The Byzantine and Arabic sources agree that Abu Hafs was the leader of a group of refugees from al-Andalus, who landed on the island of Crete and conquered it. Traditionally these Andalusis have been described as the survivors of a failed revolt [es] against the emir al-Hakam I of Córdoba in 818. In the aftermath of its suppression, the citizens of the Córdoban suburb of al-Rabad were exiled en masse. Some settled in Fez in Morocco, but others, numbering over 10,000, took to piracy, probably joined by other Andalusis, landed in Alexandria and took control of the city until 827, when they were besieged and expelled by the Abbasid general Abdullah ibn Tahir al-Khurasani. As W. Kubiak points out, however, the supposed origin from Córdoba is contradicted by other sources, which record the presence of Andalusi corsairs in Alexandria as early as 798/9, and their takeover is dated to 814; furthermore, Abu Hafs, who is recorded as their leader, came from a locality (Fahs al-Ballut, now Los Pedroches) that was far from Córdoba. Furthermore, Ibn Hayyan reports that the initial leader of the refugees was not Abu Hafs, but Muhajir ibn al-Qatil. He is echoed by Ibn Sa'id, who also adds that a certain Yahya, leader of the faqihs of Córdoba who had joined the exiles of Rabad, was another leader. It thus appears that Abu Hafs may have become the leader of the Andalusis at Alexandria, for it is only here that he is explicitly named as the leader of the Rabaḍiyyūn, the "rebels of Rabad", by Ibn Khaldun and al-Maqqari.
Under the terms of their agreement with Ibn Tahir, the Andalusis and their families left Alexandria in 40 ships. Historian Warren Treadgold estimates them at some 12,000 people, of whom about 3,000 would be fighting men. According to Byzantine historians, the Andalusis were already familiar with Crete, having raided it in the past. The same sources also claim that the Muslim landing was initially intended as a raid, and was transformed into a bid for conquest when Abu Hafs himself set fire to their ships. However, as the Andalusi exiles had brought their families along, this is probably later invention. The Andalusis' landing-place is also unknown; some scholars think that it was at the north coast, at Suda Bay or near where their main city and fortress, Chandax (Arabic: ربض الخندق, romanized: rabḍ al-kḫandaq, lit. 'Castle of the Moat', modern Heraklion), was later built, but others think that they most likely landed on the south coast of the island and then moved to the more densely populated interior and the northern coast.
Abu Hafs was responsible for the construction of Chandax, to where the Andalusis transferred the capital from the inland site of Gortyn, consolidating Muslim rule over the island, and repelling the first, hastily assembled, Byzantine attempts to recover the island under the generals Photeinos and Krateros. He recognized the suzerainty of the Abbasid Caliphate, but ruled as a de facto independent prince.
After the death of Theophilos in 842, another expedition to recover Crete was launched under the personal leadership of the powerful logothetes and regent Theoktistos. Although it succeeded in occupying much of the island, Theoktistos had to abandon the army due to political intrigues in Constantinople, and the troops left behind were slaughtered by the Arabs.
Surnamed al-Ghaliz ("the Fat") and later al-Iqritishi ("the Cretan"),[1] and usually known as Abu Hafs (Arabic: أبو حفص, in Greek sources Ἀπόχαψ[ις], Apochaps[is]).
Christides 2015. - Christides, Vassilios (2015). "Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar b. Shuʿayb al-Ballūṭī". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. ISSN 1873-9830. https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_24483
Canard 1971, pp. 1082–1083. - Canard, M. (1971). "Iḳrīṭis̲h̲". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1082–1086. OCLC 495469525. https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0358
Miles 1964, pp. 10–11. - Miles, George C. (1964). "Byzantium and the Arabs: Relations in Crete and the Aegean Area". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 18: 1–32. doi:10.2307/1291204. JSTOR 1291204. https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1291204
Christides 1981, pp. 89–90. - Christides, Vassilios (1981). "The Raids of the Moslems of Crete in the Aegean Sea: Piracy and Conquest". Byzantion. 51: 76–111.
Kubiak 1970, pp. 51–52, esp. note 3. - Kubiak, Władyslaw B. (1970). "The Byzantine Attack on Damietta in 853 and the Egyptian Navy in the 9th Century". Byzantion. 40: 45–66. ISSN 0378-2506. https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0378-2506
Christides 2015. - Christides, Vassilios (2015). "Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar b. Shuʿayb al-Ballūṭī". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. ISSN 1873-9830. https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_24483
Makrypoulias 2000, pp. 347–348. - Makrypoulias, Christos G. (2000). "Byzantine Expeditions against the Emirate of Crete c. 825–949". Graeco-Arabica. 7–8: 347–362.
