As a historical and holy place, the ancient Roman city has a pivotal position in Europe. It was originally the center of the Seven Hills of the Mediterranean Rim hegemony, but it was refrigerated due to the changes of the times, but it has always been vulnerable to military disasters due to violent conflicts. Especially when the world around us becomes stormy, there will be new forces that are ready to focus on it.
So, when we look through the vast sea of books, we can find two large-scale invasions instigated by the Arabs. Although it failed to take the city for itself, it caused a heavy loss to the Vatican, where the church is located. In the end, the locals were forced to change their strategy and completely transform the large and inappropriate imperial capital into a medieval fortress with layers of defense.
5th century A.D. The Western Roman Empire came to an end in the midst of barbarian invasions
In the middle of the 5th century, the former Western Roman Empire was overthrown by Germanic mercenaries. But most Italian cities did not suffer much from the change of dynasty. On the contrary, they remained relatively prosperous throughout the Ostrogothic kingdom and were even willing to submit politically to Constantinople in the East. It was not until the rise of Emperor Justinian's reconquest movement that it fell into depression due to repeated tug-of-wars. In particular, Rome, which retained a collective water supply and a co-rule with the Senate, was often the focus of contention due to its special status, resulting in dilapidated infrastructure and a large number of refugees.
However, Rome is, after all, the old capital of the empire with a special historical memory, and the main residence of the pope himself. So it was quick to get money for repairs in the middle of the war, and slowly attract the outflow back. Especially during the Mediterranean plague, the Church was favored by the victims because of its generosity. Coupled with the fact that the city itself has access to the Tiber River to the open sea, and the Ravenna-Roman corridor, which is maintained by the emperor's garrison, it can have a considerable bottom-line advantage in troubled times.
Relying on the Byzantine Empire, the city of Rome began to revive after the 6th and 7th centuries
As a result, a rather peculiar sight was born in the city. While many nobles and commoners chose to use Greek, the Church remained the only one that adhered to the primitive Latin tradition, creating a cultural or identity divide between Rome and other Italian cities.
In the 6th-7th centuries AD, Avar nomads from the Transcaucasian region ravaged Central Europe. This was originally just a murder by the Byzantine Empire, but it inadvertently caused a new round of chaos in the Italian peninsula. For example, the Lombards, who chose to ally themselves with the newcomers, took advantage of the situation to cross the towering Alps, causing large numbers of Germanic tribes to enter the Po Plain. Since the indigenous population was devastated by war and plague, they chose to submit directly without resistance.
The Lombards' southward march into Italy was also the last Germanic barbarian invasion in history
The historic Lombard kingdom was established and the Byzantine army was quickly driven out of Central Italian towns until Naples in the very south. As for the city of Rome, headed by the Pope, it was unwilling to submit to the rule of the barbarians, and it could not receive sufficient relief from the east. For a while, he was in a very awkward situation, and he could only survive in the gap between the two forces.
Fortunately, there was no end to the road, and the Holy See soon looked for new reinforcements in the midst of danger. Piping, the palace chief who had just usurped the dominance of the Frankish kingdom, led his army into Italy in 754 AD and successfully subdued the Lombards, who were constantly suffering from internal conflict. With a wave of his hand, he surrendered the city of Rome and the surrounding villages and towns to the direct jurisdiction of the Pope, thus binding the entire Church to himself. His son, Charlemagne, went one step further and dedicated the entire Roman-Ravenna corridor to the Pope after the complete conquest of northern Italy. The latter was able to have well-defined secular interests in addition to the unlimited theocracy. Charlemagne was successfully crowned emperor and upgraded the original Frankish kingdom to an empire!
Charlemagne's Frankish Empire allowed the Pope to enjoy more secular power within the realm
The honeymoon period between the Frankish Empire and the Holy See did not last long
Unfortunately, the honeymoon period between the emperor and the Holy See did not last long. By the middle of the 9th century alone, the empire was divided equally among Charlemagne's three grandsons. Among them, the Franks in Italy were the weakest, and even the pope faced a downward trend in secular authority. Even in Central Italy, not far from Rome, many feudal lords of Lombard origin went their own way. Thus, in the eyes of outside observers, this grass-made Papal State has become a non-existent entity.
At the same time, Muslim Arabs in the south continued to expand, trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa to various parts of southern Europe. Spain, for example, a step away from the Maghreb, was conquered by the Arab-Moorish coalition after 711 AD. Sicily, which was an important food base for the city of Rome, was also attacked by another Arab army from Tunisia and Algeria from 872 onwards.
The continued expansion of the Arabs also included attacks from North Africa to various parts of southern Europe
Although Muslim pirates had long been frequent raiders on the northern shores of the Mediterranean, they were effectively curbed in Charlemagne's time. Now that the empire is a thing of the past, the navy stationed in the port of Marseille is no longer sustainable, so it has resumed retaliatory attacks with interest. Some independent groups even went a step further and participated as mercenaries in the civil wars of the Lombard nobility in southern Italy. In turn, it occupies several ports and small coastal islands, enough to extend the radius to the northwest of the Rigurian coast. Considering that the Arabs had always been adept at using frequent raids as a prelude to large-scale conquests, many feudal lords in central and northern Italy felt seriously threatened. Even port cities such as Genoa and Amalfi, which are gradually recovering, are planning the upcoming phased battles.
