Uqba ibn Nafi

It was an idea given form in mudbrick and stone, a frontier outpost that had grown within less than two centuries into a capital of trade, governance, and learning.

It had been founded by the General Uqba ibn Nafi in the seventh century as a garrison town, a foothold for the armies moving west across North Africa.

But garrisons, when they endure, become something else entirely.

They become homes.

The Umayyad dynasty launched military expeditions and campaigns across North Africa.

An Umayyad commander named Uqba ibn Nafi led the spread of Islam into Algeria using a base in what is now Tunisia to move westward.

After the Arab conquest, Algerians gradually adopted Islam.

As Arabs arrived, Byzantine influence faded, and local leaders joined the Islamic armies, accelerating the religious change.