedia Nicomedia (; el, Νικομήδεια, ''Nikomedeia''; modern İzmit) was an ancient Greek city located in what is now Turkey. In 286, Nicomedia became the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire (chosen by the emperor Diocleti ...

, but modern scholars do not consider it a reliable account.

Notes

Sources

* * * Sebastopolis 692 South Slavic history Sebastopolis Sebastopolis 690s in the Byzantine Empire Sebastopolis Battles in medieval Anatolia Medieval Cilicia {{battle-stub