 Abu Fihr was a capable man, and was able to assuage the often violent dissensions between Ifriqiyans and Andalusians.The western third of Sicily (Val di Mazara) fell relatively quickly into Muslim hands, but conquest of the eastern portion of the island was a protracted and haphazard affair.There is little evidence of large-scale campaigns or pitched battles, and warfare was dominated by repeated Arab attacks on Byzantine citadels, coupled with raids ("sa'ifa") in the surrounding countryside, aimed at looting or the extraction of tribute and prisoners from the threatened localities.