Atlas of Battles

siege, major, medieval

Siege of Constantinople

Siege of Constantinople was a siege conducted on 18 June AD 860 at Constantinople, in what is now Turkey; it lasted 47 days. It was part of the Rus'–Byzantine wars, which ran from AD 900 to 1043. The recorded result: Rus' victory. Recorded strength: Unknown against 8,000 men.

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The Rus under the walls of Tsargrad. Detail from a medieval Russian icon.
The Rus under the walls of Tsargrad. Detail from a medieval Russian icon.. This file is lacking source information. Please edit this file's description and provide a source. Transferred from en.w, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought18 June AD 860lasted 47 days
WhereConstantinople, Turkey41.000N, 28.900E
OutcomeRus' victory
BelligerentsByzantine EmpireagainstRus'
Part ofRus'–Byzantine warsAD 900 to 1043

Where it sits in the Rus'–Byzantine wars

Siege of Constantinople, AD 860Battle of Lemnos, 1024Rus'–Byzantine War of 1043, 1043AD 8601043Siege of Constantinople, AD 860
3 placed engagements of the Rus'–Byzantine wars in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date18 June AD 860
to 4 August AD 860
PlaceConstantinople, Turkey
41.000N, 28.900E
KindSiege, medieval
StrengthUnknown8,000 men
Commanders
  • Michael III
  • Askold and Dir
Siege of ConstantinopleSiege of ConstantinopleBattle of KatasyrtaiBattle of ConstantinopleFall of ConstantinopleBattle of ConstantinopleSiege of ConstantinopleBattle of ConstantinopleSiege of ConstantinopleBursaEskişehirAdapazarıTekirdağLüleburgazKırklareliBilecik100 km41.000N, 28.900E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Siege of Constantinople
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Constantinople today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-07-22. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 0 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -14 to 119 m, 133 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 70% built-up, 14% water, 11% tree cover.

built-up: 70%water: 14%tree cover: 11%grassland: 3%built-up 70%water 14%tree cover 11%grassland 3%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 1 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 95 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 43 times between 510 BC and 1453.

In the same war

Elsewhere in AD 860

Siege of Constantinople is one of 193 engagements of the 9th century in the atlas and one of 687 in present-day Turkey.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q815167, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Constantinople (860), revision 1383884320, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.