Byzantine campaigns

In the first years of Arab rule on Crete, the Byzantines waged three successive campaigns to recapture the island, none of which proved successful. In 843 a new campaign was organized under Theoctistus, Logothete of the Course, a close associate of Empress Theodora, but once again the attempt failed. In 866, Caesar Vardas, uncle of Emperor Michael III, assembled sizeable military and marine forces aimed at retaking Crete, but was murdered before the expeditionary force could even set sail.

The following attempt was made in 911 under Admiral Imerius. Far from taking the island, the Byzantines suffered heavy losses in an attack by the Syrian Arab fleet. Emperor Constantine VI planned yet another campaign to retake Crete in 949, but his army commander Constantine Gongyles was inexperienced in warfare and made serious miscalculations, allowing the Arabs to launch a surprise attack and rout the Byzantine forces. Once again, Crete emerged as the graveyard of Byzantine aspirations.