'Sup guys.
Ignore that. That is me trying to be cool. I am NOT cool.
Anyway, I have ANOTHER apology- I am a terrible person I know. I have been run rugged with my essay this week and simply have not had time to finish my mega-post- but fear not! I have another story for you guys.
In the early 8th century the Arabs, led by Maslama, wanted to invade Constantinople. They were very clever, collecting all the harvest from the cities on the way, and all the seed. When they got to the gates of the city, they planted their seeds, so some new grain grew. Basically saying 'We are just gonna sit here and grow food forever until you give us your city'.
Now, Leo III, the emperor of Byzantium really didn't want that to happen. So he agreed to meet with Maslama, and promised to cede Maslama the city, if Maslama burnt all his crops. He also asked for some food to bring back into Constantinople, as a sign of good faith. Maslama considered this and clearly couldn't think of any way this could go wrong for him, so gave Leo some food and burnt all his crops.
Leo went back into Constantinople, then turned around and said 'Had my fingers crossed! Thanks for the food mate- sorry you don't have any left!'
The Arab army suffered massively in the winter- they lacked the resources to sustain themselves. Plus, I hope, Maslama felt a bit of an idiot.
And that's why Leo III is my new favourite person.
p.s another interesting tidbit. The Arabs currently ruled Egypt, so sent there for food. On the journey over, the Egyptians, who were mostly Christian, decided they didn't like their Arab rulers, and defected to Byzantium and gave them all the food instead. It was not a good idea for the Arabs...
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