Canard 1971, p. 1083. - Canard, M. (1971). "Iḳrīṭis̲h̲". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1082–1086. OCLC 495469525. https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0358
Makrypoulias 2000, pp. 348–351. - Makrypoulias, Christos G. (2000). "Byzantine Expeditions against the Emirate of Crete c. 825–949". Graeco-Arabica. 7–8: 347–362.
Christides 2015. - Christides, Vassilios (2015). "Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar b. Shuʿayb al-Ballūṭī". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. ISSN 1873-9830. https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_24483
Treadgold 1988, pp. 251, 253. - Treadgold, Warren (1988). The Byzantine Revival, 780–842. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-1462-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=3TysAAAAIAAJ
Canard 1971, p. 1083. - Canard, M. (1971). "Iḳrīṭis̲h̲". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1082–1086. OCLC 495469525. https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0358
Canard 1971, p. 1083. - Canard, M. (1971). "Iḳrīṭis̲h̲". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1082–1086. OCLC 495469525. https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0358
Treadgold 1988, p. 253. - Treadgold, Warren (1988). The Byzantine Revival, 780–842. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-1462-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=3TysAAAAIAAJ
Makrypoulias 2000, p. 349. - Makrypoulias, Christos G. (2000). "Byzantine Expeditions against the Emirate of Crete c. 825–949". Graeco-Arabica. 7–8: 347–362.
Miles 1964, p. 11. - Miles, George C. (1964). "Byzantium and the Arabs: Relations in Crete and the Aegean Area". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 18: 1–32. doi:10.2307/1291204. JSTOR 1291204. https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1291204
Makrypoulias 2000, pp. 347–350, 351. - Makrypoulias, Christos G. (2000). "Byzantine Expeditions against the Emirate of Crete c. 825–949". Graeco-Arabica. 7–8: 347–362.
Christides 1981, p. 89. - Christides, Vassilios (1981). "The Raids of the Moslems of Crete in the Aegean Sea: Piracy and Conquest". Byzantion. 51: 76–111.
Treadgold 1988, pp. 253–254. - Treadgold, Warren (1988). The Byzantine Revival, 780–842. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-1462-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=3TysAAAAIAAJ
Canard 1971, p. 1083. - Canard, M. (1971). "Iḳrīṭis̲h̲". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1082–1086. OCLC 495469525. https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0358
Makrypoulias 2000, pp. 348–349, 357. - Makrypoulias, Christos G. (2000). "Byzantine Expeditions against the Emirate of Crete c. 825–949". Graeco-Arabica. 7–8: 347–362.
Treadgold 1988, pp. 255, 257. - Treadgold, Warren (1988). The Byzantine Revival, 780–842. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-1462-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=3TysAAAAIAAJ
Canard 1971, p. 1083. - Canard, M. (1971). "Iḳrīṭis̲h̲". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1082–1086. OCLC 495469525. https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0358
Miles 1964, p. 9. - Miles, George C. (1964). "Byzantium and the Arabs: Relations in Crete and the Aegean Area". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 18: 1–32. doi:10.2307/1291204. JSTOR 1291204. https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1291204
Christides 1981, p. 92. - Christides, Vassilios (1981). "The Raids of the Moslems of Crete in the Aegean Sea: Piracy and Conquest". Byzantion. 51: 76–111.
Treadgold 1988, p. 268. - Treadgold, Warren (1988). The Byzantine Revival, 780–842. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-1462-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=3TysAAAAIAAJ
Canard 1971, p. 1083. - Canard, M. (1971). "Iḳrīṭis̲h̲". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1082–1086. OCLC 495469525. https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0358
Christides 1981, pp. 92, 93. - Christides, Vassilios (1981). "The Raids of the Moslems of Crete in the Aegean Sea: Piracy and Conquest". Byzantion. 51: 76–111.
Treadgold 1988, pp. 324–325. - Treadgold, Warren (1988). The Byzantine Revival, 780–842. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-1462-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=3TysAAAAIAAJ
Makrypoulias 2000, p. 351. - Makrypoulias, Christos G. (2000). "Byzantine Expeditions against the Emirate of Crete c. 825–949". Graeco-Arabica. 7–8: 347–362.
Miles 1964, pp. 11–15. - Miles, George C. (1964). "Byzantium and the Arabs: Relations in Crete and the Aegean Area". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 18: 1–32. doi:10.2307/1291204. JSTOR 1291204. https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1291204
Canard 1971, p. 1085. - Canard, M. (1971). "Iḳrīṭis̲h̲". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1082–1086. OCLC 495469525. https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0358