The Maghariba participated in al-Mu'tasim's campaign against Amorium in 838, during which they were under the overall command of Itakh. During the caliphates of al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) and al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861) they took part in a number of Bugha al-Kabir's campaigns. In 845 they served under Bugha during his punitive expedition against the disorderly Banu Sulaym in the vicinity of Medina. In 848–49 they were sent by Bugha to help quell a revolt in Adharbayjan, and in 852 they fought in his campaign to defeat Ishaq ibn Isma'il, the rebel governor of Tiflis. In 855–56 several Maghariba were selected to provide escort for a prisoner exchange with the Byzantines.