Abu al-Muhajir Dinar () was a governor of

Ifriqiya Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna (), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia, eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (roughly western Libya). It included all of what had previously been the Byzantine province of ...

under the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...

and lead the

Muslim conquest of the Maghreb The conquest of the Maghreb by the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates commenced in 647 and concluded in 709, when the Byzantine Empire lost its last remaining strongholds to Caliph Al-Walid I. The North African campaigns were part of the century ...

. He died in

Tabuda Tabuda, Thouda or Tahuda (former Roman Thabudeos) was a Roman–Berber colonia in the province of Numidia. A key town in the Roman, Byzantine and Vandal empires, it is identifiable with the stone ruins at the oasis adjacent to the village ...

after the

Battle of Vescera The Battle of Vescera (modern Biskra in Algeria) was fought in 682 or 683 between the Romano-Berbers of King Kusaila and their Byzantine allies from the Exarchate of Carthage against an Umayyad Arab army under Uqba ibn Nafi (the founder of Ka ...

in 683.

Biography

His biography is complicated by the existence of two versions of the history of the

Umayyad conquest of North Africa The conquest of the Maghreb by the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates commenced in 647 and concluded in 709, when the Byzantine Empire lost its last remaining strongholds to Caliph Al-Walid I. The North African campaigns were part of the century of ...

, those written before the 11th century and those written later. He may have been of

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

, or Coptic origin. He was originally a slave of

Maslama ibn Mukhallad Maslama ibn Mukhallad ibn Samit al-Ansari () was one of the companions of the Prophet and active in Egypt in the decades after its conquest by the Muslims. Biography He was born in 616 or 620, and participated in the Muslim conquest of Egypt, ...

, a member of the Ansar, who gave him his freedom. Maslama, one of Muhammad's companions, was appointed by the first Umayyad caliph

Muawiyah I Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

to the position of governor of Egypt and

. The inclusion of

was nominal, as until then the

s had made only temporary raids in that direction without attempting permanent control. In 675, Maslama appointed Abu al-Muhajir to the position of

amir Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

or general of the Umayyad forces in Ifriqiya. This position was already occupied by

Uqba ibn Nafi ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAbd al-Qays al-Fihrī al-Qurashī (), also simply known as Uqba ibn Nafi (622 – 683), was an Arab general serving the Rashidun Caliphate since the reign of Umar and later the Umayyad Caliphate during the reigns of Mu'awi ...

, a member of the Banu Quraish. Maslama advised Abu al-Muhajir to relieve Uqba of his position with due deference, but it seems that this did not happen. Uqba was shackled and thrown into prison, from which he was only released when the Caliph requested to see him. As Uqba left Ifriqiya for

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, he vowed to treat Abu al-Muhajir as he had been treated. Uqba had established a camp at Qayrawan. It is said that Abu al-Muhajir abandoned this (in some accounts, destroyed it) and built another settlement two miles away. According to histories written many centuries later this city was called Tākarwān (). Until then it had been the custom for the amirs of Ifriqiya to return to Egypt between raids, and Abu al-Muhajir is said to be the first amir to stay in Ifriqiya permanently. What Abu al-Muhajir accomplished in the nine or so years of his command are not agreed by the two different versions of the histories. Histories written in the 9th century credit him with advancing no further west than

Mila, Algeria Mila (, , ) is a city in the northeast of Algeria and the capital of Mila Province. In antiquity, it was known as Milevum (in Latin; as such still a Latin Catholic titular see) or Miraeon, ''Μιραίον'' (in Ancient Greek) and was situated in ...

, while those written from the eleventh century on have him capturing

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran and is the capital of Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the port of Rachgoun. It had a population of ...

. Muawiyah's successor as Caliph,

Yazid I Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (; 11 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from April 680 until his death in November 683. His appointment by his father Mu'awiya I () was the first ...

, was responsible for restoring Uqba to his previous position. Uqba arrived in Ifriqiya in 682, and immediately fulfilled his vow. Abu al-Muhajir was shackled and forced to accompany Uqba whenever he went on expeditions. In 683, Uqba's forces were ambushed by the

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

chief

Kusaila Kusaila ibn Malzam (), also known as Aksel, was a 7th-century Berber Christian ruler of the kingdom of Altava and leader of the Awraba tribe, a Christianised sedentary Berber tribe of the Aures and possibly Christian king of the Sanhaja. Under ...

near Tehouda – the ancient Roman fort of ''Thabudeos'' – in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. Uqba is said to have offered to unchain Abu al-Muhajir so that he might have a better chance to fight, but Abu al-Muhajir said that he would rather die fighting wearing his chains.Ibn Abd al-Hakam, p. 199 of Torrey's Arabic text, p. 323 of English translation. Both men were killed in this battle with 300 members of Okba's cavalry. He is buried in

Sidi Okba Sidi Okba () is a Communes of Algeria, commune in the Biskra Province, Algeria. It was named after the Muslim General Uqba ibn Nafi who died there in 683 AD. The nearest big city is Biskra which is located 18 km away. Sidi Okba sits on an oas ...

in the al-Shurafa cemetery with 300 dead of the

in front of the mosque of Sidi Okba or what is the tomb of General Uqba ibn Nafi.

References

Bibliography

Ibn Abd al-Hakam Abu'l Qāsim ʿAbd ar-Raḥman bin ʿAbdullah bin ʿAbd al-Ḥakam (), generally known simply as Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam (; 801 AD – 257 AH / 871 AD) was a Sunni Muslim historian and jurist from Fustat, Egypt. He wrote a work generally known as " ...

, ''Kitab Futuh Misr wa'l Maghrib wa'l Andalus''. The only substantial English translation of this 9th century work is that of Torrey (who also later edited the critical Arabic edition, Yale University Press, 1932): "The Muhammedan Conquest of Egypt and North Africa in the Years 643-705 A.D., translated from the Original Arabic of Ibn 'Abd-el Hakem'", ''Biblical and Semitic Studies'' vol. 1 (1901), 279–330. *Abu Zaid Abd ur-Rahman bin Muhammad ad-Dabbagh (13th century, updated by Abu al-Fadl Abu al-Qasim ibn Naji in the 15th century), ''Ma'alim al-Aman fi Ma'arufat Ahl al-Qayrawan''. Critical Arabic edition by Ibrahim Shubbuh, Makataba al-Khananaji, Cairo, 1968. *A. Benabbès: "" In ', University of Rouen, 2005 () *

Yves Modéran Yves Modéran (1955 – 1 July 2010, Paris) was a French historian, a professor of Roman history at the University of Caen Normandy. Agrégé d'histoire in 1978, he was a specialist of North Africa during Antiquity and later, in particular of th ...

: "" In ', University of Rouen, 2005 (). *Marcel Solignac: ', Institut d'Études Orientales de la Faculté des Lettres d'Alger, 1953. (Not just on hydraulics, contains valuable historical research). {{s-end Muslim conquest of the Maghreb Medieval Arabs killed in battle Quda'a Companions of the Prophet People of the Second Fitna Generals of the Umayyad Caliphate Umayyad people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Year of birth unknown 683 deaths Umayyad governors of Ifriqiya es:Abu al-Muhajir Dinar#top

Biography

See also

References

Bibliography