 These trapped Berber communities were called ""Maragatos"" by the local Christian Leonese (etymology uncertain, possibly from "mauri capti", "captive Moors").Although eventually converted to Christianity, the "Maragatos" retained their distinctive dress, customs and lifestyle of Berber origin down to the early modern era.Through much of the winter of 741-42, the remnant of the Syrian expedition, some 10,000 men, under Balj ibn Bishr, remained trapped in Ceuta, besieged by the Berber rebels.