Atlas of Battles

siege, medieval

Siege of Thessalonica

Siege of Thessalonica was a siege conducted in AD 617 at Thessaloniki, in what is now Greece; it ran into the following year. It was part of the Avar–Byzantine Wars, which ran from AD 568 to AD 626. The recorded result: Byzantine victory.

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Map of the northern Balkans in the 6th century AD, with the Roman provinces, major settlements and roads.
Map of the northern Balkans in the 6th century AD, with the Roman provinces, major settlements and roads.. Cplakidas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
FoughtAD 617ran into the following year
WhereThessaloniki, Greece40.633N, 22.950E
OutcomeByzantine victory
BelligerentsAvars; SclaveniagainstByzantine Empire
Part ofAvar–Byzantine WarsAD 568 to AD 626

Where it sits in the Avar–Byzantine Wars

Siege of Sirmium, AD 580Maurice's Balkan campaigns, AD 582Comentiolus' Avar Campaign, AD 586Avar sieges of Singidunum, AD 592Siege of Thessalonica, AD 597Siege of Thessalonica, AD 604Siege of Thessalonica, AD 617AD 580AD 617Siege of Thessalonica, AD 617
7 placed engagements of the Avar–Byzantine Wars in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

DateAD 617 (year precision)
to AD 618
PlaceThessaloniki, Greece
40.633N, 22.950E
KindSiege, medieval
Siege of ThessalonicaSiege of ThessalonicaSack of ThessalonicaSiege of ThessalonicaSiege of ThessalonicaSiege of ThessalonicaSiege of ThessalonicaSack of ThessalonicaLarissaBitolaIoaninaSeresKateriniXanthiKavala100 km40.633N, 22.950E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 16 times between AD 254 and 1422.

In the same war

Elsewhere in AD 617

Siege of Thessalonica is one of 203 engagements of the 7th century in the atlas and one of 529 in present-day Greece.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q4337451, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Thessalonica (617), revision 1370745782, 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.