Ближний Восток и его соседи

g 81 h The Odyssey of the Andalusian Conquerors of Crete... in all sources, was produced by the present author and it is needless to repeat them. 80 Suffice it to mention here that the reigns of the Byzantine emperor Michael II (820–829) and of the caliph of Baghdad Ma’mūn (813–833), during which all the above historical events took place, are the only indisputably ac- cepted dates. No doubt, the date of the death of the Byzantine emperor Michael II in 829 can serve as ante quem for the Andalusians’ arrival in Alexandria. Any other exact dating concerning their arrival in Alexandria and their expulsion is conjectural because of the controversial evidence in all relevant sources. On the other hand, as it will be seen further in this paper, there are two factors which enable us indirectly to enhance our knowledge concerning the Andalusians’ last stage of their long trip and its approximate dating, i. e. the well-known activities of theArab general ‘Abdallāh b. Ṭāhir and the role of Thomas’ revolt which was not limited to the years 823–825 but had long lasting repercussions. The Andalusians’ Occupation of Alexandria (ca 819?) and their Expulsion to Crete by ‘Abdallāh b. T.āhir in ca H210 (April 4, 825—April 12, 826 AD) or H211 (April 13, 826—April 1, 827 AD) The Andalusians arrived in Alexandria at the time of an upheaval in Egypt due to the conflict of succession in Baghdad, following the death of the caliph Harūn al- Rashīd. The rivalry between his two sons, Amīn and Ma’mūn, ended with the en- thronement of the latter. Even after Ma’mūn’s victory (r. 813–833), 81 the upheaval continued in Egypt, which was leaning towards separation from the ‘Abbāsids. The arrival inAlexandria and the activities of the Andalusians refugees until their departure can be gleaned through the Arab historians, mainly Ibn Sa‘īd ( d. 1286 ), al-Maqrīzi (d. 1442), al-Ya‘qūbi (d. 895), al-Kindi (d. 961) and Ibn al- Athīr (d. 1234), alongwith theChristianauthors,Michael theElder (d. 1199),writ- ing in Syriac, and Severus (Sawīrus) b. al-Muqaffa‘ (d. 987) , writing inArabic. 82 Although these Christian authors are occasionally biased because of their anti- Islamic attitude, they offer us valuable information which does not appear in 80 For a variety of sources see Christides, The Conquest of Crete by the Arabs (ca. 824). A Turn- ing point in the Struggle between Byzantium and Islam , Academy of Athens, Athens 1984, 85 ff. 81 For the rivalry between Ma’mūn and Amīn see D. Sourdel, Le vizirat ‘Abbaside de 749 à 936 (132 à 324 de l’Hégire) , Damascus 1959; T. Nagel, Rechtleitung und Kalifat, Versuch über eine Grundfrage der islamischen Geschicthe, Bonn 1975, 419 ff. H. Kennedy, The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates , London — New York 1986, 148–157; for Ma’mūn in general, see M. Rekaya, “Ma’mūn”, EI 2 , vol. VI (1986), 331–340. For Ma’mūn’s cultural activities, see M. Cooperson, “Al-Ma’mūn, the Pyramids and the Hieroglyphics”, in J. Nawas, ed., ‘Abbāsid Studies II. Occa- sion Papers of the School of ‘Abbāsid Studies , Louvain 2004, 165–190. 82 The name of Michael the Elder appears in a number of modern works as “Michael the Syrian”.