Battle of Caltavuturo 881
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 881 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Italy | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Muslim conquest of Sicily | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 37.8440, 15.3180 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Caltavuturo was fought in 881 or 882 between the Byzantine Empire and the Aghlabid emirate of Ifriqiya, during the Muslim conquest of Sicily. It was a major Byzantine victory, although it could not reverse the Muslim conquest of Sicily.
In 880, a succession of naval successes under the admiral Nasar allowed the Byzantine emperor Basil I to envisage a counter-offensive against the Aghlabid dynasty in southern Italy and Sicily. In Sicily, however, the Aghlabids still held the upper hand: in spring 881, the Aghlabid governor al-Hasan ibn al-Abbas raided the remaining Byzantine territories and in the process defeated the local commander, Barsakios, near Taormina.
In the next year, however, AH 268 (881/2 CE), according to the Ibn al-Athir (The Complete History, VII.370.5–7), the Byzantines had their revanche, defeating an Aghlabid army under Abu Thawr so completely that reportedly only seven men survived. The victorious Byzantine commander is identified by modern historians with Mosilikes, who is known to have served in the area in the early 880s.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Caltavuturo (revision 1301994157), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Taormina (962) 962 · 2 km
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- Siege of Rometta 963 · 37 km
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Other battles of the Muslim conquest of Sicily
- Siege of Syracuse (827–828) 827
- Siege of Cefalù (837–838) 837
- Siege of Messina (842–843) 842
- Siege of Melite (870) 870
- Siege of Syracuse (877–878) 877
- Siege of Taormina (962) 962
- Siege of Rometta 963
All 8 battles of the Muslim conquest of Sicily →
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