CHAPTER  THE SECOND

THE MOHAMMEDAN  INVASIONS

(690-788)

SLOWLY  had  the wave  of Islam  flowed  along the
coast of Barbary.    Within a score of years from the
flight  of   Mohammed  from   Mekka—the  date
The Coming         known as ''Annus Hejirce^' "The Year of the

of Islam.             Flight"—Arab hordes had borne down on the

A.c. 640.*    delta of the  Nile     There they soon subdued
the nativeS;-]- most of them of Christian faith, but mingled
with them many Jews.    A few more seasons, and the tide
642-3.     had flowed along the lowlands of the Cyrenaica,
till Tripoli was reached.    Soon  Ifrikiya (/\frica)—which
64S.      then meant much what we now style Tunisia—
was   subjugated,  and   the   leaders   pushed   on   into  the
648.      Maghribs—the Central Maghrib (el Ausat) or
Algeria, and the Further Maghrib (el Aksa) or Morocco.

An Arab author^ tells us that in those days a prince

named   Jirjiz,   or   Girgiz   (the   prefect   Gregorius)   ruled

from  Tripoli to  Tangier as  the lieutenant of

^he^Berders.          ^^^  Byzautiue  emperor  Heraclius,^  but  what

683.      the real   weight  of his  hand  was we do  not

* All marginal dates are those of the Christian Era,

t Still retaining their ancient name of Egyptians (Gybti, Kubti, or Copts),
and still professing the Christian faith, in spite of the large numbers who have
from time to time embraced Islam.

X Constantinople itself was besieged by the Arabs in 626 and 716. Heraclius
reigned from 610 to 641.

1 Ez-ZoHRi, quoted by En-Noweiri {jtr, De S\a.ne) Journal Asiatique, Serie 3, vol. xi., p. 103.

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