Niketas, katepano of Antioch, captured Bikisra'il

Summary:
Niketas of Mistheia attacked Bikisra'il (perhaps the Byzantine Argyrokastron ?), fortifying his own camp and building a ramp so that his siege engines would be on the same level as the defences. Nasr ibn Musharraf tried in two ways to divert him from the siege, using al-Dizbiri, commander of the Fatimid army. First he asked that Bikisra'il be included in the Byzantine-Fatimid peace treaty as a Fatimid possession; but Niketas replied that he would not sanction the treaty till he had captured the fort. Second, al-Dizbiri sent a substantial force to Rafaniyya, but his allies the Banu Kilab did not arrive (having been won over by Nasr ibn Salih of Aleppo). The Fatimid force camped before Abu Qubays, seeking to divert the Byzantines towards the fort of Inab, but Niketas was not distracted from the siege. He refused to allow the ransoming of the commander of Balatunus, who had been captured. Niketas used the envoys of al-Dizbiri in the siege, sending them away at crucial moments. Eventually he agreed terms with the defenders to execute or blind ten of them and send the rest to Romanos III to decide their fate. The fort surrendered with 500 prisoners. The commander of Balatunus was saved. Most of the prisoners were sent off to the emperor. Niketas burned the stone of the ramp he had built and used the resultant lime to repair the walls. He left a garrison and supplies and returned to Antioch 
Dates:
1032 June 24 
Byzantine commander of Balatunus (Syria) (Anonymus 573)
  • Led a contingent to the mountains, was intercepted and captured by Mousaraph 101, offered him a ransom of 500 dinars but the katepano (Niketas 102) did not allow his men to hand over the money, and he was delivered by Niketas (from Bikisra'il) (:) خرج فى سريّة الى الجبل ... فأخذ ابن مشرّف عليه الطريق وأسره وبذل له فى نفسه خمسمائة دينار ... ولكن لم يمكن القطبان لأصحاب الاكسيرخ من حمل المال لاستخلاصه لما يرجوه من انتزاعه إيّاه منه قهرًا ... وتحقّق له أمله حينئذ Yahya al-Antaki 526
Nasr ibn Musharraf, Arab opponent of Antioch (Mousaraph 101)
  • Persuaded al-Dizbiri (Tousber 101) to attack the Rum, convincing him that if he marched against their troops they would abandon the siege (of Bikisra'il), and approached on several occasions their camp but accomplished nothing (:) أطمع نصر بن مشرّف للبربرى فى عسكر الروم وأوهمه أنّه إن قصده المسلمون رحل عن الحصن ولم يثبت عليه ... وتردّد نصر بن مشرّف نحو العسكر فى جماعة معه وأشرف عليه من أعلى الجبل دفعات أملاً أن يتمّ له شىء فخاب ظنّه وعاد فى كلّ منها خازيًا Yahya al-Antaki 524
  • Aware of the intention of Niketas 102 to attack Bikisra'il which was still in his hands, he requested that the fort be included in the peace treaty with the Rum, leaving it in the possession of the sultan (Al-Zahir 101) (:) توسّل فى أن يكون هذا الحصن من جملة ما يقع عليه المهادنة والموادعة ولا تتعرّض الروم له بحرب ولا بقتال Yahya al-Antaki 522
  • Intercepted and captured the commander of Balatunus who was leading a contingent to the mountains, was offered a ransom of 500 dinars, and although he accepted, the katepano (Niketas 102) did not allow the money to be handed over to him (:) فأخذ ابن مشرّف عليه الطريق وأسره وبذل له فى نفسه خمسمائة دينار ... ولكن لم يمكن القطبان لأصحاب الاكسيرخ من حمل المال لاستخلاصه لما يرجوه من انتزاعه إيّاه منه قهرًا ... وتحقّق له أمله حينئذ Yahya al-Antaki 526
Shibl al-Dawla Abu Kamil Nasr ibn Salih ibn Mirdas (Nasr 101)
  • Fearing a ruse against Aleppo by al-Dizbiri (Tousber 101), he built an alliance with the Banu Kilab whom al-Dizbiri had tried earlier to attract to himself, and threatened any deserters with confiscation of their properties and help from the Rum (:) استصلحهم واجتذبهم اليه حذرًا من مكيدة يقصد بها البربرى مدينة حلب وتهدّد من ينحرف عنه منهم باستعانته عليهم بالروم وقبضه إقطاعهم وقصده إيّاهم Yahya al-Antaki 522
