Ближний Восток и его соседи

g 72 h Vassilios Christides Starida reports that there was undoubtedly a mint in the emirate of Crete where coins were minted. 50 Since the Arabic sources inform us that there were also some gold mines in Crete, we can assume that the gold used in the coins was of local origin. 51 To sum up, it is known from the sources that the refugees who escaped the slaughter of Rabaḍ found safety first in Toledo where they split into two groups. The first sailed to the nearby coast of North Africa probably following a well organized plan. After a peaceful landing, they proceeded towards Fez where they settled. They were warmly welcomed by the newly founded state of the Idrīsids. The second group undertook a long, arduous voyage, finally end- ing in Crete. As has been mentioned, the name of Abū Ḥafṣ ‘Umar b. Shu‘ayb al-Ballūti, who seems to have eventually undertaken the leadership of the sec- ond group, does not appear as a leader of any of the two groups at this stage. 52 The Long Perilous Voyage of the Second Group of the Fugitives: From Almería to Alexandria Possibly Via Sicily In contrast to the first group, the second started a long, painful journey to Alexandria, Egypt. The perilous periplus of the second group of the Cordo- bans raises more questions than answers. The dearth of information requires detailed scrutiny in all relevant sources before any valid conclusions can be drawn. Our sources do not report how either group managed to acquire ships on which they embarked on their journeys after abandoning Cordoba. As noted above, most probably the port of embarkation was Almería, on the coast of southern Spain, called al-Marīyah in the Arabic sources, a port which developed into a busy international trade center 53 (see Map). Accor- ding to Ibn Ḥayyān, based on Ibn al-Qūṭīyah’s (d. 977) reliable work Ta’rīkh Iftitāh , the Cordoban refugees asked Muhādjir b. al-Qatīl, who had escaped from the tyranny of Ḥakam and lived abroad, to become their leader and lead them to Alexandria. 54 Information concerning the types of ships they used, the number of crew 62–67). 50 Starida, “Το αραβικό φρούριο της τάφρου όπως αποκαλύπτεται από τις ανασκαφικές έρευ- νες”, 117. 51 Ḥimyari, Kitāb al-Rawḍ al-Mi‘ṭār fī Khabar al-Aqṭār , ed. Iḥsān ‘Abbās, Beirut 1975, p. 53. 52 Cplakidas. URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5674456 (accessed: 15.05.2023). 53 J. Bosh Vilá, “Marīyah”, 375–376. 54 Ibn Ḥayyān, Crónica de los emires Alḥakam I y ‘Abdarraḥmān entre los años 796 y 847 , 107r, p. 65, 74. Unfortunately, no other details concerning this leader appear in any other source.