The Great Arab Conquests (41 page)
Read The Great Arab Conquests Online
Authors: Hugh Kennedy
Like Amr b. al-Ās in Egypt before him and Mūsā b. Nusayr in Spain after, Uqba was removed from the governorate of the country he had so recently conquered. In 675 he was arrested by his successor, who humiliated him by keeping him in chains before sending him to the caliph Mu
c
āwiya in Damascus. He was, however, to make a spectacular comeback.
c
āwiya in Damascus. He was, however, to make a spectacular comeback.
The new governor, Abū’l-Muhājir, was not an Arab at all but a
mawla ū
(freedman) of Uqba’s superior, the governor of Egypt. He may have been of Coptic, Greek or even Berber origin. He brought with him new troops from Egypt who may also have been non-Arabs, and when he arrived in Ifrīqīya he established himself outside Qayrawān, perhaps because he knew that many of the inhabitants remained loyal to his predecessor.
22
The new governor’s first priority was to win over the most powerful Berber leader in the Maghreb. Kusayla (also Kasīla) was ‘king of the Awraba Berbers’ with a domain that stretched from the Aurès in western Algeria to Volubilis in the plains of Morocco. Kusayla and probably many of his followers were Christians who had had good relations with the Romans. Abū’l-Muhājir confronted him at his power base in Tlemcen and succeeded in converting him to Islam and winning him over to the Muslim cause. Kusayla came to live with the governor in his base outside Qayrawān. This brilliant strategic alliance meant that Abū’l-Muhājir was now free to attack Carthage. He set up a blockade in 678 and though the city did not fall at this time, Roman rule was now confined to Carthage and its immediate surroundings.
mawla ū
(freedman) of Uqba’s superior, the governor of Egypt. He may have been of Coptic, Greek or even Berber origin. He brought with him new troops from Egypt who may also have been non-Arabs, and when he arrived in Ifrīqīya he established himself outside Qayrawān, perhaps because he knew that many of the inhabitants remained loyal to his predecessor.
22
The new governor’s first priority was to win over the most powerful Berber leader in the Maghreb. Kusayla (also Kasīla) was ‘king of the Awraba Berbers’ with a domain that stretched from the Aurès in western Algeria to Volubilis in the plains of Morocco. Kusayla and probably many of his followers were Christians who had had good relations with the Romans. Abū’l-Muhājir confronted him at his power base in Tlemcen and succeeded in converting him to Islam and winning him over to the Muslim cause. Kusayla came to live with the governor in his base outside Qayrawān. This brilliant strategic alliance meant that Abū’l-Muhājir was now free to attack Carthage. He set up a blockade in 678 and though the city did not fall at this time, Roman rule was now confined to Carthage and its immediate surroundings.
As often in the history of the Arab conquests, events were shaped by changes in the government of the caliphate as much as by events on the campaign. In 680 the caliph Mu
c
āwiya died and his son and successor Yazīd I decided to reappoint Uqba to his old command. Now it was Abū’l-Muhājir’s turn to be kept in chains as Uqba returned in triumph. His reappearance marked an important change of policy. His predecessor’s conciliatory attitude to the Berbers was sharply reversed. Kusayla joined his patron and ally in chains and Uqba prepared for his last great adventure.
c
āwiya died and his son and successor Yazīd I decided to reappoint Uqba to his old command. Now it was Abū’l-Muhājir’s turn to be kept in chains as Uqba returned in triumph. His reappearance marked an important change of policy. His predecessor’s conciliatory attitude to the Berbers was sharply reversed. Kusayla joined his patron and ally in chains and Uqba prepared for his last great adventure.
According to one Arab chronicle, Uqba hardly paused to draw breath in Qayrawān.
23
He left his son in charge of the troops there, saying ‘I have sold myself to God most high,’ and, expressing his doubts that he would ever see them again, he set out west, to lands no Muslim forces had ever visited. He and his small army moved fast through the plateaux that lie to the south of the coastal mountains. His first encounter was at Bāghāya at the foot of the Aures mountains, where he defeated a contingent of Romans and captured a large number of horses. He then went west to Monastir. The defenders came out to challenge him and the fighting was fierce but ‘God gave him victory’. The Muslim forces do not seem to have taken the city but collected a lot of booty before moving on to Tahert, where Berbers and Byzantines awaited him. Once more the fighting was fierce and once more the Muslims triumphed.
