The lands to the west of Egypt proved to be a much easier prospect for the Arabs, and John of Nikiu tells us that as soon as 'Amr ibn al-'As had concluded a treaty with the patriarch Cyrus and accepted the submission of Alexandria, he dispatched a raiding party to the Pentapolis. This refers to the region of modern northeast Libya, also called Cyrenaica, which comprises five prosperous Roman cities, including Berenike (modern Benghazi), Barqa (modern al-Marj), and Cyrene, the capital. It is at least a 600-mile march away from
Alexandria, via a very flat coastal road hemmed in to the south by desert. The Pentapolis itself is dominated by the mountain range known as the Jabal Akhdar, which attracts enough rainfall to provide a fertile hinterland for the settlements in its shadow. The governor of the province, together with his troops and the richer residents, withdrew into the ancient city of Tokra, which had been equipped with strong walls a century before, and so offered those sheltering within the hope that they might be able to ride out the passing Arab storm. And sure enough, John informs us, once the raiders had seized a good amount of plunder and captives they retired to whence they came. Muslim sources have 'Amr attacking a number of other places in the area, even entering and pillaging Tripoli, but again the impression conveyed is of raiding expeditions rather than the establishment of a permanent presence. As one early ninth-century Muslim scholar affirmed: “No tax collector entered Barqa (probably meaning all Pentapolis) at that time; rather they would send the tribute when it was due.”14
Muslim sources also attribute to 'Amr the first Arab encounter with the Berbers, in this case with the Luwata tribe, which inhabited the pre-desert lands to the south of the coast of Cyrenaica. They are presumably to be identified with the Laguatan of the Byzantine sources, who were famed for never having been conquered and for possessing countless thousands of men. They played a major part in the great Berber revolt against the Byzantines in the 540s, and, though they were suppressed, it would seem that Byzantine rule was never really reestablished in this interior region, and so the Luwata enjoyed a high degree of autonomy in the century before the Arab conquest. 'Amr continued this arrangement; he did not attempt to fight the Luwata, but concluded an agreement with them that, according to the earliest Muslim historians, stipulated that they pay a sum of money in tribute which would be raised by “selling whichever of their children that they wished.” No clarification is given, but probably this is an allusion to the vibrant slave trade of Africa. St. Augustine, for example, lamented the ubiquity of slave merchants in Africa, who “empty a large part of the land of its human population, exporting those whom they buy—almost all free men—to provinces overseas.”
John of Nikiu ends his narrative at this date (ca. 643) and from this point on we are deprived of any detailed seventh-century account of the Arab conquest of North Africa. No contemporary resident felt impelled to record Byzantium's gradual loss of these lands, or if they did it has not come down to us. Two mid-eighth-century chronicles, both produced in Spain but incorporating material from Syria, give us the barest outlines of the next Arab offensive. It was led by 'Abdallah ibn Sa'd, a foster brother of the caliph 'Uthman, who had installed him as governor of Egypt in 645 instead of 'Amr ibn al-'As. After reaching Tripoli, the chroniclers say, 'Abdallah “advanced in war upon Cidamo and Lebida.” The former refers to the oasis town of Gadamis, southwest of Tripoli, where the Arabs perhaps went to parley with local Berber tribes. The latter is Leptis Magna, to the east of Tripoli, one of the most magnificent and today one of the best preserved Roman cities in the world (Figure 3.1), though when the Arabs arrived there it was but a shadow of its former self, since it had suffered badly when the Byzantines recaptured it from the Vandals in 533. After carrying out many depredations, 'Abdallah “received in loyalty the conquered and devastated provinces, and he soon reached Africa still thirsty for blood.” It would seem, then, that after passing Tripoli 'Abdallah proceeded westward along the coast and entered what the Romans called Africa (Arabic: Ifriqiya), which corresponded to modern Tunisia and eastern Algeria. This would have taken him into the interior of the province of Byzacena, described by Isidore of Seville (d. 636) as “rich in oil and so fertile in its soil that seeds that are sown there return a crop nearly a hundred-fold.”16 Apparently 'Abdallah's goal was to challenge the patrician Gregory, who had been appointed governor of Africa by the emperor Heraclius, but who had raised a rebellion against Constans “together with the Africans.” He began minting his own coins and allegedly “controlled everything between Tripoli and Tangiers.” He perhaps saw himself as acting to save the Byzantine Empire, which seemed to be disintegrating before his eyes: Africa had produced Heraclius, who had freed Byzantium from the clutches of the Persians, so maybe it could now help relieve the Arab threat.17
Gregory was based at this time, in the summer of 647, in Sbeitla, ancient Sufetula, which can still boast a fine forum and capitolium and the remains of
FIGURE 3.1 The theater of Leptis Magna in Libya.
A number of temples and churches. It was not in itself of great commercial or cultural significance, and did not even possess a fortress or strong city walls, but it was situated near the Kasserine pass through the Tebessa mountain range and so stood in the way of any invaders’ march westward. This, plus the relative fertility of the region, which facilitated the provisioning of troops, perhaps explains why Gregory took up position here. Hearing that 'Abdallah was proceeding from the coast toward him Gregory went out with his men to head off the aggressor. No details of the battle are given except for the laconic notice that “the battle line of the Moors turned in flight and all the nobility of Africa, along with Count Gregory, was extinguished.” Having achieved this great victory, 'Abdallah returned to Egypt laden with booty. No indication is given that the Arabs had any base in Africa at this point and Muslim sources expressly state that when the Byzantines saw the extent of the Arabs’ plundering after the battle of Sbeitla they asked 'Abdallah ibn Sa'd to take from them money on the condition that he leave their country. He accepted their request and returned to Egypt “without appointing anyone over them or establishing any garrison there.”18
World History
