by surprise on 18 July: the Fatimid fleet was torched, and 600 prisoners were made. Among the latter was the former governor of Sicily, Ibn Abi Khinzir, who was executed. The Sicilians defeated a Fatimid army detachment sent to repel them, and proceeded south, sacking Sfax and reaching Tripoli in August 914. Only the presence of al-Qa'im, who was then on his way to invade Egypt, deterred an attack on the city. In the next year, however, a similar undertaking failed, with the Sicilian fleet being defeated. Some areas, like Agrigento, defected back to the Fatimids. Ibn Qurhub tried to flee to al-Andalus, but was captured and delivered to al-Mahdi. Along with his supporters he was brought to Raqqada, lashed on the tomb of Ibn Abi Khinzir, mutilated, and publicly crucified. The island's capital, Palermo, resisted until March 917. After its capitulation, a Kutama garrison was installed under the governor Salim ibn Asad ibn Abi Rashid. The stronger Fatimid presence allowed Salim to secure relative tranquility for the island over twenty years, remaining in office until another revolt overthrew him in 937. War with the Byzantines In August 918, Salim led a night attack on Reggio Calabria, which was captured and sacked. In the following year, however, a truce was signed with Taormina and the other Byzantine strongholds of the Val Demone, possibly so that the Muslim forces could be concentrated on the Italian mainland. There an expedition of 20 ships under Mas'ud al-Fati attacked the fortress of St. Agatha near Reggio in 922/3. In April 924 a major fleet was sent to Sicily, commanded by the chamberlain Ja'far ibn Ubayd. After wintering on the island, he raided Bruzzano near Reggio, before sailing on to sack Oria in Apulia. Over 11,000 prisoners were made, and the local Byzantine commander and bishop surrendered as hostages in surety for the payment of tribute. The chamberlain returned in triumph to Mahdiya in September 925. At about the same time, al-Mahdi entered into contact with the Bulgarian emperor, Simeon I, who sent envoys to propose a joint attack on the Byzantine capital Constantinople. The Bulgarian ruler suggested that the Bulgarians would invade by land, and the Fatimids come by sea; all spoils would be divided equally, with the Bulgarians keeping Constantinople and the Fatimids gaining the Byzantine territories in Sicily and southern Italy. As a result of a long war with the Byzantines, by