(330-750 AH). It appears that the Arabs had close contact with the Beja in the 8th century AD via the Red Sea or via the Nile Valley, especially the Aswan region. Traders arrived among them, and they passed from Egypt to their lands as pilgrims, and migrated to the deserts of gold and emeralds. It also appears that a group of Muslim Arabs were the first to settle there and built mosques for themselves. All these were circumstances and occasions that initially paved the way for the Arabs to mix with the lands of Nubia and the Red Sea coast, and were among the factors that helped Arabize these two regions. Marriage between Arabs and Nubians had its effect in the Islamization of the latter. From here, the Red Sea coast in eastern Sudan came under Islamic rule in the Abbasid era, i.e., three hundred years after the conquest of Nubia by Abd ibn Abi al-Sarh. Thus, the lands from south of Aswan to south of Dongola, Dahlak, and Massawa became part of the Islamic state. Some groups of Arabs from the tribes of Bali and Juhaynah entered the lands of Nubia for trade, or were attracted by the gold mines or pastures after the Islamic conquest of Egypt. It is likely that some of the inhabitants of the Red Sea coast, or some of them, embraced Islam as a result of their mixing with them. A group of Arabs from Hawazin crossed the Red Sea and became known later as the Halaka. They settled in the lands of the Red Sea coast, then moved to the regions of Lakka and Dongola. Some of the Umayyads also settled in the port of Baq. Archaeological research has shown evidence of Islamic graves and the existence of a mosque in Sinkat, which appears to have been a route for those fleeing the Umayyads. There are some accounts that mention the survival of some individuals who were in the "al-Jahm" expedition in the land of the Red Sea coast, and perhaps some tribes migrated from Upper Egypt and penetrated the Eastern Desert under pressure from other Arab tribes. Therefore, the lands of the Red Sea coast became a vital area for Muslim Arab tribes, some of whom went to call for Islam and jihad for the sake of God, some went for trade, some were attracted by the gold mines, some were displaced under pressure from other tribes, some remained after the success of punitive campaigns, and some crossed the sea.