Key Facts
- Duration
- ~1 year (winter 827 to summer 828)
- Aghlabid commander killed
- Asad ibn al-Furat, died of epidemic
- Siege result
- Byzantine city held; Aghlabids withdrew
- Syracuse final fall
- 877–878, after a second long siege
- Muslim conquest of Sicily concluded
- 902, with fall of Taormina
Strategic Narrative Overview
After defeating local Byzantine forces and capturing the fortress of Mazara, the Aghlabid army marched on Syracuse and laid siege through the winter of 827–828 into summer. The besieging forces suffered severe hardship from food shortages and an epidemic that killed their commander, Asad ibn al-Furat. Byzantine reinforcements further pressured the attackers, forcing the new Aghlabid leader, Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Jawari, to lift the siege.
01 / The Origins
In 827, the Aghlabid dynasty of North Africa landed on Byzantine Sicily ostensibly to support Euphemius, a rebel Byzantine general who had invited their intervention. Sicily was a strategically important Byzantine province with Syracuse as its capital. The expedition provided the Aghlabids a pretext to pursue territorial expansion into the central Mediterranean, threatening Byzantine control of the island.
03 / The Outcome
Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Jawari withdrew the Aghlabid forces to Sicily's southwestern corner, which they retained as a base. From this foothold they prosecuted a prolonged conquest of the island over subsequent decades. Syracuse eventually fell in 877–878 after another extended siege, and the conquest concluded with the fall of Taormina in 902, ending Byzantine rule in Sicily.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Asad ibn al-Furat, Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Jawari, Euphemius (rebel ally).
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.