Battle of Stilo

The Battle of Stilo (also known as Cape Colonna and Crotone) was fought on 13 or 14 July 982 near Crotone in Calabria between the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Otto II and his Italo-Lombard allies and those of the Kalbid emir of Sicily, Abu'l-Qasim, who had declared a holy war against the Germans. The battle ended in Sicilian victory.

Pitched battle

Abu'l-Qasim was not far from Rossano Calabro when he noticed the unexpected strength of Otto's troops and retreated. Tipped off to the retreat by ships, Otto left his wife Theophanu and their children in Rossano, along with the baggage and the imperial treasure, and set off to pursue the enemy. When Abu'l-Qasim recognized that he would not be able to flee, he readied his army for a pitched battle at Capo Colonna, south of Crotone. After a violent clash, a corps of German heavy cavalry destroyed the Muslim center and then pushed towards the emir's guards. Abu'l-Qasim was ultimately killed during the battle, but his troops were not shaken, going on to surround Otto's forces with a hidden reserve of approximately 5,000 cavalry and¹ inflicting heavy losses. According to Ibn al-Athir's history, casualties numbered around 4,000, among them Landulf IV of Benevento, Henry I, Bishop of Augsburg, Günther, Margrave of Merseburg, the Abbot of Fulda, and 19 other German counts.² Otto was forced to flee the battle, ultimately securing shelter only by swimming out to a Byzantine merchant ship. He then rested in Rossano, only returning to Rome on 12 November 982.