The Islamic and Byzantine City

The early days of expansion saw the founding of armed camps, often outside existing settlements, where troops were quartered, mosques were constructed, captive populations administered, and conversions encouraged. Basra and Kufa were the first "garrison towns" (amsar) set up by the Arab conquerors in the Persian-ruled region of lower Mesopotamia. Fustat, which means "tent city," was an army camp set up beyond the limits of an existing Greco-Roman bishopric seat of Babylon, near present-day Cairo, by the Arab general who in 640 C.E. conquered Egypt. Another variety was the ribat or fort. Rabat in Morocco began as just such a walled fortress in which the ruler and his troops were quartered. "The term Amsar … as later used … to designate those fustats and ribats that were selected as centers to manage the conquered territories and as bases from which further military campaigns could be launched" (Al-Sayyad, p. 45). Their regular gridiron arrangements revealed their military origins, just as the bastide towns in Gaul revealed their origins in the Roman conquests. Gradually, as the lines between conquerors and converts grew more permeable, these army camps blended with existing settlements and were transformed into cities endowed with schools and mosques, palaces, and offices of the rulers, and took on unified commercial functions.