Siege of Taormina (902)

Siege of Taormina
Part of the Arab–Byzantine wars and the Muslim conquest of Sicily
Arabs capture a Byzantine city in Sicily, miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes
Date July – 1 August 902 Location Taormina, Sicily 37°51′25″N 15°16′39″E / 37.85694°N 15.27750°E / 37.85694; 15.27750 Result Aghlabid victory Territorial changes Taormina and much of Val Demone captured by the Aghlabids
Belligerents
Aghlabid Emirate	Byzantine Empire
Commanders and leaders
Ibrahim II	Eustathios, Michael Charaktos, Constantine Karamallos
class=notpageimage| Location within Sicily

The siege of Taormina in 902 ended the conquest of the Byzantine city of Taormina, in northeastern Sicily, by the Aghlabids. The campaign was led by the deposed Aghlabid emir, Ibrahim II, as a form of armed pilgrimage and holy war. Ibrahim's forces defeated the Byzantine garrison in a hard-fought battle in front of the city walls, and laid siege to the city. Left unsupported by the Byzantine government, Taormina capitulated on 1 August. The population was massacred or sold into slavery. The fall of this last major Byzantine stronghold signalled the completion of the Muslim conquest of Sicily, which had been ongoing since the 820s, although some minor Byzantine outposts survived until the 960s.