Siege of Taormina (962)

The Siege of Taormina in 962 was a successful siege by the Fatimid governors of Sicily of the main Byzantine fortress on the island, Taormina.

Siege

The siege was led by the Kalbid cousins Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Kalbi and al-Hasan ibn Ammar, and lasted for thirty weeks, until the city's fall on Christmas Day 962. 1,570 of the inhabitants (approximately one fifth of the population) went as slaves to the Fatimid Caliph al-Mu'izz; the town was renamed al-Mu'izziyya, and Muslim settlers were brought in.

Aftermath

Followed by the Fatimid victories in the Siege of Rometta and the Battle of the Straits in 964–965, the fall of Taormina marked the end of the last Byzantine footholds on Sicily, and the final completion of the Muslim conquest of Sicily.