 The same period, 885–886, also saw a resurgence of Byzantine strength in the Italian mainland, where Nikephoros Phokas the Elder won a string of victories against the Muslims.It was in this climate of military failure that the discontent among broad sections of the Sicilian Muslim population, hitherto kept in check by successful raiding, erupted into open rebellion.In the later narrative sources, this conflict between the ruling elite and the lower classes is often simplified to an "ethnic" struggle between the (ruling) "Arabs" and the (rebel) "Berbers".