23
He left his son in charge of the troops there, saying ‘I have sold myself to God most high,’ and, expressing his doubts that he would ever see them again, he set out west, to lands no Muslim forces had ever visited. He and his small army moved fast through the plateaux that lie to the south of the coastal mountains. His first encounter was at Bāghāya at the foot of the Aures mountains, where he defeated a contingent of Romans and captured a large number of horses. He then went west to Monastir. The defenders came out to challenge him and the fighting was fierce but ‘God gave him victory’. The Muslim forces do not seem to have taken the city but collected a lot of booty before moving on to Tahert, where Berbers and Byzantines awaited him. Once more the fighting was fierce and once more the Muslims triumphed.
The expeditionary force pressed on. One has the impression of a band of men, perhaps a few thousand strong, moving quickly through a largely empty landscape. There is no record of any resistance until they reached Tangier. Tangier was one of the very few urban settlements in what is now Morocco. According to the thirteenth-century historian Ibn Idhārī it was one of the oldest cities of the Maghreb, but, he goes on, ‘the ancient city, the one mentioned in accounts of Uqba’s raid, has been buried by the sand and the present city stands above it on the coast: if you dig in the ruins you can find all sorts of jewels’.
24
Tangier was governed by the mysterious Julian, who later plays an important part in the history of the first Muslim invasion of Spain. His main concern seems to have been to get rid of Uqba as quickly as possible, and so he dissuaded him from attempting to cross the straits to Spain and instead encouraged him to go down the Atlantic coast of Morocco.
24
Tangier was governed by the mysterious Julian, who later plays an important part in the history of the first Muslim invasion of Spain. His main concern seems to have been to get rid of Uqba as quickly as possible, and so he dissuaded him from attempting to cross the straits to Spain and instead encouraged him to go down the Atlantic coast of Morocco.
His next stop was the city of Walīla. In contrast with Tangier, we know quite a lot about Walīla at this time. Under the name of Volubilis it had been one of the most important cities of Mauretania in Roman times. Although imperial government had effectively withdrawn in the third century, 400 years before Uqba’s raid, it had retained an urban aspect and at least part of the old city area was still inhabited. Although most of the population were probably Berbers, and they certainly lived in Berber-style houses, the sixth-century tombstones show that they had Roman-style names and titles.
25
Once again, Uqba is said to have defeated the local Berbers but moved on quickly. He was now heading south across the flat plains of Morocco towards the Atlas mountains. It would seem that he crossed the mountains to the Wadi Dra in pursuit of some fleeing Berbers and then came back to besiege the town of Aghmāt, near where Marrakesh stands today. The town was inhabited by Christian Berbers, and it seems to have been one of the few places that Uqba took by force.
25
Once again, Uqba is said to have defeated the local Berbers but moved on quickly. He was now heading south across the flat plains of Morocco towards the Atlas mountains. It would seem that he crossed the mountains to the Wadi Dra in pursuit of some fleeing Berbers and then came back to besiege the town of Aghmāt, near where Marrakesh stands today. The town was inhabited by Christian Berbers, and it seems to have been one of the few places that Uqba took by force.
He now penetrated into the Atlas again, following the passes that led down to the fertile lands of the Wadi Sūs, which runs between the High Atlas and the more barren Anti-Atlas mountains down to the sea near Agadir. This was the land the Arabs called Sūs al-Aqsā, furthest Sūs. It had never been conquered by the Romans and it was to mark the final frontier of Muslim rule for centuries to come. In contrast to many of the areas Uqba had passed through, Sūs seems to have been densely populated by Berber tribes living in mountain villages, as they do to this day. They put up some stiff resistance to this band of marauders. Uqba had some successes, and when he conquered the little town of Naffīs he is said to have founded a mosque there, probably more a votive offering for his victories rather than as the place of worship for a Muslim community. In other places he was less successful and a ‘Place of Martyrs’ (
mawd al-shuhad
) and another ‘Cemetery of Martyrs’ (
maqbarat al-shuhadā
) recorded for posterity the places where his companions fell in combat.
mawd al-shuhad
) and another ‘Cemetery of Martyrs’ (
maqbarat al-shuhadā
) recorded for posterity the places where his companions fell in combat.
It was at the end of his raid in the Sūs that Uqba reached the Atlantic. The moment has passed into legend. He is said
26
to have ridden his horse into the sea until the water came up to its belly. He shouted out, ‘O Lord, if the sea did not stop me, I would go through the lands like Alexander the Great [Dhū’l-Qarnayn], defending your faith and fighting the unbelievers.’ The image of the Arab warrior whose progress in conquering in the name of God was halted only by the ocean remains one of the most arresting and memorable in the whole history of the conquests.
