Siege of Rometta

Siege of Rometta
Part of the Arab–Byzantine wars and the Muslim conquest of Sicily

Byzantines and Arabs in Sicily, from the Madrid Skylitzes
Date963 – May 965
LocationRometta, Sicily
Result Fatimid Victory
Territorial
changes		 Rometta conquered by the Fatimids
Belligerents

Fatimid Caliphate

 Byzantine Empire
Commanders and leaders
al-Hasan ibn Ammar
Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Kalbi
al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Kalbi		 Niketas Abalantes
Manuel Phokas †
Strength
~ 40,000
Casualties and losses
Relatively light Heavy

The Siege of Rometta was a siege of the Byzantine city of Rometta in northeastern Sicily by the Kalbids, on behalf of the Fatimid Dynasty in order to complete the Muslim conquest of Sicily.

Siege

The siege was led by the two Kalbid cousins al-Hasan ibn Ammar and Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Kalbi. Following the fall of Taormina in 962, the Kalbids moved north to Rometta. The next year, Ahmad began the siege. The city soon sent an envoy to the Byzantine emperor, Nikephoros II Phokas, requesting military aid and provisions. Nikephoros responded by equipping a fleet of around 40,000 men, many of whom were veterans from the Byzantine conquest of Crete, for battle in Sicily. The fleet was commanded by Niketas Abalantes, while the cavalry was commanded by Manuel Phokas.[1] In October, 964, the siege was reinforced by Berber troops led by the governor of Sicily, al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Kalbi.[2][3][4] On 25 October, the Byzantines and the Muslims engaged one another. The Byzantines were initially in control of the battle, however, the Muslims were soon able to rout them, supposedly killing more than a quarter of the force, including Manuel. The surviving Byzantines attempted to flee back to their fleet at Messina, but were ambushed upon departure in the Battle of the Straits and defeated. Without reinforcements, Rometta was unable to defend itself against the Kalbids and soon fell in May 965.[5][3] The population of the city was massacred with the survivors being sold into slavery, and the city was colonized by Muslims.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Kaldellis 2017, p. 45.
  2. ↑ Halm 1996, pp. 405–406.
  3. 1 2 Brett 2001, p. 242.
  4. ↑ Metcalfe 2009, p. 55.
  5. ↑ PmbZ, al-Ḥasan b. ‘Ammār al-Kalbī (#22562).

Sources

  • Kaldellis, Anthony (2017). Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. to the First Crusade. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0190253223.
  • Brett, Michael (2001). The Rise of the Fatimids: The World of the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the Fourth Century of the Hijra, Tenth Century CE. The Medieval Mediterranean. 30. Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 9004117415.
  • Metcalfe, Alex (2009), The Muslims of Medieval Italy, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, ISBN 978-0-7486-2008-1
  • Lilie, Ralph-Johannes; Ludwig, Claudia; Pratsch, Thomas; Zielke, Beate (2013). Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit Online. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Nach Vorarbeiten F. Winkelmanns erstellt (in German). Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter.
  • Halm, Heinz (1996). The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise of the Fatimids. Handbook of Oriental Studies. 26. transl. by Michael Bonner. Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 9004100563.

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