Scholars trace the origin of the city proper to sometime between the fifth and the seventh centuries C.E., when successive waves of barbarians swept down from the north, burning and pillaging the communities on the mainland.
فهرب الناس من امام الغزاة ولجأ كثيرون منهم الى الجزر طلبا للامان ،‏ مع ان الوصول اليها لم يكن بالامر السهل .‏