Battle of Nikiou
Part of theMuslim conquest of Egypt (Arab–Byzantine wars)
Amr Mosque in Cairo commemorating Muslim victories in Egypt over the Byzantines
Date May 646 Location Nikiou (nowZawyat Razin,Monufia),Egypt Result Muslim victory
Belligerents
Rashidun Caliphate	Byzantine Empire
Commanders and leaders
Amr ibn al-A'as	Manuel
Strength
15,000	20,000
Casualties and losses
Heavy	Heavy

TheBattle of Nikiou took place betweenArabMuslim troops under GeneralAmr ibn al-A'as and theByzantine Empire inEgypt in May of 646.^[1]

Following their victory at theBattle of Heliopolis in July 640, and the subsequent capitulation ofAlexandria in November 641, Arab troops had taken over what was theRoman province of Egypt. The newly installedEastern Roman EmperorConstans II was determined to retake the land, and ordered a large fleet to carry troops to Alexandria. These troops, underManuel, took the city by surprise from its small Arab garrison towards the end of 645 in an amphibious attack. In 645, the Byzantine thus temporarily won Alexandria back.^[2] Amr at the time might have been inMecca, and was quickly recalled to take command of the Arab forces in Egypt.^[3]

The battle took place at the small fortified town ofNikiou (Coptic:ⲡϣⲁϯPashati),^[4] about two-thirds of the way from Alexandria toFustat,^[5] with the Arab forces numbering around 15,000, against a larger Byzantine force. The Arabs prevailed, and the Byzantine forces retreated in disarray, back to Alexandria.^[1]

Although the Byzantines closed the gates against the pursuing Arabs, the city of Alexandria eventually fell to the Arabs, who stormed the city sometime in the summer of that year. The defeat of Manuel's forces marked the last attempt by the Byzantine Empire to recapture Egypt for some 500 years, with only EmperorManuel I Komnenos (not to be confused with the aforementioned Manuel) sending afailed expedition there in the 12th century.^[6][7]

• Butler, Alfred J.The Arab Conquest of Egypt and the Last Thirty years of Roman Dominion Oxford, 1978.
• Charles, Robert H. (2007) [1916].The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu: Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text. Merchantville, NJ: Evolution Publishing.ISBN 978-1-889758-87-9.
• Ostrogorsky, George (1956).History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

30°24′44″N30°51′13″E / 30.41222°N 30.85361°E /30.41222; 30.85361

• 646
• 640s conflicts
• 7th century in the Byzantine Empire
• Muslim conquest of Egypt
• Battles involving the Byzantine Empire
• Battles of the Arab–Byzantine wars
• Battles involving the Rashidun Caliphate
• 640s in the Byzantine Empire

• CS1 Arabic-language sources (ar)
• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing Coptic-language text
• Coordinates on Wikidata