| Battle of the Straits | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Arab–Byzantine wars | |||||||
 Map of the Arab–Byzantine naval conflict in the Mediterranean, 7th–11th centuries | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Byzantine Empire |
Fatimid Caliphate Kalbid Emirate of Sicily | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Niketas Abalantes (POW) | Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Kalbi | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Heavy, c. 1,000 prisoners | Unknown | ||||||
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.