siege, medieval
Sack of Thessalonica
Sack of Thessalonica was a siege conducted in 1185 at Thessaloniki, in what is now Greece. It was part of the Byzantine–Norman Wars, which ran from 1039 to 1189. The recorded result: Sicilian victory; Thessalonica sacked. Recorded strength: Unknown against 80,000 men; 200 ships.
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Where it sits in the Byzantine–Norman Wars
Record
| Date | 1185 (year precision) | |
|---|---|---|
| Place | Thessaloniki, Greece 40.633N, 22.950E | |
| Kind | Siege, medieval | |
| Strength | Unknown | 80,000 men; 200 ships |
| Casualties and losses | 7,000 soldiers and civilians | 3,000 soldiers |
| Commanders |
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Nearest engagements
- Siege of Thessalonica AD 617, same recorded site
- Siege of Thessalonica AD 614, same recorded site
- Siege of Thessalonica AD 254, same recorded site
- Siege of Thessalonica 1383, same recorded site
- Siege of Thessalonica AD 597, same recorded site
Contested ground: this site was fought over 16 times between AD 254 and 1422.
In the same war
- Before: Battle of Brindisi 1156
- After: Battle of Demetritzes 7 November 1185
- All 9 engagements of Byzantine–Norman Wars
Elsewhere in 1185
- Battle of Dan-no-ura Japan
- Battle of Yashima Japan
- Battle of Kojima Japan
- Battle of Loděnice Czechia
- Battle of Shido Japan
Sack of Thessalonica is one of 438 engagements of the 12th century in the atlas and one of 493 in present-day Greece.
Sources
Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q2154485, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Sack of Thessalonica (1185), revision 1382211868, 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.