Ближний Восток и его соседи

g 83 h The Odyssey of the Andalusian Conquerors of Crete... According to most Arabic sources, the Andalusians remained in Alexandria until expelled by ‘Abdallāh b. Ṭāhir who had been sent from Khūrasān by the caliph Ma’mūn to pacify Egypt. According to all relevant sources, ‘Abdallāh b. Ṭāhir was not only an excellent military man but also an exceedingly wise ruler as he had proven to be while governor of Khurāsān. He was also a learned scholar, a poet and a musician. 89 It is worth mentioning here that even Michael the Elder who, in his work, so vehemently denigrated the Muslim leaders, had only lofty praises for the general. This Christian author considered ‘Abdallāh a fair-minded governor who treated all inhabitants of Egypt, Muslims, Chris- tians and Jewish, equally 90 (see Appendix B ). Following the route of ‘Amr b. al-‘Āṣ, ‘Abdallāh b. Ṭāhir entered Egypt through Bilbays ( Bilbis ), northeast of Cairo, where he encamped. 91 Meanwhile the governor of Egypt, ‘Ubaydallāh b. al-Sarī, having fortified the capital Fusṭāṭ, awaited the attack. 92 In a brief encounter between the well-organized army of ‘Abdallāh b. Ṭāhir and ‘Ubaydallāh b. Sarī’s army outside the walls of Fusṭāṭ, the latter was easily defeated and surrendered. 93 After subjugating ‘Ubaydallāh b. Sarī, ‘Abdallāh b. Ṭāhir headed towards Alexandria in order to liberate the city from the tyranny of the Andalusian refugees whose destructive rule is described vividly not only by the often biased Christian authors but also by most Arab historians. 94 ‘Abdallāh b. Ṭāhir, who had served successfully in several military campaigns under Ma’mūn, reached Alexandria and demanded that the Andalusians surrender the city. While Ṭabari reports that an immediate safe passage agreement was arranged, 95 Michael the Elder describes instead that the ill-trained Andalusians manned the walls and bitterly resisted ‘Abdallāh’s attack until they too surren- dered. 96 Of particular interest is Michael the Elder’s report that in order to con- tinue residing in Alexandria, the refugees proposed buying the houses of the 89 E. Martin, “‘Abd Allāh b. Ṭāhir”, in EI 2 , I (1960), 52–53. 90 Chronique de Michel le Syrien , III, 61: “Il disait: ‘Pourvu que vous me donniez le tribut, chacun est libre de choisir la confession qu’il veut’; et plusieurs retournèrent des mosquées aux églises”. 91 Christides, “Sea vs. Land: The Second Arab Conquest of Alexandria ca AH 25/AD 645– 646)”, Ekklesiastikos Pharos 94 (2012), 375–396; ‘Amr b. al-‘Āṣ, seized Bilbays after a siege of one month. 92 The History of al-Ṭabari, 159 and n. 479; Chronique de Michel le Syrien, III, 59. 93 The History of al-Ṭabari, 60. 94 Chronique de Michel le Syrien, III, 60; Ya ‘qūbi, Ta’rīkh, II, 446. 95 The History of al-Ṭabari, 165. 96 Chronique de Michel le Syrien , III, 60. E. W. Brooks, in his article “The Arab Occupation of Crete”, English Historical Review 28 (1913), 434, incorrectly places Abu Ḥafṣ’ landing in the year 828; see Christides, The Conquest of Crete by the Arabs , 90–91.