| Siege of Enna | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Muslim conquest of Sicily | |||||||
 Castle of Enna | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Byzantine Empire | Aghlabids | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Theodotus | Al-Abbas bin Fadhl | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 2,000 cavalry | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
The siege of Enna or Castrogiovanni was launched by the Aghlabids against the important Byzantine city of Enna in 859. The Aghlabid forces managed to capture the city.
Following the fall of Palermo in 831, the key to Byzantine defense became the fortified city of Castrogiovanni (modern-day Enna), governed by Theodotus. [1] The city is on a high mountain, dominating all neighboring heights. Aiming to capture the city, as it was the seat of the Byzantine government of Sicily. Castrogiovanni was accessible by two tortuous and narrow gorges. [2]
A party of Arabs whom the governor, Abbas bin al-Fadhl, had sent to ravage the outskirts of Enna. [3] They managed to capture a Greek prisoner. Abbas ordered him to be executed. The prisoner begged for mercy in exchange for helping them capture Enna, and Abbas agreed to this offer. The Byzantine garrison did not expect any attack and minimized their defenses. [4] [5] [6]
Abbas, with a cavalry force of 2,000, headed towards Castrogiovanni. Taking advantage of the darkness, Abbas dispatched a contingent under his uncle, Rabah, to a secret passage the prisoner had told them about. An aqueduct leads to the center of Castrogiovanni. The Arabs entered the aqueduct, then proceeded to kill the defenders of the city and open the gates for Abbas. [7] [8] [9]
The city fell on January 24. The Arabs captured immense wealth and many prisoners, and part of them were sent to the Abbasid caliph, al-Mutawakkil. Abbas ordered the construction of a mosque to celebrate this victory in the palace of the Patricians. [10] [11] [12]
The capture of Castrogiovanni destroyed the Byzantine power in Sicily and forced them to relocate their seat to Syracuse. [13] Due to this defeat, the Byzantine emperor, Michael III, dispatched a navy of 300 ships to rescue Castrogiovanni under the command of Constantine Kontomytes. The Byzantine Navy suffered a crushing defeat and lost 100 of their ships. [14] [15] [16]
Year 902 (CMII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.
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The Battle of Stelai was a naval battle fought in 880 between the Byzantine and Aghlabid fleets off the southern Italian peninsula. The battle was a major Byzantine victory. Its location is disputed, hence it is also known as the First Battle of Milazzo or the Battle of Punta Stilo in modern literature.
The siege of Melite was the capture of the Byzantine city of Melite by an invading Aghlabid army in 870 AD. The siege was initially led by Halaf al-Hādim, a renowned engineer, but he was killed and replaced by Sawāda Ibn Muḥammad. The city withstood the siege for some weeks or months, but it ultimately fell to the invaders, and its inhabitants were massacred and the city was sacked.
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