26
to have ridden his horse into the sea until the water came up to its belly. He shouted out, ‘O Lord, if the sea did not stop me, I would go through the lands like Alexander the Great [Dhū’l-Qarnayn], defending your faith and fighting the unbelievers.’ The image of the Arab warrior whose progress in conquering in the name of God was halted only by the ocean remains one of the most arresting and memorable in the whole history of the conquests.
From the western edge of the continent, he made his way back east to the Aurès mountains. Here he divided his army, allowing many of his troops to go home. He kept by him a small force with the intention of conquering Tubna in the Zāb. There he came up against a large army led by Kusayla, who had escaped from his enforced confinement in Qayrawān. He had now repudiated his earlier alliance with the Muslims and had established himself once again as leader of the Berber resistance. It seems to have been a short and unequal struggle and Uqba found the martyrdom to which he is said to have aspired.
Uqba’s expedition to the west remains one of the most important foundation myths of the Muslim Maghreb. In practical terms, however, the results were fairly meagre. He is said to have been reluctant to besiege fortified strongholds, preferring to raid further and further in the deserted lands of the west.
27
When he returned, he left no garrisons in the places he had ‘conquered’ and no arrangements for the collecting of tribute or taxes. Apart from the mosque at Qayrawān itself, just two mosques in Sūs and the Wadi Dra are attributed to him
28
and there is no evidence that either of them was a lasting and substantial structure. There was, however, a more sinister side to his exploits. He is said to have acquired human booty in the form of young Berber girls, ‘the likes of which no one in the world had ever seen’.
29
They could fetch 1,000 gold dinars in the slave markets of the Middle East and were much favoured by the elite: the mother of the great Abbasid caliph Mansūr (754-75) was one such Berber girl, captured at about this time. This slave trade was to continue through much of the first half-century of Muslim rule in North Africa and provoked bitter resentments among the newly Islamized Berbers.
27
When he returned, he left no garrisons in the places he had ‘conquered’ and no arrangements for the collecting of tribute or taxes. Apart from the mosque at Qayrawān itself, just two mosques in Sūs and the Wadi Dra are attributed to him
28
and there is no evidence that either of them was a lasting and substantial structure. There was, however, a more sinister side to his exploits. He is said to have acquired human booty in the form of young Berber girls, ‘the likes of which no one in the world had ever seen’.
29
They could fetch 1,000 gold dinars in the slave markets of the Middle East and were much favoured by the elite: the mother of the great Abbasid caliph Mansūr (754-75) was one such Berber girl, captured at about this time. This slave trade was to continue through much of the first half-century of Muslim rule in North Africa and provoked bitter resentments among the newly Islamized Berbers.
The defeat and death of Uqba might have meant the end of the Arab presence in the Maghreb. His aggressive expedition had united most of the main Berber tribes to oppose the Arab invaders. They came together under the leadership of Kusayla, who decided to march on Qayrawān. In the city there was confusion and despair. Men gathered in the mosque to decide what they should do. There were those, like Zuhayr b. Qays, who were determined to hold out and spoke the language of martyrdom: ‘God has bestowed martyrdom on your friends and they have entered the garden of paradise. Follow their example!’ Others were unconvinced, saying that they should retreat to the safety of the east. Despite the stirring words about sacrifice, the majority decided to withdraw and Zuhayr, finding that only his own family had stayed with him, followed the rest, halting only when he reached his palace in Barqa.
30
30
The victorious Kusayla now occupied the city Uqba had founded. Here he established himself as ‘amir of Ifrīqīya and the Maghreb’, giving guarantees of security to those Muslims who wished to remain and perhaps collecting taxes from them, a neat reversal of roles. For about four years (684-8) Kusayla ruled in Qayrawān, holding sway over the interior while the Byzantines still held out in Carthage as their fleet patrolled the coastline, seeking to sustain their remaining outposts and prevent the Muslims attacking Sicily.
In part the weakness of the Arabs can be explained by the chaos that engulfed the caliphate after the death of Yazīd I in 683. Even after the accession of Abd al-Malik as Umayyad caliph in 685, it was some years before the Muslims were in any position to try to re-establish their position in Tunisia. In 688 Abd al-Malik in Syria now ordered the appointment of Zuhayr, the idealist holy warrior, to lead an expedition from Tripoli to retake Qayrawān. One source says that his force consisted of just 4,000 Arabs and 2,000 Berbers.
