Battle of Alexandretta

Battle of Alexandretta
Part of the Arab–Byzantine Wars
Date late spring 971 Location near Alexandretta (modern-day İskenderun, Hatay, Turkey) 36°34′54″N 36°09′54″E / 36.5817°N 36.1650°E / 36.5817; 36.1650 Result Byzantine victory, raising of the Fatimid siege of Antioch
Belligerents
Byzantine Empire	Fatimid Caliphate
Commanders and leaders
Nicholas	Aras Ibn az-Zayyat
Strength
unknown	4,000
Casualties and losses
unknown	very heavy
class=notpageimage| Alexandretta (now İskenderun) within modern Turkey

The Battle of Alexandretta was the first clash between the forces of the Byzantine Empire and the Fatimid Caliphate in Syria. It was fought in early 971 near Alexandretta, while the main Fatimid army was besieging Antioch, which the Byzantines had captured two years previously. The Byzantines, led by one of Emperor John I Tzimiskes' household eunuchs, lured a 4,000-strong Fatimid detachment to attack their empty encampment and then attacked them from all sides, destroying the Fatimid force. The defeat at Alexandretta, coupled with the Qarmatian invasion of southern Syria, forced the Fatimids to lift the siege and secured Byzantine control of Antioch and northern Syria.