Umayyad Caliphate · 674-718

The Arab sieges of Constantinople

Twice the Umayyad caliphs sent huge forces against Constantinople, and twice they failed. Students find out how walls, the sea, Greek fire, allies and a hard winter stopped the advance.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 717
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Twice the Umayyad caliphs sent huge forces against Constantinople, and twice they failed. Students find out how walls, the sea, Greek fire, allies and a hard winter stopped the advance.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate Constantinople, Syria and the lands of the Bulgars on the map.
  • Describe the attacks of the 670s and the great siege of 717-718.
  • Explain at least two reasons why the sieges failed.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 717

A city between seas

Open the map in 717 with the Cities layer on and find Constantinople. Look at the water on three sides. Why was the city so hard to take from the land alone?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 717

The long route by sea

Zoom out. Umayyad fleets sailed from the ports of Syria and Egypt. Follow the coast from Syria to Constantinople. Which islands and coasts could a fleet use on the way?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 717

The second siege

Turn on Historical Events and find the First and the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople. Then look north-west to the Balkans. Which people lived there who helped the city in 717-718?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why did the Umayyad caliphs want Constantinople so badly?
  2. Greek fire burned even on water, and its recipe was kept secret. Why would a state guard the secret of a weapon so closely?
  3. In 717-718 the besiegers suffered a hard winter, hunger and attacks by the Bulgars. Which do you think mattered most?
  4. Some historians think 718 mattered more for Europe than the Battle of Tours in 732. Do you agree? Why?
  5. After 718 the border between the caliphate and Byzantium settled in the Taurus Mountains. Why do mountains often become borders?
4

Game round

9 min

Play one round of Rule History as Justinian I, whose capital Constantinople later withstood these sieges. Discuss: which parts of the city, such as its walls, its great water cisterns and its harbors, helped it survive a long siege?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.