Career
An aesthete fond of wine and hunting, he felt able to devote himself to extravagance and displays of pomp. His reign saw the conquest of Malta and raids into mainland Italy were sufficient to force tribute from Pope John VIII. Towards the end of his reign a caravan of pilgrims from Mecca introduced the plague into Ifriqiya - this, and an ensuing famine led to severe depopulation and the weakening of the kingdom.