Siege of Taormina (902)
Siege of Taormina | |||||||||
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Part of the Arab–Byzantine wars and the Muslim conquest of Sicily | |||||||||
![]() Arabs capture a Byzantine city in Sicily, miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Aghlabid Emirate | Byzantine Empire | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Ibrahim II |
Eustathios, Michael Charaktos, Constantine Karamallos | ||||||||
Location within Sicily |
The siege of Taormina in 902 ended the conquest of the
Background
Following the
The civil war in Sicily prompted the dispatch of
Ibrahim II's arrival and the fall of Taormina
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Gloeden%2C_Wilhelm_von_%281856-1931%29_-_n._..._-_Taormina_-_Teatro_greco.jpg/250px-Gloeden%2C_Wilhelm_von_%281856-1931%29_-_n._..._-_Taormina_-_Teatro_greco.jpg)
In early 902, Emir Ibrahim II was forced into abdication by his subjects, through the intervention of the Abbasid
Ibrahim and his followers arrived at
Ibrahim immediately laid siege to the city, which surrendered on 1 August. The remaining garrison, as well as many of the women and children, were massacred, and the rest sold into slavery. The local bishop, Prokopios, was brought before Ibrahim, who demanded of him to convert to Islam. When the bishop refused, he was tortured and decapitated; his corpse and those of other executed prisoners were burned.[23]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Two_messengers_inform_Emperor_Leo_VI_of_a_Saracen_attack.jpg/250px-Two_messengers_inform_Emperor_Leo_VI_of_a_Saracen_attack.jpg)
According to an Arab source, the
Aftermath
Ibrahim capitalized on his success by sending raiding parties against various strongholds in the vicinity, forcing either their capitulation and destruction or the payment of tribute. In this manner, Demona, Rometta, and Aci were captured or forced to pay tribute in token of submission. The locals were encouraged to convert to Islam, or, where they had left their forts and fled for the mountains, the walls were torn down and the wells blocked with stones to make them uninhabitable.[16][29]
Indefatigable, Ibrahim crossed over into the mainland in early September, where cities as far as
Although a few strongholds in the northeast remained unconquered and in Christian hands, the fall of Taormina marked the effective end of Byzantine Sicily, and the consolidation of Muslim control over the island.[16][32] It was not until the 960s that the last Byzantine enclaves—including Taormina and Rometta, which had returned to Byzantine control—would be finally captured, by the Fatimid Caliphate.[33]
References
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, pp. 71–78.
- ^ Metcalfe 2009, pp. 27–28.
- ^ a b Metcalfe 2009, p. 28.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, pp. 95, 105–109, 134–136.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, p. 95.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, pp. 95, 105–108, 135.
- ^ Metcalfe 2009, pp. 29–30.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, pp. 135–136.
- ^ Metcalfe 2009, p. 30.
- ^ Eickhoff 1966, pp. 245–246.
- ^ Eickhoff 1966, p. 246.
- ^ a b PmbZ, Michael Charaktos (#25161).
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, pp. 142–143.
- ^ Metcalfe 2009, pp. 30–31.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, pp. 143–144.
- ^ a b c Metcalfe 2009, p. 31.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, p. 144.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, pp. 144–145.
- ^ a b c Vasiliev 1968, p. 145.
- ^ PmbZ, Eustathios (#21836).
- ^ PmbZ, Konstantinos Karamallos (#23816).
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, pp. 145–146.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, p. 146.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, pp. 146–147.
- ^ Tougher 1997, p. 164.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, p. 148.
- ^ PmbZ, Eustathios (#21836); Konstantinos Karamallos (#23816); Michael Charaktos (#25161).
- ^ Tougher 1997, pp. 212, 214.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, pp. 147–148.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, pp. 148–150.
- ^ Metcalfe 2009, pp. 31–32.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, p. 152.
- ^ Metcalfe 2009, p. 55.
Sources
- Eickhoff, Ekkehard (1966). Seekrieg und Seepolitik zwischen Islam und Abendland: das Mittelmeer unter byzantinischer und arabischer Hegemonie (650–1040) (in German). De Gruyter.
- 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.
- Metcalfe, Alex (2009). The Muslims of Medieval Italy. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-2008-1.
- Tougher, Shaun (1997). The Reign of Leo VI (886–912): Politics and People. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-9-00-410811-0.
- OCLC 1070617015.