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Revolts in Sicily

In August 910, al-Mahdi sent his governor of Kairouan, al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Khinzir, as the first Fatimid governor to Sicily. Soon he had made himself so unpopular with the Sicilians, apparently due to heavy taxation—Shi'a jurisprudence entailed a 20% income tax known as the 'Fifth' (khums)—that they rose in revolt, imprisoned him, and asked for his replacement. His replacement, the elderly Ali ibn Umar al-Balawi, arrived in August 912, but he too was deposed in early 913, and the island rose in revolt under the Aghlabid Ahmad ibn Ziyadat Allah ibn Qurhub, who renounced Fatimid allegiance and received recognition from the Abbasid caliph.

In July 914, the Sicilian fleet, commanded by Ibn Qurhub's younger son Muhammad, raided the coasts of Ifriqiya. At Leptis Minor, the Sicilians caught a Fatimid naval squadron by surprise on 18 July: the Fatimid fleet was torched, and 600 prisoners taken. Among the latter was the former governor of Sicily, Ibn Abi Khinzir, who was executed. The Sicilians defeated a Fatimid army detachment sent to repel them, and proceeded south, sacking Sfax and reaching Tripoli in August 914. Only the presence of al-Qa'im, who was then on his way to invade Egypt, deterred an attack on the city.

In the next year, however, a similar undertaking failed, with the Sicilian fleet being defeated. Some areas, such as Agrigento, defected back to the Fatimids. Ibn Qurhub tried to flee to al-Andalus, but was captured and delivered to al-Mahdi. Along with his supporters he was brought to Raqqada, lashed on the tomb of Ibn Abi Khinzir, mutilated, and publicly crucified. The island's capital, Palermo, resisted until March 917. After its capitulation, a Kutama garrison was installed under the governor Salim ibn Asad ibn Abi Rashid. The stronger Fatimid presence allowed Salim to secure relative tranquility for the island over twenty years, remaining in office until another revolt overthrew him in 937.