The Levant Egypt North Africa Anatolia & Constantinople Border conflicts Sicily and Southern Italy Naval warfare Byzantine reconquest 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.
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.
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.
[1] Followed by the Fatimid victories in the siege of Rometta and the Battle of the Straits in 964–965, the fall of Taormina marked the end of the last Byzantine footholds on Sicily, and the final stage of the Muslim conquest of the island.