Candia (Chandax, modern Heraklion), a city built by the transplanted Iberians, is made the new capital of the island.

They build a moat around the city for protection, and name the city rabḍ al-ḫandaq ("Castle of the Moat").

The Saracens allow the port to be used as a safe haven for pirates who operate against Imperial shipping and raid Imperial territory around the Aegean.

Abu Hafs has repulsed the early attacks by the imperial navy and slowly consolidated control of the entire island.

He recognizes the suzerainty of the Abbasid Caliphate, but he rules as a de facto independent prince.

The conquest of the island is of major importance as it transforms the naval balance of power in the Eastern Mediterranean and opens the hitherto secure Aegean Sea littoral to frequent and devastating raids.

The Andalusians also occupy several of the Cyclades during these early years, but Michael II organizes another large-scale expedition, recruiting an entire new marine corps, the Tessarakontarioi, and building new ships.

Under the admiral Ooryphas, this fleet manages to evict the Arabs from the Aegean islands but fails to retake Crete, which will survive as a piratical emirate until its reconquest in 961 by Constantinople.