 In 909, Sicily, like Ifriqiya itself, passed under the control of the Fatimid Caliphate.The Fatimids (and after the 950s the Kalbid hereditary governors) continued the conquest, both against the Christian strongholds in the northeast (the Val Demone) and, more prominently, against the Byzantine possessions in southern Italy, punctuated by truces.Taormina itself threw off Muslim control soon after 902, and it was not until 962, possibly in response to the Byzantine reconquest of Crete the previous year, that the Fatimids retook the town, following a 30-week siege.