Byzantine Battles: Battle of Rometta

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Battle of Rometta (Ramietta)	year: 1038
A Byzantine victory against the Arabs of Sicily	★ ★ ★ ★ ★

enemy: Arabs (of Sicily)	location: Town of Rometta in Sicily, 12 km west of Messina	accuracy: ●●●●●
battle type: Pitched Battle	war: Later Byzantine-Muslim Wars	modern country: Italy

	▼ The Byzantines(emperor: Michael IV the Paphlagonian)	▼ The Enemies
Commander:	General George Maniakes	Unknown
Forces:	Unknown	more than 50,000
Losses:

Background story:

The competent George Maniakes conquered the city of Edessa in 1031 and continued to have success in the following years against the Muslims in upper Mesopotamia and the eastern provinces. In 1038, Maniakes was called to offer his services on the Western Front, in Sicily.
Sicily, one of the most “Greek” areas of Byzantium, had been lost to the Saracens since the 9th century.
In 1035 the Emir of Sicily, Yusuf Al-Akhal facing a rebellion, allied with the Byzantines and asked their help. The Byzantines rightly judged that they should seize the opportunity and send an army. Meanwhile, the emir of Kairouan (of Ifriqiya) sent his son Abdullah with 6000 men to support the Muslim rebels.

Georgios Maniakes, with the support of Empress Zoe, was assigned to lead the campaign and was named General (strategos autokrator). But he was not alone in the leadership. His co-leader and admiral of the fleet was Stefanos, the brother of the emperor Michael IV Paflagon. The campaign was attended by soldiers from the regular army battalions and also Armenians and Pavlikans. Moreover, in attendance were 500 men of the Varangian Guard, led by Harald Hardrada (who later became king of Norway). When they arrived in Sicily, the Byzantines were reinforced by local Kontaratoi (light-armed peasant farmers) of Puglia and Calabria, led by the Lombard Arduino. In addition, the prince of Salerno, who was an ally of the Byzantines, sent 300 Norman mercenaries. The leader of the Normans was William I of Hauteville, the Iron Man.

Al-Akhal was killed in 1036 or 1037 and the new leader of the Muslims of Sicily became Abdullah, the son of the Berber emir. The Byzantine forces landed in Rigio in 1038, and in the same year Messina was besieged and occupied.

Invasion of Maniakes in Italy

The Battle:

Maniakes in the Skylitzes manuscript

When the Arabs of the island saw how the situation was developing, they put aside their differences and tried to jointly organize their defense, having received the support of 50,000 men from the emir of the Berbers of Tunisia. They thus rallied a large army which rushed to confront the Byzantine army to the northeast of the island.
The two armies met at the location Remata near the town of Rometta, very close to Messina and a key location for the control of the route to the interior of the island.
It was a long and bloody battle. The Varangians and especially the Norman mercenaries played a leading role.

The Arabs were defeated and suffered heavy losses. The killing was such that the nearby river became red from the blood.

Noteworthy:

According to Psellos, Maniakes was 10 feet tall, more than 3 meters! An exaggeration no doubt, but he was definitely huge. He was a self-made man of humble origin. Ferocious warrior in battle, with huge hands, thunderous voice, with a wild face, probably one-eyed. It caused fear and awe to enemies and friends (even the Varangians). He had high intelligence and was an excellent general. His problem was that he was violent, cruel, arrogant, and he was extremely rude to everyone.

Aftermath:

After the victory in Rometta, Maniakes quickly conquered 13 cities in Sicily. The defeat of the Arabs was great but not final. They still resisted in western Sicily and in Syracuse.