Fatemid Dynasty of Egypt-Syria- Hijaz-North Africa defeats the Greek Byzantine Empire

Compiled by: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On September 15, 994, the Fatemid Ismaili Shi'ite Dynasty of Egypt-Syria- Hijaz-North Africa won a major victory over the Greek Byzantine Empire at the Battle of the Orontes in what is now Turkey.
The Byzantine army was led by Michael Bourtzes of Antioch while the Fatemid forces were under command of the governor of Damascus, the Turkish general Manjutakin. The fighting also involved the Hamdanid Shi'ite Muslim rulers of Aleppo who because of their declining power had become Byzantine vassals.
Manjutakin besieged Apamea, and when the two armies met across the two fords on the Orontes River, he sent his forces to attack the Hamdanids across one ford while pinning the main Byzantine force down on the other. His men succeeded in breaking through the Hamdanids, turned round and attacked the Byzantine force in the rear. The Greeks panicked and fled, losing some 5,000 men in the process.