Battle of the Straits

Kalbid Emirate of Sicily

Straits of Messina. It resulted in a major Fatimid victory, and the final collapse of the attempt of Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas to recover Sicily

Kalbid hereditary governors of Sicily) continued the tradition of jihad, both against the remaining Christian strongholds in the northeast of Sicily and, more prominently, against the Byzantine possessions in southern Italy, punctuated by temporary truces.^[2][3]

patrikios Niketas Abalantes and his own nephew, Manuel Phokas.^[6][7]

Abu'l-Fida) as the "Battle of the Straits" (waq‘at al-majāz), the Fatimid governor employed divers equipped to attack the Byzantine ships: in the description of Heinz Halm, "they would dive from their own ship and swim over to the enemy ship; they would fasten ropes to its rudder, along which earthenware pots containing Greek fire were then made to slide over to the enemy ship, and shattered on the sternpost". This tactic succeeded in destroying many Byzantine vessels, and the battle ended in a major Fatimid victory; according to the Arab historians, a thousand prisoners were taken, including the Byzantine admiral, Niketas, with many of his officers, as well as a heavy Indian sword which bore an inscription indicating that it had once belonged to Muhammad.^[10][11][12]

Friday mosques and settled Muslims in hitherto Christian-dominated towns in the Val Demone. Taormina, however, was razed, perhaps as part of the terms of the peace treaty, and not resettled until 976.^[10][14]

homilies of Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzus in a fine calligraphic manuscript, which after his release he donated to a monastery, and which is now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris (Par. gr. 947).^[10][15]