31
They seem to have reached Qayrawān without meeting any opposition. As they approached the city, Kusayla received word and decided to withdraw. The city was at this stage unwalled so it offered little protection. He was also concerned that the Muslims still resident there might form a fifth column and he wanted to be near the mountains in case things went wrong. He encamped at a place called Mims on the edge of the Aurès mountains. It was here that Zuhayr’s army defeated and killed him. As so often, it is difficult to see reasons for the military success of the Muslim forces over what was probably a much larger army, well acquainted with the terrain. We can only observe that, once again, when it came to crucial battles, the Muslim forces proved superior.
31
They seem to have reached Qayrawān without meeting any opposition. As they approached the city, Kusayla received word and decided to withdraw. The city was at this stage unwalled so it offered little protection. He was also concerned that the Muslims still resident there might form a fifth column and he wanted to be near the mountains in case things went wrong. He encamped at a place called Mims on the edge of the Aurès mountains. It was here that Zuhayr’s army defeated and killed him. As so often, it is difficult to see reasons for the military success of the Muslim forces over what was probably a much larger army, well acquainted with the terrain. We can only observe that, once again, when it came to crucial battles, the Muslim forces proved superior.
While the Byzantines do not seem to have offered Kusayla any military support in his final conflict, their fleet was still a force to be reckoned with along the Mediterranean coast. They now launched an attack, which seems to have been intended to divert the attentions of the Muslims to Cyrenaica, and Zuhayr, professing an ascetic distaste for political power and governorship, was obliged to lead his men back east to counter the threat. He found that the Byzantines had now occupied Barqa, which had been in Muslim hands since the first expedition of Amr b. al-Ās half a century before. As he tried to dislodge them, he died as a martyr and his small army was defeated.
The death of Zuhayr at Barqa was the low point in the Muslims’ attempt to conquer North Africa, but all that was about to change. By 694 the vigorous and effective Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik had defeated all his numerous enemies within the lands of Islam. He now had troops to spare, troops who might appreciate the opportunities of booty and plunder to keep them loyal. There were other good reasons for reopening campaigns in North Africa. If Cyrenaica was in enemy hands, Egypt itself would be vulnerable to attack. Besides, the Muslims had never yet surrendered control over lands they had once conquered; no one who claimed to be the Commander of the Faithful could allow that to happen without putting up a strong resistance.
The caliph appointed Hassān b. al-Nu
c
mān al-Ghassānī as leader. Hassān was descended from the Ghassānid family, who had led the Arabs of the Syrian desert in the century before the Muslim conquest. Some members of the family had emigrated across the frontier to the Byzantine Empire but others had remained in Syria and been incorporated into the Umayyad elite among those Syrian Arab tribesmen who were the backbone of the regime. He was given the epithet of
shaykh amīn
, the trustworthy old man. He was to prove an able general and reliable administrator and was, in many ways, the real founder of Muslim North Africa. The caliph also supplied him with an army of 40,000 men, the largest Muslim force that had ever been seen in the area. This was to be a major expedition.
c
mān al-Ghassānī as leader. Hassān was descended from the Ghassānid family, who had led the Arabs of the Syrian desert in the century before the Muslim conquest. Some members of the family had emigrated across the frontier to the Byzantine Empire but others had remained in Syria and been incorporated into the Umayyad elite among those Syrian Arab tribesmen who were the backbone of the regime. He was given the epithet of
shaykh amīn
, the trustworthy old man. He was to prove an able general and reliable administrator and was, in many ways, the real founder of Muslim North Africa. The caliph also supplied him with an army of 40,000 men, the largest Muslim force that had ever been seen in the area. This was to be a major expedition.
When he arrived in Ifrīqīya after the long march along the North African coast, Hassān decided that his first priority was to make an assault on Carthage, the centre of what remained of the Roman administration in the area. In some ways it is curious that Muslim forces had not attacked the city before. The most likely explanation for this apparent omission is that they realized that the Berbers were a much more formidable enemy and it was important to defeat them or come to some arrangement first. The Byzantines were permitted to shelter behind the walls of the city. The recent naval attack on Cyrenaica had demonstrated that they were still a threat, and Hassān decided to put an end to it once and for all.
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