deeply unpopular, not least because taxes were increased dramatically in order to pay for military upkeep, while Berenice and other cities were left to decay. The Arabs and the advent of Islam Islam came to North Africa at a moment when there was nothing of a calibre sufficient to oppose it, while there were many native elements favourable to its advance. The Romans were largely obliterated except in Berenice and the rest of the small area under Byzantine rule. Civilisation in Berenice was almost extinct, due to depopulation under the Emperor Trajan in the 2nd century fearful of a Jewish rising, and its equally fearful suppression. The towns were deserted and prey to marauding bands of Berbers. Berber peasantry was exploited by crushing taxation and were keen for new rule. The official Church had alienated the mass of the population by its intransigent attitude to what it considered as heresies. In the year 642, the Treaty of Alexandria was concluded between 'Amr ibn al-'As and the Patriarch Cyrus, the last Byzantine governor of Egypt, ratifying the conquest of his territory by the Arabs. Shortly thereafter, on 17 September 642, the last Byzantine garrison evacuated Alexandria. But Amr ibn alAs, the conqueror of Egypt, thought it necessary to annex Cyrenaica as well. Since the last reorganisation by the Emperor Maurice (582-602), Cyrenaica had in fact belonged to the province of Egypt, as had Tripolitania. 'Amr marched on Cyrenaica at the beginning of 643, and seized it almost without meeting any resistance. He found neither Greeks nor Byzantines to oppose him, only Berbers of the Luwata and Hawwara groups. These, surrendering, agreed to pay an annual tribute of 13,000 dinars, which henceforth constituted part of the tribute payable by Egypt. By then Berenice had dwindled to an insignificant village among magnificent ruins. It began to be known by its Arabic name Barneeq. In the 13th century, the small settlement became an important player in the trade growing up between Genoese merchants and the tribes of the hinterland. In 16th century maps, the name of Marsa ibn Ghazi appears. Ottoman province Benghazi had a strategic port location, one that was too useful to be ignored by the Ottomans. They occupied Benghazi in the 16th century and it was ruled from Tripoli by the Karamanlis from 1711 to 1835, then it passed under direct Ottoman rule until 1911. Under Ottoman rule, Benghazi was the