The Horrid Fate Of Photios, An Admiral From Arab-Controlled Crete

In the year 872, Sa’id, the Arab ruler of Crete at the time, sent a naval commander named Photios to ravage the lands controlled by Constantinople, the imperial seat of power that ruled the remnants of the Roman Empire in the east. With a reported fleet of well over thirty heavy and light ships, Photios pushed deep into the Aegean Sea, raiding as far as the Hellespont, now known as the Dardanelles. The demographic composition of his crewmen is largely unknown, but medieval sources often described his armada simply as being a Cretan fleet. Similarly, the vessels he used were of Greek design, such as the koumparia (a warship/merchant freighter hybrid), myoparon (heavy, rounded ship) and galleys. Using this fleet, Photios ravaged the coast, capturing wealth and enslaving people as he went.

While the rampaging fleet was still in the northern Aegean, the imperial navy made its response. A fleet led by Niketas Ooryphas intercepted Photios near the Gallipoli Peninsula, at a place called Kardia. There, the imperial navy employed its famed super-weapon, Greek Fire, to deal a catastrophic blow to Photios and his raiders. The Greek Fire, a virtually inextinguishable liquid flame that could burn even on water, reportedly destroyed twenty of the Cretan ships. Photios, however, was not one of the dead—he and other survivors of the battle escaped from the imperial navy and headed toward the Peloponnesus.

Despite his defeat, Photios still had fight left in him. By 873, he had rebuilt a makeshift fleet, supposedly by recruiting pirates or commandeering their ships. With this revived force, Photius began raiding the western coast of the Peloponnesus. When news of the raids reached Constantinople, Niketas Ooryphas was sent once again to hunt down the Cretans. Ooryphas supposedly hauled his ships onto land and carried them across the Isthmus of Corinth in order to surprise Photios by approaching from the north instead of the south. Some historians doubt if Ooryphas actually crossed the Isthmus of Corinth, but, whatever the case, he did catch the Cretans by surprise.

The second battle between Photios and Ooryphas was even more devastating for the Cretans than the first. This time, the destruction of Photios’ fleet was total—his ships were burned or sunk, with Cretan survivors swimming to shore in hopes of escaping the clutches of the imperial navy. Nevertheless, Niketas Ooryphas captured the bulk of the scattered Cretan crewmen, including Photios, himself.

The captives would face a much worse fate than those who had perished in the earlier battles. Niketas Ooryphas apparently had the captured Cretans executed using several hellish methods. Some he supposedly flayed or ripped to death. Others he reportedly lowered into boiling pitch.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (12th-century Image from an illuminated manuscript, the Madrid Skylitzes, showing the Byzantine navy use Greek fire against the fleet of Thomas the Slav, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• John Skylitzes. A Synopsis of Byzantine History: 811-1057, translated by John Wortley. Original text c. 11^th or early 12^th century. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
• https://www.britannica.com/place/Crete 
• https://corinthianmatters.com/the-isthmus/the-diolkos/niketas-ooryphas-byzantine-admiral-872-ad/ 
• https://books.google.com/books?id=-jigBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT61&lpg=PT61&dq=niketas+ooryphas&source=bl&ots=ifebadvYnZ&sig=KI419HKbTF5VofA6rbMvIiJB38I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqxLrE7IjcAhVGiqwKHX7JDWkQ6AEIcjAP#v=onepage&q=niketas%20ooryphas&f=false  

In WWII, The Allies Adopted Much Of Their Airborne Tactics From The German Capture of Crete

(Airplanes and parachutes above Crete, [German paratroopers from JU 52 cargoplanes]. Greece, Crete, 1941, [Public Domain] via Flickr)

In 1941, Germany set its sights on the strategically important island of Crete. Any country that controlled the airfields of Crete could send airplanes into Greece and the Balkans, and keep an eye on Turkey’s important city of Istanbul—a place that was filled with much international intrigue during the war.

To take Crete, the Germans would need to defeat the British and Greek troops that were defending the island. The task of the German forces would be even more arduous, however, because British intelligence had already warned the defenders of Crete that an attack was imminent. In response, the Allies readied their defense on the island’s coastline, waiting for the Germans to arrive.

Germany’s General Kurt Student led the planning for the attack on Crete. He decided to attack the island using a combined invasion force of Italy’s navy and the German Luftwaffe. The ultimate objective of his plan was to use airborne paratroopers to seize the airfields of Crete at Maleme, Rhethymnon and Herakleion, where more reinforcements could be flown in to secure control of the island.

When the plan was put into action, it did not go smoothly. The Italian Navy took a beating from the Britaish ships, and the German planes carrying paratroopers (and towing gliders) were also heavily damaged. Nevertheless, the Luftwaffe aircraft flew inland and dropped their paratroopers in range of the Allied airfields. While the Allied defenses were still focused on the coast, the German airborne infantry captured the airfield at Maleme. With an airfield secured, the Germans flew in reinforcements and weaponry, allowing them to take other parts of the island. Realizing that Crete was lost, the Allied defenders withdrew.

Even though the Allies lost the strategically important island of Crete, they gained something even more vital—a respect and understanding of the power and utility of airborne warfare.

Source:

• Warfare in the Western World: Military Operations Since 1871 (Volume II), edited by Robert A. Doughty and Ira D. Gruber et al. Massachusetts: D. C. Heath and Company, 1996.