Nasar (), originally baptized Basil (),. was a distinguished

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

military leader in the Byzantine–Arab conflicts of the latter half of the 9th century.

Biography

Not much is known about Nasar's family. His father Christopher held the supreme court position of ''

magistros The (Latin; ; ) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantium, the office was eventually transformed into a senior honorary rank, simply called ''magist ...

'', and he had a brother named Barsanes. On account of his name, the historian

Michele Amari Michele Benedetto Gaetano Amari (7 July 1806 in Palermo – 16 July 1889 in Florence) was a Sicilian patriot, liberal revolutionary and politician of aristocratic background, historian and orientalist. He rose to prominence as a champion of ...

speculated that he was of Syrian, perhaps

Mardaite The Mardaites () or al-Jarajima (; /ALA-LC: ''al-Jarājimah'') were early Christians following Chalcedonian Christianity in the Nur Mountains. Little is known about their ethnicity, but it has been speculated that they might have been Persian pe ...

, origin. Under Emperor

Michael III Michael III (; 9/10 January 840 – 24 September 867), also known as Michael the Drunkard, was Byzantine emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian dynasty, Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty. He ...

(r. 842–867), he was appointed '' stratēgos'' of the Bucellarian Theme, one of the largest and most important of the Byzantine Empire's ''

themata The themes or (, , singular: , ) were the main military and administrative divisions of the middle Byzantine Empire. They were established in the mid-7th century in the aftermath of the Slavic migrations to Southeastern Europe and Muslim conqu ...

''. In this capacity, together with the patrician

Petronas Petroliam Nasional Berhad, commonly known as PETRONAS (stylised in all caps), is a Malaysian Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. Established in 1974, it is a lega ...

, he participated in the

Battle of Lalakaon The Battle of Lalakaon (), or Battle of Poson or Porson (), was fought in 863 between the Byzantine Empire and an invading Arab army in Paphlagonia (modern northern Turkey). The Byzantine army was led by Petronas (general), Petronas, the uncle ...

in 863, where the Byzantines inflicted a crushing defeat on

Umar al-Aqta ʿUmar ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Marwān. or ʿAmr ibn ʿUbaydallāh ibn Marwān, surnamed al-Aqtaʾ (; , , in Greek), and found as Amer or Ambros () in Byzantine sources, was the semi-independent Arab emir of Malatya (Melitene) from the 830s until h ...

, the emir of Melitene. On their return to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, the two generals celebrated a triumph in the

Hippodrome Hippodrome is a term sometimes used for public entertainment venues of various types. A modern example is the Hippodrome which opened in London in 1900 "combining circus, hippodrome, and stage performances". The term hippodroming refers to fr ...

. In 879 or 880, Nasar replaced

Niketas Oryphas Niketas Oryphas or Oöryphas ( or , fl. 860–873). was a distinguished Byzantine official, ''patrikios'',. and admiral under the Byzantine emperors Michael III (r. 842–867) and Basil I the Macedonian (r. 867–886), who achieved several naval ...

as the ''

droungarios tou ploimou The ''droungarios'' of the Fleet (, ''droungarios tou ploïmou/tōn ploïmōn''; after the 11th century δρουγγάριος τοῦ στόλου, ''droungarios tou stolou''), sometimes anglicized as Drungary of the Fleet, was the commander o ...

'', commander of the

Byzantine navy The Byzantine navy was the Navy, naval force of the Byzantine Empire. Like the state it served, it was a direct continuation from its Roman navy, Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defence and survival of the state than its ...

's Constantinople-based Imperial Fleet, and was sent by Emperor

Basil I Basil I, nicknamed "the Macedonian" (; 811 – 29 August 886), was List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor from 867 to 886. Born to a peasant family in Macedonia (theme), Macedonia, he rose to prominence in the imperial court after gainin ...

against the

Aghlabid The Aghlabid dynasty () was an Arab dynasty centered in Ifriqiya (roughly present-day Tunisia) from 800 to 909 that conquered parts of Sicily, Southern Italy, and possibly Sardinia, nominally as vassals of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Aghlabids ...

fleet that was raiding the

Ionian islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...

.. A mutiny of the fleet's rowers forced him to stop for a while at Methoni, but discipline was restored and the crews strengthened with troops of the local theme. Nasar proceeded to score a significant victory in a night battle over the Aghlabids with the aid of

Greek fire Greek fire was an incendiary weapon system used by the Byzantine Empire from the seventh to the fourteenth centuries. The recipe for Greek fire was a closely-guarded state secret; historians have variously speculated that it was based on saltp ...

. Nasar then proceeded to raid

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, capturing many

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

ships and carrying off much booty and merchandise. Reportedly, the price of

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

in the markets of Constantinople fell sharply as a result. He then went on to support the concurrent land operations by the Byzantine generals Prokopios and Leo Apostyppes in southern Italy, before defeating another Aghlabid fleet off the coast of

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

; at the same time, another Byzantine squadron scored a significant victory at

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. These victories were crucial to the restoration of Byzantine control over

southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

(the future

Catepanate of Italy The Catepanate of Italy (, ''Katepaníkion Italías'') was a province ('' theme'') of the Byzantine Empire, that existed from c. 965 until 1071. It was headed by a governor (''katepano'') with both civil and military powers. At its greatest exten ...

), compensating to an extent for the effective loss of Sicily following the fall of

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

in 878.

References

Sources

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Biography

References

Sources

Further reading