 Although Kairouan was saved for the caliphate, and with it the core of Ifriqiya, Handhala ibn Safwan now faced the unenviable task of dragging the more westerly provinces, still under Berber sway, back into the fold.He would not have the chance to accomplish this.The coup installing Abd al-Malik ibn Qatan al-Fihri as ruler in al-Andalus in early 741 had been a failsafe device.