 The Berber rebellion was quashed in Al-Andalus, but the Syrians showed no signs of intending to leave.When the Andalusian governor Abd al-Malik ibn Qatan ibn Fihri pressed the point, Balj ibn Bishr, decided to simply depose him and proclaim himself governor, invoking his credentials as designated successor to his uncle, the late Ifriqiyan governor Kulthum ibn Iyad al-Qasi.In revenge for the merchant of Ceuta, Balj ordered the elderly Ibn Qatan tortured to death.