71 ® B A R B A R Y. 
Pharas could not refrain from tears, and immediately dif¬ 
patched the meffenger with the things lie wanted. Gili- 
mer had fpent near three winter months on the fummit of 
this inhofpitable mountain, his mifery hardening.him ftill 
more againft the thoughts of furrendering, when a melan¬ 
choly fcene in his own family at once refolved him to it. 
71 his was a violent (haggle between two boys, one of 
them his filter’s fon, about a piece of dough laid on the 
coals ; which the one feized upon, burning hot as it was, 
and clapped it into his mouth ; but the other by dint of 
blows forced it out and ate it from him. This quarrel, 
which would have ended fatally had not Gilimer inter- 
pofed, made fo deep an impreflion upon him, that he dif- 
patched a mefl'enger to Pharas, acquainting him that he 
was willing to furrender with all his effects, upoa the con¬ 
ditions offered, as foon as he was allured that they were 
accepted by Belifarius. Pharas loft no time to get them 
ratified and lent back to him ; after which Gilimer was 
conducted to Belifarius, who gave him a very kind recep¬ 
tion. Gilimer was afterwards brought before Juftinian in 
golden chains, whom he befought in the moil fubrpillive 
manner to fpare his life. This was generoully granted by 
the emperor ; who alfo allowed him a penlion to live up¬ 
on as a private gentleman. But his fpirits and heart were 
too much broken to enjoy the fweets of private life ; info- 
much that he died in the year 534, the firft of. his capti¬ 
vity, and five years after he had been raifed to the throne. 
Barbary being thus reduced by the arms of Juftinian, it 
continued a province of the eaftern Roman empire, and 
received its laws from Conftantinople, until it was taken 
by the Saracen army, in the khalifat of Omar, as already 
related under the article Arabia, p. n, of this volume. 
It continued fubjeft to the khalifs of Arabia and Bagdad 
til) the reign of Harun al Rafhid, who having appointed 
Ibrahim Ebn Aglab governor of the vveftern parts of his 
empire, that prefect took the opportunity, firft of allutil¬ 
ing greater powers to himfelf than had been granted by 
the khalif, and then erecting a principality altogether in¬ 
dependent of him. Tire race of Aglab continued to enjoy 
this new principality peaceably, till the year of the Hegira 
297, during which time they made feveral defcents on the 
bland of Sicily, and conquered part of it. About this time, 
Obeidalkih rebelled againft the lioufe of Agkib, and af- 
lumed the title of khalif of Kairwan (the ancient Cyrene, 
and refidence of the Aglabite princes.) To give the great¬ 
er weight to his pretenlions, he took the furname of Al 
Mohdi, or Al Mahedi, the director. According to fome, 
alfo, he pretended to be defeended from Ali Ebn Abu 
Taleb, and Fatema the daughter of Mahomet: for which 
reafon, fay they, the Arabs called him and bis uefeendants 
Fatemites. He likewife encouraged himfelf and his fol¬ 
lowers by a tradational prophecy of Mahomet, that at 
the end of 300 years the fun (hould rife out of the weft. 
Having at length driven the Aglabites into Egypt, where 
they became known by the name of Magrebians, he extend¬ 
ed his dominions in Africa and Sicily, making Kainvan 
the place of his refidence. 
In the 300th year of the Hegira, Habbafah, one of Al 
Mohdi’s generals, overthrew the khalif Al Mokhtader’s 
forces in the neighbourhood of Barca, and made himfelf 
mafter of that city. After which he reduced Alexandria, 
and was making great progrefs in the conqueft of the 
whole country, when Al Mokhtader difpatched againft 
him his two generals Takin and Al Kafem, with an army 
of 100,000 men. Habbafah, being informed that the kha¬ 
lif’s troops were in motion, advanced at the head of his 
army to give them battle, and at-laft came up with them 
in an ifiand called by the Arabs Ard al Kamjin. Here he 
attacked them with incredible bravery, notwithftanding 
their forces were much fuperior to his own, but the ap¬ 
proach of night obliged both generals to retreat. The 
aftion was by no means decifive, though extremely bloody, 
the khalif’s generals having loft 20,000 men, and Habba¬ 
fah 10,000. The latter, however, durft not renew the 
fight, but dole off in the night, fo that Al Mokhtader in 
3 
effea gained a victory. In the 30 2 d year of the Hegira, 
Habbafah returned, poffeflTed himfelf of Alexandria a fe- 
cond time, defeated a body of the khalif’s forces, and kil¬ 
led 7000 of them upon the fpot. What farther progrefs he 
made at that time we are not certainly told; but in the 307th 
year of the Hegira, Abul Kafem, fon to the Fatemite kha¬ 
lif Al Mohdi, again entered Egypt with anarmy of 100,000 
men. At firft he met with extraordinary fuccefs, and 
over-ran a confiderable part of that fine country. He made 
himfelf mafter of Alexandria, Al Tayum, Al Banafa, 
and the file of Al Aftimaryin, penetrating even to Al Jil 
zah, where the khalif’s army under the command of 
Munes was polled to oppofe him. In this country he 
found means to maintain himfelf till the 308 th year of the 
Hegira, when he was entirely defeated by Munes, who 
became mafter of all his baggage, as well as of the plun¬ 
der he had acquired ; and this obliged him to fly to Kair¬ 
wan with the (battered remains of his army, where he re¬ 
mained without making any farther attempt on Egypt. 
