the pretender, Handhala ibn Safwan decided that North Africa had seen enough war and bloodshed, and opted to abdicate rather than put up a fight. He returned to Damascus in February, 745, leaving Ibn Habib to usurp the government in Kairouan. Some chroniclers report that, at his departure, Handhala ibn Safwan laid a curse upon Ifriqiya, expressing his hope that the land which had treated him so ungratefully would be possessed by pestilence, famine and war. Ifriqiya did indeed experience a severe drought not long after and would descend into violent disorder for the next couple of decades. References Sources See also History of early Islamic Tunisia History of medieval Tunisia 8th-century Arabs Banu Kalb Berber Revolt 8th-century people of Ifriqiya Umayyad governors of Ifriqiya 8th-century Umayyad governors of Egypt