CHAPTER II

CONQUEST OF NORTH AFRICA AND SPAIN

BY THE ARABS

The Roman occupation brings the history of North Africa to the Christian era. The subsequent decline of the

Roman Empire was marked by a corresponding decline of the Roman colonies in Africa. The Vandals, who occupied Spain and gave it its name of Vandalusia or Andalusia, followed the Romans and effected establish-

ments upon the coast. But they left the interior untouched, and the conquest which was of supreme interest to

Negroland was that which was carried out in the seventh century of the Christian era by the Arabs.

The Arabs conquered Egypt in G^S, and their victorious forces spread rapidly, as was to be expected, across the

provinces of North Africa. And, as might also be expected, they did not occupy the prosperous northern provinces without endeavouring to find out something of what lay behind them in the desert. Tripoli was taken by them in 643, and expeditions were immediately sent across the hills to the slopes upon the south and as far as Wadan in the western desert. A very little later, 666; Okbar ibn Nafe made a military progress of a still more complete description, and inquiring always of the inhabitants of

each conquered tribe — "What lies beyond you?" he marched as far as Kawar, the country of the Tibboos to the north of Lake Chad, which to this day does not appear to be substantially altered from the condition in

which he found it. The people of Kawar, either not knowing or not choosing to tell that there was anything beyond them, replied in answer to his questions that

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