Byzantines Storm Aleppo: Nicephorus Phocas Raids Syria
Nicephorus Phocas didn't just want Aleppo — he wanted what the Muslims had taken 328 years earlier. His troops tore through the city's defenses and went straight for the cathedral-turned-mosque. There it was: John the Baptist's tunic, stained and moth-eaten, kept as a trophy since 636. Phocas wrapped it himself and sent it to Constantinople. The Byzantines called it a miracle. The Arabs called it Tuesday — another border city lost, another relic gone. But Phocas wasn't done. Three years later, he'd be emperor, and Aleppo would be just the warm-up.
December 23, 962
1064 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on December 23
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