Battle of Marash (953)

For other conflicts at Marash, see Battle of Marash (disambiguation)

Battle of Marash
Part of the Byzantine–Arab Wars
Date 953 Location Near Marash Result Arab victory
Belligerents
Byzantine Empire	Hamdanid Emirate of Aleppo
Commanders and leaders
Bardas Phokas the Elder	Sayf al-Dawla

The Battle of Marash was fought in 953 near Marash (modern Kahramanmaraş) between the forces of the Byzantine Empire under the Domestic of the Schools Bardas Phokas the Elder, and of the Hamdanid Emir of Aleppo, Sayf al-Dawla, the Byzantines' most intrepid enemy during the mid-10th century. Despite being outnumbered, the Arabs defeated the Byzantines who broke and fled. Bardas Phokas suffered a serious wound in his face, and his younger son Constantine was captured and held a prisoner in Aleppo until his death of an illness some time later. This debacle led to Bardas Phokas' dismissal as Domestic of the Schools, and his replacement by his eldest son, Nikephoros Phokas (later emperor in 963–969).

Sources

• Vasiliev, A.A. (1968). Canard, M. (ed.). Byzance et les Arabes, Tome II, 1ére partie: Les relations politiques de Byzance et des Arabes à L'époque de la dynastie macédonienne (867–959). Brussels: Éditions de l'Institut de Philologie et d'Histoire Orientales. pp. 350–351.
• Wortley, John, ed. (2010), John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057, Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, pp. 232–233, ISBN 978-0-521-76705-7