credentials as King of England". In Kairouan and the old Aghlabid palace city of al-Qasr al-Qadim, therefore, local Arabs were appointed: al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Khinzir and his brother Khalaf. In the provinces, where Kutama governors were appointed, the first years of Fatimid rule were marked by revolts by the local inhabitants against the arrogance and exactions of the Kutama. While he appointed the Kutama to garrisons and governorships and gave them rich rewards, in order to administer his new state, al-Mahdi required the expertise of the Arab urban population. As Kennedy remarks, unlike later radical Isma'ili groups, al-Mahdi's administration was "surprisingly conventional". For this purpose, al-Mahdi had to take over most of the personnel of the Aghlabid emirs, often men of dubious loyalty, like Ibn al-Qadim. The latter had initially followed Ziyadat Allah III into exile, only to abandon him and return to Ifriqiya with a considerable portion of the former emir's treasure. Al-Mahdi now appointed him to two crucial posts as head of the land tax bureau () and of the postal service (). The new caliph established a series of new fiscal departments in emulation of Abbasid practice, but notably not a vizierate, instead using the post of secretary () to supervise the function of his government. This post was held initially by a holdover from Aghlabid times, Abu'l-Yusr al-Baghdadi, but after his death in January 911 he was replaced by Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Baghdadi, who would continue serving in this capacity under al-Mahdi's successors. In another notable department from usual practice, there was no department for the army, as the tribally organized Kutama represented the bulk of the Fatimid military. To complement them, al-Mahdi also took over the surviving Aghlabid slave soldiers (), usually of Slavic () or Greek () origin, as well as recruiting black Africans. The Arabic settler army of Kairouan was also retained, albeit relegated to secondary status due to their dubious loyalty. Kairouan, dominated by the Maliki Sunni jurists, was from the beginning hostile to the new regime and its practices. During the campaign of Abu Abdallah to Sijilmasa, the people of Kairouan apparently hoped that he would never return. In October/November, two prominent jurists were publicly executed and their corpses drawn through the city as a warning. The letters sent by Abu Abdallah, first from Sijilmasa, and then from Ikjan, about the success of his mission and the