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People: Alexander Hamilton
Topic: Akroinon, Battle of
Location: Estella Navarra Spain

Akroinon, Battle of

Years: 740 - 740

The Battle of Akroinon is fought at Akroinon or Akroinos (near modern Afyon) in Phrygia, on the western edge of the Anatolian plateau, in 740 between an Umayyad Arab army and the Byzantine forces.

The Arabs had been conducting regular raids into Anatolia for the past century, and the 740 expedition is the largest in recent decades, consisting of three separate divisions.

One division, 20,000 strong under Abdallah al-Battal and al-Malik ibn Shu'aib, is confronted at Akroinon by the Byzantines under the command of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (r. 717–741) and his son, the future Constantine V (r. 741–775).

The battle results in a decisive Byzantine victory.

Coupled with the Umayyad Caliphate's troubles on other fronts and the internal instability before and after the Abbasid Revolt, this puts an end to major Arab incursions into Anatolia for three decades.

“History is important. If you don't know history it is as if you were born yesterday. And if you were born yesterday, anybody up there in a position of power can tell you anything, and you have no way of checking up on it.”

—Howard Zinn, You Can't Be Neutral ... (2004)