In 842 A.D., the emir Ibn al-Agreb, who owned Sicily and Malta, was determined to pre-empt Rome, which had multiple political implications. And, of course, the near-independent Vatican Hill, hoping to wrest enough reserve wealth from the Church. Moreover, compared to those places where local feudal lords were concentrated, the Pope still retained quite a bit of the classical city-state structure. With the exception of a very limited guard, the improvised militia could only be used to defend against external threats. If you want to bring in vassal troops to assist in the defense, you will inevitably have to go through the feudal negotiation process, and the overall rate of action is not efficient. Therefore, it is easy to use only a few thousand raid detachments, and by the way, it is necessary to pave the way for large-scale annexation in the future.
Arab maritime invaders on modern European oil painting
So the Arabs who had gathered hastily boarded ships from the port of Miceno and sailed straight from Naples in the south to the mouth of the Tiber. Since there was no one to stop along the way, it was very easy to land in Porto and Ostia. The former is located on the north bank of the Tiber River and is an artificial port opened during the ancient Roman Empire. However, due to sediment accumulation and shrinkage, it has gradually degenerated into a dilapidated area overgrown with swamps. The latter, located on the south bank of the Tiber River, was a port town of much older origin, and served as a food source until the Middle Ages. Therefore, Aghleb chose to go ashore at both ends simultaneously, and then proceed along the Tiber River and the Roman road on both banks.
In the face of the sudden raiders, the soldiers and civilians in the city of Rome were suddenly a little caught off guard. Until then, forces that could pose a threat to the city tended to arrive overland from the north and south. Especially in the last 200 years, almost all of them have been arranged by Lombards from Pavia or Greeks from Ravenna. So much so that the two seaports on the west side were neglected to guard against it, and it took little resistance to cede control. The rest fled to the main city, hoping to secure their property and personal safety by relying on the Aurelian walls, built in the 3rd century AD. But religious sites, including St. Paul's Cathedral, are not within these walls at all.
Aurelian walls (red) built in the 3rd century
On the other hand, more Arab soldiers had moved to the northwest and landed at Civitavecchia, a little further away. Obviously, the first target of the attack was the unprotected Vatican Hill, followed by the central part of Rome, which was guarded by the ancient walls and the Tiber River. Sure enough, with the exception of a few armed scholars who dared to stand up and resist, the protection of this holy place was almost zero. The Muslims soon looted everything they could find, including the cross and the silver tabletop donated by Charlemagne himself. But the search for huge wealth also seriously slowed down the pace of the whole army, giving the Roman army and civilians enough time to calm the panic.
Eventually, the Arabs were held back by the ancient and fortified walls of Aurelian. The barrier, built by order of Emperor Aurelian, was repaired and strengthened throughout the 3rd and 5th centuries. Most of the passages are 16 meters high and 3 meters thick5 meters, and a total of 383 towers for soldiers to observe and shoot. The only drawback is that it needs to be garrisoned by a large number of troops, otherwise it will not be able to show the full intent of the design. Fortunately, the Arabs were limited in number and did not carry special siege machinery, so they were not very sure of breaking the game. In particular, there is the Tiber River on the north side of the city wall as a barrier, which is not easy for foreign enemies to easily cross. When the Lombard cavalry of the Duke of Guy arrived from Spoleto, they immediately forced the Muslim soldiers to retreat separately. Many were slow to keep their booty and prisoners, and were wantonly pursued by their pursuers on the way. Other teams were lucky enough to touch the shore, but their ships were quickly wrecked by the storm, and many of the trophies were washed back to shore by the waves. In the end, only a small part fled south, and the whole army was wiped out in the ** of more Lombard pursuers.
The Arab invaders were annihilated by the repeated attacks of the Lombard cavalry
Pope Leo IV, who experienced two Arab invasions
Although the invasion, which took place in 846 AD, ended with the Arabs winning and then losing, it also woke up almost all the powers of the peninsula at that time. Everyone was aware of the imminent threat from Muslims, and the Byzantine Empire, which had always claimed jurisdiction, was unstable. Therefore, it is necessary to take matters into our own hands and strengthen various defensive measures in accordance with local conditions.
For example, the port city of Almafi, located in Capania in the southThere have already been small victories in confrontations with Muslim pirates. After that, it further strengthened its armament buildup, and contacted several surrounding city principalities to organize fleets together.
The Castle of Angels, converted from the tomb of Emperor Trajan
The Lion Wall that wraps around the entire Vatican Hill
The city of Rome, as the main victim, also started a large-scale upgrade of the city's defenses after the war. Under the auspices of Pope Leo IV, the original Aurelian Walls were extended to the north bank of the Tiber River, forming a new Lion Wall outside St. Peter's Basilica. The Vatican Hills, which were originally separated from the main city, became a vital defensive fortress. The tomb of Emperor Trajan, located between the two, was renovated as an angelic castle as a vantage point for the passage of the Tiber. Of course, the Pope himself also invested in the Navy and frequently participated in various anti-Muslim military operations in later history.
Three years later, the Arabs, having suffered the previous defeat, were determined to make a comeback and planned to take Rome with heavy troops. However, the mass assembly could not escape the eyes of the outside world, and was soon made known by the Italian states. When the invaders returned to the port of Ostia on the south side of Rome, they were ambushed by a coalition led by the Papal States and Almafi. Not only did it fail to form a breakthrough in the fleet confrontation, but it was also attacked by storms in the temporary retreat, and finally caused an irreparable defeat.
A modern European oil painting depicting the Battle of Ostia
At this point, the age of navigation belonging to the medieval Italians was quietly dawning, and the Muslims would gradually be driven out of European waters.
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