Conquest·Rashidun
Early Arab Campaigns in Ifriqiya
- Date
- 647 CE27 AH1,379 years ago
- Place
- Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia)
- People
- Abdallah ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Sarh, Gregory the Patrician
Arab forces from Egypt first raided Ifriqiya, the Byzantine province of North Africa, in 647 CE. Abdallah ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Sarh defeated the Byzantine army at Sufetula, and the Byzantine governor Gregory was killed. The raids brought large amounts of booty. Lasting Muslim control came later, after decades of campaigns and local revolts. Carthage fell in 698.
Why it matters
The campaigns opened the road west across North Africa and began the long end of Byzantine rule there.