Niketas of Mistheia, doux of Antioch (Niketas 102)
  • Ignored the army of al-Dizbiri (Tousber 101) which attempted to divert him from Bikisra'il towards the fort of Inab by encamping before the fort of Abu Qubays, continued the siege until he breached the walls, and captured Bikisra'il after 40 days (on Friday 17 tammuz of the year 1343 which is the 12 ragab of the year 423:يوم الجمعة السابع عشر من تموز سنة 1343 وهو لاثنتى عشرة ليلة خلت من رجب سنة 423) لم ينزعج بذلك ولا اكترث بهم ... Yahya al-Antaki 524-26
  • When asked by al-Dizbiri (Tousber 101) to include Bikisra'il in the peace treaty, leaving it in the sultan (Al-Zahir 101)'s hands, he refused, stressing that he would not conclude an alliance unless the fort was delivered to him or taken by force (:) التمس البربرى ذلك من القطبان ... فأجابه القطبان بأنّه لا يقرّر المسالمة إلاّ بعد أن يملك هذا الحصن ... Yahya al-Antaki 524
  • Was assisted during the siege of Bikisra'il by the envoys of al-Dizbiri (Tousber 101) but when they got scared he sent them to Jabala and summoned them back only after he captured the fort, showed it to them, and sent them back (:) وورد الى القطبان وهو منازل الحصن رسولان من البربرى وشاهدا من قتال الروم ما هالهما وأنفذهما القطبان الى جبلة فأقاما بها الى أن فتح الحصن وأحضرهما وأراهما إيّاه وصرفهما بجواب ما ورد معهما Yahya al-Antaki 526
  • Besieged Bikisra'il with his troops, fortified his camp with a wall and a ditch, attacked with siege engines, but since the fort was perched on a rock he built a ramp bringing the attackers to the same level as those defending it (:) سار القطبان فى الحال الى الحصن بجيوشه ونازله ... Yahya al-Antaki 524
  • Set fire to the ramp he had built (at Bikisra'il), used the lime produced by the burnt stone to repair the walls, established a garrison with equipment and supplies, returned to Antioch, and sent all the prisoners to the emperor (Romanos 3) (:) وألقى النار في ذلك المزلقان الذى عمله مقابل الحصن فاحترق خشبه وتكلّست حجارته وعمّر بذلك الكلس ما تخرّب وسقط من الحصن ... وعاد الى أنطاكية وحمل جميع الأسارى الى الملك Yahya al-Antaki 526
  • Agreed with the besieged (in Bikisra'il) to execute or blind 10 of them, to send the remaining to the emperor (Romanos 3) in order to decide on their fate, took 500 prisoners, and delivered the commander of Balatunus (Anonymus 573) (:) واستقرّ الأمر معهم على أن يقتل منهم ويكحّل عشرة أنفار ويأخذ الباقين مماليك ويؤمّنهم من القتل ويحملهم الى حضرة الملك ... واستخلص منهم اكسيرخًا وهو قائد كان يضبط حصن ابلاطنس Yahya al-Antaki 526
Emperor Romanos III Argyros (Romanos 3)
  • Was sent by Niketas 102 all the prisoners captured after the successful siege of Bikisra'il in order to decide on their fate (:) حمل جميع الأسارى الى الملك Yahya al-Antaki 526
al-Dizbiri (al-Barbari in Yahya), Fatimid governor of Palestine (Tousber 101)
  • Demanded from the katepano (Niketas 102), as Mousaraph 101 had requested, to include Bikisra'il in the peace treaty with the Rum, leaving it in the sultan (Al-Zahir 101)'s hands, but received a negative response from Niketas who attacked the fort (:) التمس البربرى ذلك من القطبان ... فأجابه القطبان بأنّه لا يقرّر المسالمة إلاّ بعد أن يملك هذا الحصن... Yahya al-Antaki 522-24
  • Was persuaded by Mousaraph 101 to attack the Rum, convinced that if he marched against their troops they would abandon the siege (of Bikisra'il), and sent a large army to Rafaniyya, although the Banu Kilab whom he had called to join him never arrived (:) فأنفذ عسكرًا كبيرًا من المشارقة والمغاربة والعرب الى رفنية وكاتب جماعة من أمراء بنى كلاب يستدعى مجيئهم الى العسكر والكون معه فلم يلمّ به أحد منهم Yahya al-Antaki 524