Memphis, Egypt
The first invasion of the Maghreb, ordered by Abdallah ibn Sa'd, commenced in 647. 20,000 soldiers marched from Medina in the Arabian Peninsula, with another joining them in Memphis, Egypt where Abdallah ibn Sa'd then led them into the Byzantine Exarchate of Africa, the Maghreb region. The invading army took Tripolitania (in present-day Libya). Count Gregory, the local Byzantine governor, had declared his independence from the Byzantine Empire in North Africa. He gathered his allies, confronted the invading Islamic Arab forces and suffered defeat (647) at the Battle of Sufetula, a city 240 kilometres (150 mi) south of Carthage. With the death of Gregory, his successor, probably Gennadius, secured the Arab withdrawal in exchange for tribute. The campaign lasted fifteen months and Abdallah's force returned to Muslim territories in 648.