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Fall Of Taormina
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 fell 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. The siege was led by the two Kalbid cousins al-Hasan ibn Ammar and Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Kalbi. In 962, Taormina was besieged and reduced by Ahmad, where the entire population was sold into slavery and the area was colonized by Muslim resettlers. Following the fall of Taormina in 962, the Kalbids moved north to Rometta and Ahmad began its siege the next year. Aftermath Followed by the Fatimid victories in the siege of Rometta The siege of Rometta was a successful siege of ...
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Muslim Conquest Of Sicily
The Arab Muslim conquest of Sicily began in June 827 and lasted until 902, when the last major Byzantine stronghold on the island, Taormina, fell. Isolated fortresses remained in Byzantine hands until 965, but the island was henceforth under Arab Muslim rule until conquered in turn by the Normans in the 11th century. Although Sicily had been raided by the Muslim Arabs since the mid-7th century, these raids did not threaten Byzantine control over the island, which remained a largely peaceful backwater. The opportunity for the Aghlabid emirs of Ifriqiya (present-day Tunisia) came in 827, when the commander of the island's fleet, Euphemius, rose in revolt against the Byzantine Emperor Michael II. Defeated by loyalist forces and driven from the island, Euphemius sought the aid of the Aghlabids, an Arab dynasty. The latter regarded this as an opportunity for expansion and for diverting the energies of their own fractious military establishment and alleviating the criticism of the ...
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Al-Hasan Ibn Ammar
Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAmmār al-Kalbī, usually called simply Ibn Ammar in the Arabic sources, was an Arab commander for the Fatimid Caliphate. A member of the Kalbid family, he was active in the wars with the Byzantine Empire in Sicily in the 960s, leading the capture of Taormina and Rometta, which completed the Muslim conquest of Sicily. Some scholars identify him with "Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Ali", also known as Ibn Ammar, a leader of the Kutama Berbers and chief minister ('' wāsiṭa'') during the first year of the reign of the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (), but this is disputed. Biography Hasan was the son of Ammar ibn Ali al-Kalbi, a member of the Kalbid family, which had come into prominence through Ammar's brother al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Kalbi. Along with Ahmad, Ammar fought in the wars with the Byzantine Empire in Sicily and southern Italy, and drowned during an abortive expedition against Otranto in 958. Following the Byzantine reconquest of Crete in 960–961, the F ...
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Sicily Under The Fatimid Caliphate
Sicily (Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy. With 4.7 million inhabitants, including 1.2 million in and around the capital city of Palermo, it is both the largest and most populous island in the Mediterranean Sea. Sicily is named after the Sicels, who inhabited the eastern part of the island during the Iron Age. Sicily has a rich and unique culture in arts, music, literature, cuisine, and architecture. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, and one of the most active in the world, currently high. The island has a typical Mediterranean climate. It is separated from Calabria by the Strait of Messina. It is one of the five Italian autonomous regions and is generally considered part of Southern Italy. The earliest archaeological record of human activity on the island is from around 14, ...
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960s Conflicts
96 or ninety-six may refer to: * 96 (number) * one of the years 96 BC, AD 96, 1996, 2096, etc. Places * Ninety Six, South Carolina Film and television * ''96'' (film), a 2018 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film by C. Prem Kumar * ''Number 96'' (TV series), a 1972 Australian soap opera * ''Number 96'' (film), 1974 Australian film Music * "96", a song by Japanese band Uverworld Sports * Hannover 96, a German football club nicknamed "96" Science * Atomic number 96: curium * 96 Aegle, a main-belt asteroid Other uses * Saab 96, a small family car See also * * List of highways numbered All lists of highways beginning with a number. {{List of highways numbered index Lists of transport lists ...
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Battle Of The Straits
The Battle of the Straits (Arabic: ''waqʿat al-majāz'') was fought in early 965 between the fleets of the Byzantine Empire and the Fatimid Caliphate in the 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 from the Fatimids. Background The fall of Taormina to the Aghlabids in 902 marked the effective end of the Muslim conquest of Sicily, but the Byzantines retained a few outposts on the island, and Taormina itself threw off Muslim control soon after. In 909, the Fatimids took over the Aghlabid metropolitan province of Ifriqiya, and with it Sicily. The Fatimids (and after the 950s the 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. Following the Byzantine reconquest of Cret ...
