Atlas of Battles

siege, notable, medieval

Siege of Syracuse

Siege of Syracuse was a siege conducted in AD 877 at Syracuse, in what is now Italy; it ran into the following year. It was part of the Muslim conquest of Sicily, which ran from AD 827 to AD 902. The recorded result: Aghlabid victory.

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Skyllitzes Matritensis, fol. 100v, detail. Miniature: The Arab conquest of Syracuse (in 878).
Skyllitzes Matritensis, fol. 100v, detail. Miniature: The Arab conquest of Syracuse (in 878).. from the Middle Ages, unknown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
FoughtAD 877ran into the following year
WhereSyracuse, Italy37.069N, 15.287E
OutcomeAghlabid victory
BelligerentsByzantine EmpireagainstAghlabid Emirate
Casualties and lossesExtremely HeavyandUnknown
Part ofMuslim conquest of SicilyAD 827 to AD 902

Where it sits in the Muslim conquest of Sicily

Siege of Syracuse, AD 827Battle of Mazara del Vallo, AD 827Battles of Enna, AD 829Siege of Palermo, AD 830Battle of Enna, AD 835Siege of Cefalù, AD 837Siege of Messina, AD 842Battle of Butera, AD 845Siege of Lentini, AD 846Battle of Syracuse, AD 859Siege of Enna, AD 859Siege of Melite, AD 870Siege of Syracuse, AD 877Battle of Caltavuturo, AD 881Battle of Polizzi, AD 882Battle of Milazzo, AD 888Battle of Reggio, AD 901Siege of Taormina, AD 902Siege of Taormina, AD 962AD 827AD 962Siege of Syracuse, AD 877
19 placed engagements of the Muslim conquest of Sicily in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

DateAD 877 (year precision)
to AD 878
PlaceSyracuse, Italy
37.069N, 15.287E
KindSiege, medieval
Casualties and lossesExtremely HeavyUnknown
Commanders
  • Patrikios
  • Abu Ishaq ibn Ja'far
Siege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracusePalermoVallettaCataniaMessina100 km37.069N, 15.287E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 14 times between 415 BC and 1943.

In the same war

Elsewhere in AD 877

Siege of Syracuse is one of 193 engagements of the 9th century in the atlas and one of 1,038 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q815213, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Syracuse (877–878), revision 1370745578, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.