Sack of Damietta (853)

Sack of Damietta
Part of the Arab–Byzantine Wars
Map of the Arab–Byzantine naval conflict in the Mediterranean, 7th–11th centuries
Date 22–24 May 853 Location Damietta, Egypt Result Byzantine victory
Belligerents
Byzantine Empire	Abbasid Caliphate
Commanders and leaders
"Ibn Qaṭūnā"	unknown
Strength
85 ships, 5,000 men	unknown

The Sack of Damietta was a successful raid on the port city of Damietta on the Nile Delta by the Byzantine navy on 22–24 May 853. The city, whose garrison was absent at the time, was sacked and plundered, yielding not only many captives but also large quantities of weapons and supplies intended for the Emirate of Crete. The Byzantine attack, which was repeated in the subsequent years, shocked the Abbasid authorities, and urgent measures were taken to refortify the coasts and strengthen the local fleet, beginning a revival of the Egyptian navy that culminated in the Tulunid and Fatimid periods.