| Battle of al-Qarn | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Berber Revolt | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Umayyad Caliphate | Berber insurgents | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi | Ukasha ibn Ayyub al-Fazari  | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Heavy | Heavy | ||||||
The Battle of Al-Qarn was a military engagement between the Umayyad governor of ifriqya Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi and the Sufrite Berber insurgents led by Oqasha ibn Ayub al-Fezari, the Umayyads were victorious in the bloody battle but withdrew after suffering heavy casualties.
the Umayyad armies in the Battle of the Nobles and Battle of Bagdoura were decisively crushed, hearing this, the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik appointed Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi as the new governor of ifiriqya, it wasn't long before Oqasha was said to be mounting an attack, in coordination with another large Berber army coming in from the west, led by Abd al-Wahid ibn Yazid al-Hawwari. The Berber rebel armies were to make a junction in front of Kairouan, before launching their final attack on the city, [1] [2] Handhala wanted to delay Abd al-Wahid march so he can meet Oqasha large army, Handhala dispatched a cavalry force to slow down Abd al-Wahid's progress, and threw the bulk of his forces to meet Oqasah, they met in a place called Al-Qarn near Kairouan, the fighting was intense and heavy, both sides suffered heavy casualties until Handhala succeeded in crushing the Berber army killing many of them, [3] [4] Oqasha was captured and executed. [5] Handhala withdrew to Kairoun due to fear from Abd al-Wahid to reach there before him [6]
Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād, also known simply as Tarik in English, was an Umayyad commander who initiated the Muslim conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711–718 AD. He led an army and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from the North African coast, consolidating his troops at what is today known as the Rock of Gibraltar. The name "Gibraltar" is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq, meaning "mountain of Ṭāriq", which is named after him.
Kairouan, also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan, is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya ; this is when it became an important centre for Sunni Islamic scholarship and Quranic learning, attracting Muslims from various parts of the world. The Mosque of Uqba is situated in the city.
Ifriqiya, also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna, was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia and eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania. It included all of what had previously been the Byzantine province of Africa Proconsularis and extended beyond it, but did not include the Mauretanias.
ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAbd al-Qays al-Fihrī al-Qurashī, also simply known as Uqba ibn Nafi, was an Arab general serving the Rashidun Caliphate since the reign of Umar and later the Umayyad Caliphate during the reigns of Muawiyah I and Yazid I, leading the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. He is credited to establishing Umayyad rule in North Africa. Uqba was the nephew of Amr ibn al-As. He is often surnamed al-Fihri in reference to the Banu Fihr, a clan connected to the Quraysh. His descendants would be known as the ʿUqbids or Fihrids.
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥabīb al-Fihrī was an Arab noble of the Fihrid family, and ruler of Ifriqiya from 745 through 755 AD.
The Berber Revolt or the Kharijite Revolt of 740–743 AD took place during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik and marked the first successful secession from the Arab caliphate. Fired up by Kharijite puritan preachers, the Berber revolt against their Umayyad Arab rulers began in Tangiers in 740, and was led initially by Maysara al-Matghari. The revolt soon spread through the rest of the Maghreb and across the straits to al-Andalus.
Abu al-Muhajir Dinar was a governor of Ifriqiya under the Umayyad Caliphate and lead the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb. He died in Tabuda after the Battle of Vescera in 683.
Hassan ibn al-Nu'man al-Ghassani was an Arab general of the Umayyad Caliphate who led the final Muslim conquest of Ifriqiya, firmly establishing Islamic rule in the region. Appointed by Caliph Abd al-Malik, Hassan launched a series of campaigns during the closing years of the 7th century, during which he defeated the Byzantines and the Berbers led by al-Kahina. The Byzantine capital of Carthage was destroyed in 698 and the nearby city of Tunis was founded in the following year. In Kairouan, Hassan set up a Muslim administration for the province to collect taxes from its Christian inhabitants and pay the troops. He enrolled thousands of Berbers into the army, which proved critical to later Muslim military successes in the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula. He was ultimately ousted from his post by the governor of Egypt, Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan, due to a power struggle for influence over Ifriqiya.
The Battle of the Nobles was an important confrontation in the Berber Revolt in c. 740 AD. It resulted in a major Berber victory over the Arabs near Tangier Morocco. During the battle, numerous Arab aristocrats were slaughtered, which led to the conflict being called the "Battle of the Nobles". Zenata Berber chieftain Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati led the revolting Berber soldiers.
Habib ibn Abi Ubayda al-Fihri was an Arab military commander of the illustrious Fihrid family who played an important role in the early history of Ifriqiya (Tunisia) and al-Andalus (Spain).
The Battle of Bagdoura was a decisive confrontation in the Berber Revolt in late 741 CE. It was a follow-up to the Battle of the Nobles the previous year, and resulted in a major Berber victory over the Arabs by the Sebou River. The battle would permanently break the hold of the Umayyad Caliphate over the far western Maghreb, and the resulting retreat of elite Syrian forces into Spain would have implications for the stability of al-Andalus.
Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi was an Umayyad governor of Egypt from 721 to 724 and again 737 to 742, and subsequently governor of Ifriqiya from 742 to 745.
Balj ibn Bishr al-Qushayri was an Umayyad military commander in the Maghreb and al-Andalus (Iberia), and briefly became the ruler of al-Andalus in 742 until his death in August of the same year. Balj was a member of the Banu Qushayr, a branch of the Nejdi Hawazin tribe, and was the nephew of Kulthum ibn Iyad al-Qasi, who had been appointed governor of Ifriqiya by the Umayyad caliph Hisham. In 741 Balj was cavalry lieutenant under his uncle's command on a military campaign against a Berber Revolt in North Africa. Kulthum headed an army of 30,000 Arab troops from regiments (junds) from Damascus, Jordan, Qinnasrin, Homs, Palestine and Egypt.
Tha'laba ibn Salama al-Amili was an Arab military commander al-Urdunn, al-Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula, and briefly ruler of al-Andalus from August 742 to May 743.
Yazid ibn Abi Muslim was the Umayyad governor of Ifriqiya from 720 until his assassination in 721.
Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ifrani al-Susi al-Marrakushi, called al-Saghir, was a Moroccan historian and biographer.
Al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Mughīth, called variously al-Yaḥṣubī, al-Ḥaḍramī or al-Judhāmī, was the ʿAbbāsid-appointed governor of al-Andalus (Spain) in opposition to the Umayyads in AD 763.
Izz al-Din Abu Muhammad Abd al-Aziz ibn Shaddad ibn Tamim ibn al-Mu'izz ibn Badis, known as Abu al-Gharib Izz al-Din al-Sanhaji, was a Zirid chronicler. He was a prince of the Zirid dynasty.
The Battle of al-Asnam was a military engagement between the Umayyad governor of Ifriqya, Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi, and the Sufrite Berber insurgents led by Abd al-Wahid ibn Yazid al-Hawwari. The Umayyads decisively defeated the Berber army, saving Kairouan and Ifriqiya from the Berbers rebels.
Umayyad rule in North Africa or Umayyad Ifriqiya was a province of the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) during the historical period in which it ruled the Maghreb region of North Africa, from its conquest of the Maghreb starting in 661 to the Kharijite Berber Revolt ending in 743, which led to the end of its rule in the western and central Maghreb. Following this period, the Umayyads retained their rule over Ifriqiya while the rest of the Maghreb fell to successive Islamic dynasties of Arab, Berber and Persian descent.