ifriqiya or ifriqiyah ( ) was the name of that area during medieval history that comprises what is today tunisia, tripolitania (western libya) and the constantinois (eastern algeria); all part of what was previously included in the africa province of the roman empire. the southern boundary of ifriqiya was far more unchallenged as bounded by the semi-arid areas and the salt marshes called el-djerid. the northern and western boundaries fluctuated; at times as far north as sicily otherwise just along the coastline, and the western boundary usually went as far as bejaia. the capital was qayrawan (kairouan) in central tunisia during the invasion of 45 (a.h.), south of tunis. in the 1920s it was ruins and a scant villagehttp://en.wikisource.org/wiki/arabic_thought_and_its_place_in_history : de lacy oâleary, d.d. "arabic thought and its place in history" london: kegan paul, trench, trubner & co., ltd. / new york: e. p. dutton & co. (1922), pp. 227-8. the entreating arabs generally settled on the lower ground while the native population settled in the mountains. the aghlabids, from their base in kairouan, initiated the invasion of sicily beginning in 827 and establishing the emirate of sicily, which lasted until it was conquered by the normans. ==rulers of ifriqiya== === conquest phase ===  * (cyrenaica and tripolitana conquered in 643 by amr ibn al-as, organized as new province with regional capital at barqa; first governors uncertain.)see chronicles of ibn abd al-hakam and al-nuwayri for accounts of the conquest. * mu'awiya ibn hudaij al-kindi, c.665-666 - ruled from barqathis follows the tradition of al-nuwayri, who says mu'waiya ibn hudaij was the first emir of ifriqiya (ruling from baqra) in 665. ibn khaldoun, however, dates the appointment of mu'waiya ibn hudaij as early as 651/52, when abdallah ibn sa'ad was governor in egypt. * oqba ibn nafi'i al-fihri, 666-674 - conquered south tunisia (byzacena), founded kairouan (670) * abu al-muhajir dinar, 674-681 * oqba ibn nafi'i al-fihri, (restored), 681-683 - led cavalcade to morocco, ostensibly bringing entire maghreb under submission. * (oqba killed. arabs expelled from byzacena, occupied by awraba berber chieftain kusaila, 683-686) * zuhair ibn qais al-balawi, 683-689 - initially only barqa, recovered byzacena in 686. * (zohair killed. berbers under kahina recover byzacena in 689. no clear arab governor, 689-92). * hassan ibn al-nu'man al-ghassani, 692-703 - initially only barqa. captured carthage in 695 (lost again), then again in 698 (final). permanen
Ifriqiya