Establishment of the Cretan Arab Emirate

Name: Establishment of the Cretan Arab Emirate
Start: 824
End: 827

Type Event Region Europe Time 824–827

Around 824–827 CE, the Andalusian exile Abu Hafs Umar led a Muslim fleet from Egypt, seized Byzantine Crete, and founded the Cretan Arab Emirate at G…

Timeline

824–825Alexandria · EgyptAbu Hafs Umar led about 15,000 Andalusian Muslim exiles from Egypt, launching an expedition against Crete by sea; the local Byzantine garrison failed to intercept them effectively.
827Gandeia · CreteThe Muslim army captured Crete's principal port city of Gandeia, where Abu Hafs Umar established the independent Cretan Arab Emirate, controlling the island's strategic positions and sea lanes.

Sources

Crete, Arab conquest of https://www.britannica.com/place/Crete
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium — Alexander Kazhdan (ed.) (1991)