He kept his
word, for when he took the city he threw down the walls and demolished
all the fortifications. He was merciful, however, to the inhabitants,
and checked the fury of the Saracens, who were slaughtering all they
met. A mosque was afterward erected on the spot at which he stayed the
carnage, called the Mosque of Mercy. Manuel, the Greek general, found it
expedient to embark with all speed with such of his troops as he could
save, and make sail for Constantinople.
Scarce, however, had Amru quelled every insurrection and secured the
Moslem domination in Egypt, when he was again displaced from the
government, and Abdallah Ibn Saad appointed a second time in his stead.
Abdallah had been deeply mortified by the loss of Alexandria, which had
been ascribed to his incapacity; he was emulous, too, of the renown of
Amru, and felt the necessity of vindicating his claims to command by
some brilliant achievement. The north of Africa presented a new field
for Moslem enterprise. We allude to that vast tract extending west from
the desert of Libya or Barca to Cape Non, embracing more than two
thousand miles of sea-coast; comprehending the ancient divisions of
Mamarica, Cyrenaica, Carthage, Numidia, and Mauritania; or, according to
modern geographical designations, Barca, Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and
Morocco.
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