Muslim conquest of the Maghreb

Period

647 – 709

Region

Africa

Category

War

Taking nearly 70 years, the conquest of the Maghreb was one of the longest campaigns of the early Muslim conquests. Occurring in fits and starts, the first campaigns began in the 640s soon after the fall of Egypt. In 647, the Byzantine army was defeated at Sufetula in southern Tunisia and a massive tribute was exacted. After a long interim, campaigns restarted in 665, in 670 Uqba ibn Nafi founded Qayrawan, Abu al-Muhajir Dinar began the pivotal rapprochement policy with the Berbers and their large scale recruitment, Numidia was subjugated and in 683 Uqba pushed all the way to the Atlantic, ultimately being defeated upon his return, reversing all Muslim gains. In 694 a new army was sent, taking Carthage and ending the Byzantine presence by 698. Over the next decade Musa ibn Nusayr then conquered modern day Algeria and Morocco, began the mass recruitment and Islamization of the Berbers on a scale unseen elsewhere, and set the stage for the 711 conquest of Iberia.

Sources: Wikipedia — Muslim conquest of the Maghreb · CC BY-SA 4.0