The Fatimids rule only in North Africa and Sicily, where they have to deal with many problems.

Most of their subjects are Sunnis of the Maliki school; others—a substantial minority—are the Khawarij, or Kharijites.

Neither group being well disposed toward the Isma'ili doctrines of the new rulers, they offer stubborn resistance to them.

Even among the Isma'ilis themselves, a conflict soon arises between the state and the revolution -- that is, between the caliph al-Mahdi and the missionaries who have brought him to power.

There also are political problems with Berber tribes and neighboring Muslim rulers, as well as a war against the Empire in Sicily and Italy that the Fatimid rulers have inherited from their North African predecessors.

While coping with these difficulties, the Fatimids never lose sight of their ultimate aim, expansion to the East, where the center of 'Abbasid strength lies.

Unsuccessful expeditions have been sent in 913-915, 919-921, and 925 against Egypt, the first step in the planned conquest.

Al-Qa'im Bi-Amrillah dies in 934 and is succeeded by his son, Abu Al-Qasim Muhammad Al-Qaim, after which he will never again leave the royal residence at Mahdia.

Nevertheless, he continues his father’s expansionist policy, and the Fatimid realm will soon become an important power in the Mediterranean.

The Fatimids fail in a third attempt to conquer Egypt in 935.

The authority of al-Mu'izz, the most powerful of the Fatimid caliphs, is acknowledged over the greater part of the region now comprising Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, as well as the island of Sicily.