Ближний Восток и его соседи

g 86 h Vassilios Christides present author’s view that we should not limit the disastrous effects of Thomas’ revolt to the years 821–823, a revolt which hindered the Byzantines’ intensive efforts to strengthen their southern defenses in the Aegean. Throughout the an- nals of naval history, the replacement of navies took years to be achieved and occasionally was never accomplished. See for example the impact of the defeat of the Ottomans in the naval battle of Lepanto (1571), which marked the end of the Turkish predominance in the Mediterranean. In the 9 th century it took a long time until the Byzantine naval power was restored in the Aegean, as it is demonstrated in the complete failure of their repeated attempts to reconquer Crete a few years after its fall to the Andalusians. 113 EPILOGUE The story of the long journey of the Andalusian fugitives from Spain to Crete portrays a group of desperate but determined people, uprooted from their na- tive Rabaḍ , a suburb of Cordoba, whose main intention was to seek a new permanent urban settlement. It proved to be a herculean task marked by a pro- longed struggle. As the Arabic sources inform us, they were not mariners but mainly artisans who loved to maintain picturesque gardens. Their number was approximately 3,000–5,000 including their wives and children who traveled along with them. They were forced to become allies with Andalusian seamen in order to sail to Alexandria and they incorporated these sailors into their community when they settled in Alexandria in the year between ca 819 — ca 825–826. No doubt during their long voyage to Egypt they were engaged in raiding some islands in the Aegean Sea. In Alexandria they seized some of the houses of the Christians and attempt- ed to settle there permanently according to Michael the Elder. When they were expelled from the occupied houses, in their despair they offered to buy them, revealing their intense desire to put down roots in the city. Finally, the general ‘Abdallāh b. Ṭāhir spared their lives under the condition that they abandon Alexandria and try to resettle in a non-Muslim area ( dār al-ḥarb ), preferably in Crete. It is of particular interest that the Arab author al-Maqrīzi reports that the Frontier in the Southern Aegean (ca. 824/6–961): Cythera, Naxos, Paros, Elaphonesos, Dia”, Η´ Διεθνές Πανιόνιο Συνέδριο (Κύθηρα, 21–25 Μαΐου 2006), Πρακτικά , Ιστορία , vol. III, Cythera 2009, 631–652, especially pp. 647–648. 113 Ch. G. Makrypoulias, “Byzantine Expeditions against the Emirate of Crete c. 825–949”, Graeco-Arabica 7–8 (1999–2000), 350–351 (article: 347–362). It should be added to Makry- poulias’ excellent work that the Arabic sources report only one of the Byzantine attempts to reconquer Crete; see Christides, The Image of Cyprus in the Arabic Sources , Lefcosia 2006, 161–164.