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Siege Of Rometta
The siege of Rometta was a successful siege of the Byzantine city of Rometta, in northeastern Sicily, by the Kalbids on behalf of the Fatimid Dynasty, that took place between 963 and 965 and marked the conclusion of 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. In 962, Taormina was besieged and reduced by Ahmad, where the entire population was sold into slavery and the area was colonized by Muslim resettlers. 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, a nephew ...
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Al-Mu'izz
Abu Tamim Ma'ad al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (; 26 September 932 – 19 December 975) was the fourth Fatimid caliph and the 14th Ismaili imam, reigning from 953 to 975. It was during his caliphate that the center of power of the Fatimid dynasty was moved from Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia) to Egypt. The Fatimids founded the city of Cairo (, "the Victorious") in 969 as the new capital of the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt. Political career After the Fatimids, under the third caliph, al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah (), had defeated the rebellion of Abu Yazid, they began, under his son al-Mu'izz, to turn their attentions back to their ambition of establishing their caliphate throughout the Islamic world and overthrowing the Abbasids. Although the Fatimids were primarily concerned with Egypt and the Near East, there were nevertheless campaigns fought in the Maghreb and against the Umayyads of Spain. At the same time, Fatimid raids on Italy enabled naval superiority in the Western Mediterranean to be affi ...
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Kalbid
The Kalbids () were a Muslim Arab dynasty which ruled the Emirate of Sicily from 948 to 1053. They were formally appointed by the Fatimids, but gained, progressively, ''de facto'' autonomous rule. Family origins The Kalbids descended from the Arab tribe of Banu Kalb, members of which frequently served as governors, administrators and high-ranking officials in Ifriqiya (central North Africa) during the Umayyad period (–750). During the rule of the Aghlabids in Ifriqiya (800–909), the fortunes of the Kalb declined as the rulers there favored the tribe's rivals from the Qays–Mudar group. When the Fatimids conquered Ifriqiya in 909, the Kalb, having been an important military and religious support for the Fatimids, were quick to attain high influence in the new regime. By this time, the Kalbids were allied with the Kutama Berbers, a mainstay of the Fatimid army. History In 827, in the midst of internal Byzantine conflict, the Muslim conquest of Sicily began: the Aghlabids ar ...
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Taormina
Taormina ( , , also , ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on the Ionian Sea, including that of Isola Bella, are accessible via an aerial tramway built in 1992, and via highways from Messina in the north and Catania in the south. On 26–27 May 2017 Taormina hosted the 43rd G7 summit. History The history of Taormina dates back to before Ancient Greece established its first colony on Sicily in 734 BCE in Magna Graecia. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Taormina continued to rank as one of the more important towns of the island. Taormina followed the history of Sicily in being ruled by successive foreign monarchs. After the Italian unification, Taormina began to attract well-off tourists from northern Europe, and it became known as a welcoming haven for gay men and artists. Main sights The present town ...
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Siege
A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static, defensive position. Consequently, an opportunity for negotiation between combatants is common, as proximity and fluctuating advantage can encourage diplomacy. A siege occurs when an attacker encounters a city or fortress that cannot be easily taken by a quick assault, and which refuses to surrender. Sieges involve surrounding the target to block provision of supplies and reinforcement or escape of troops (a tactic known as "investment"). This is typically coupled with attempts to reduce the fortifications by means of siege engines, artillery bombardment, mining (also known as sapping), or the use of deception or treachery to bypass defenses. Failing a military outcome, sieges can often be ...
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Fatimid
The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa and West Asia, it ranged from the western Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids traced their ancestry to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima and her husband Ali, the first Shia, Shi'a imam. The Fatimids were acknowledged as the rightful imams by different Isma'ili communities as well as by denominations in many other Muslim lands and adjacent regions. Originating during the Abbasid Caliphate, the Fatimids initially conquered Ifriqiya (roughly present-day Tunisia and north-eastern Algeria). They extended their rule across the Mediterranean coast and ultimately made Egypt the center of the caliphate. At its height, the caliphate included—in addition to Egypt—varying areas of the M ...
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