Al Mohdi reigned twenty-four years ; and was' fuc- 
ceeded by his ion Abul Cafem above-mentioned, who 
then took the furname of Al Kayem Mohdi. Durum his 
reign we read of nothing remarkable, except the revolt of 
\ ezid Ebn Co.ndat, a man of mean extraction, but who, 
having been elevated to the dignity of chancellor, found 
means to raife fucli a ftrong party, that the khalif was ob¬ 
liged to (hut himfelf up in the cattle of Mohedia. Yezid, 
at the head of a powerful army, foon reduced the capital 
of Kairwan, the cities of Al' Rakkada and Tunis, and 
leveral other fortreffes. He was no lefs fuccefsful in de¬ 
feating a confiderable number of troops which Al Kayem 
had lent againft him ; after which he clofely befieged the 
khalif in the cattle where he had thiit himfelf up? The 
liege continued feven months; during which time the 
place was reduced to fuch (traits, that the khalif mull ei¬ 
ther have furrendered or been ftarved, when death put an 
end to his anxiety in the 12th year of his reign, and 334th 
of the Hegira. 
Al Kayen was fucceeded by his fon Ithmael, who took 
the title ot Al Manjur. This khalif thought proper to con¬ 
ceal the death of his father, till he had made the prepa¬ 
rations neceffary for reducing the rebels. In this lie was 
io fuccefsful,- that he obliged Yezid to raife the fiege of 
Mohedi the fame year ; and in the following gave° him 
two fignal overthrows, obliging him to (hut himfelf up in 
the fortrefs of Kothama, or Cutama, where he befieged 
him in his turn. Yezid defended the place with defperate 
bravery; but, finding the garrifon at laft obliged to capi¬ 
tulate, he efcaped privately. Al Man fur difpatched a 
body of forces in purfuit of him; who overtook, and 
brought him back in fetters; but not till after a vigorous 
defence, in which Yezid received feveral wounds, of 
which lie died in prifon. After his death, Al Manfur 
caufed his body to be flayed, and his tkin fluffed and ex- 
pofed to public view. Al Manfur died after a reign of 
feven years and (ixteen days, in the 341ft of the Hegira. 
Al Manfur was fuceeded by his fon Abu Zammin Moad, 
who aflumed the furname of Al Moaz Lcdinillah. He was 
a warlike prince, and maintained a bloody conteft with 
Abdalrahman, khalif of Andalufia. In the 347th year of 
the Hegira, beginning March 25th, 958, Al Moez Cent a 
powerful army to the weftern extremity of Africa, under 
the command of Abul HaTan Jawhar, one of his (laves, 
whom he had advanced to the dignity of vizir. Jawhar 
firft advanced to Tahart, which he befieged ineffectually. 
From thence he marched to Fez, and made the proper 
difpofition for attacking that city. But finding that Ahmed 
Ebn Beer, the emir of the place, was refolved to defend it 
to the laft, he thought proper to abandon the enterprife. 
However, having traverfed ali the traCt between that ca¬ 
pital and the Atlantic ocean, he again (at down before 
Fez, and took it by ftorm the following year. But the 
greateft atchievement of this khalif was his conqueft of 
Egypt, and the removal of the khalifat to that country. 
This conqueft, though long projected, he did not attempt 
til- 
