Ibrahim ibn Malik al-Ashtar ibn al-Harith al-Nakha'i (; died October 691), better known as Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar () was an

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 ...

commander who fought in the service of Caliph

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

(r. 656–661) and later served the pro-

Alid The Alids are those who claim descent from Ali ibn Abi Talib (; 600–661 CE), the fourth Rashidun caliph () and the first imam in Shia Islam. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The main branches are the ...

leader al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi. He led al-Mukhtar's forces to a decisive victory at the

Battle of Khazir The Battle of Khazir () took place in August 686 near the Khazir River in Mosul's eastern environs, in modern-day Iraq. The battle occurred during the Second Muslim Civil War and was part of the larger struggle for control of Iraq between the Sy ...

(686) against the

Umayyad 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 membe ...

s under

Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad () was the Umayyad governor of Basra, Kufa and Khurasan during the reigns of caliphs Mu'awiya I () and Yazid I (), and the leading general of the Umayyad army under caliphs Marwan I () and Abd al-Malik (). He virtually ...

, who was personally slain by Ibn al-Ashtar.

Family and early life

Ibrahim was the son of Malik al-Ashtar ibn al-Harith, a commander in the

Rashidun army The Rashidun army () was the core of the Rashidun Caliphate's armed forces during the early Muslim conquests in the 7th century. The army is reported to have maintained a high level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization, grantin ...

and partisan of Caliph

().The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1971 p. 987. The family belonged to the Banu Nakha', hence their epithet ''al-Nakha'i''.Al-Tabari, ed. Hawting, p. 197. The Banu Nakha' was part of the larger tribe of

Madh'hij Madhḥij () is a large Qahtanite Arab tribal confederation. It is located in south and central Arabia. This confederation participated in the early Muslim conquests and was a major factor in the conquest of the Persian empire and the Byzantine ...

. Ibrahim had a brother from the same mother but different father named Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah al-Nakha'i, who also was a warrior. Like his father, Ibrahim is also reported to have fought alongside Ali against the Banu Umayya at the

Battle of Siffin The Battle of Siffin () was fought in 657 CE (37 Islamic calendar, AH) between the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib and the rebellious governor of Syria (region), Syria Muawiyah I, Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan. The battle is named after its ...

in 657.

Career

Ibn al-Ashtar's prominence rose after he entered the service of the pro-

and anti-Umayyad leader al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi. The latter took over

Kufa Kufa ( ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...

in 685/86 and was soon after confronted by an invading Umayyad army from Syria under the command of

. Al-Mukhtar charged Ibn al-Ashtar with command over his mostly Persian ''

mawali ''Mawlā'' (, plural ''mawālī'' ), is a polysemous Arabic word, whose meaning varied in different periods and contexts.A.J. Wensinck, Encyclopedia of Islam 2nd ed, Brill. "Mawlā", vol. 6, p. 874. Before the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the te ...

'' troops from Kufa to prevent the Umayyad advance into

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. Ibn al-Ashtar marched northward with his forces and fought the Umayyads at the

east of

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

. He inflicted a disastrous defeat on the Umayyads, personally slaying Ubayd Allah, while other senior Umayyad commanders, such as

Husayn ibn Numayr al-Sakuni Al-Ḥuṣayn ibn Numayr al-Sakūnī (died 5/6 August 686) was a leading general of the early Umayyad Caliphate, from the Sakun subtribe of the Kinda.Lammens & Cremonesi (1971), pp. 620–621 Biography A man of his name is recorded as being re ...

, were also slain. He had their heads sent to al-Mukhtar, who in turn sent them to the anti-Umayyad caliph of

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

and Iraq,

Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (; May 624October/November 692) was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the Umayyads from 683 until his death. The son of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Asma bint Abi Bakr, and grandson of ...

. By 687, al-Mukhtar had appointed Ibn al-Ashtar governor of Mosul, which came under al-Mukhtar's control following the Umayyad rout at Khazir. That same year, al-Mukhtar and his retinue were besieged in Kufa by Ibn al-Zubayr's brother Mus'ab, and al-Mukhtar was killed in the ensuing clashes. Afterward, Ibn al-Ashtar defected to the Zubayrids, despite the efforts of Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik to woo him to the Umayyad side. Ibn al-Ashtar was ultimately killed fighting alongside Mus'ab at the Battle of Maskin in October 691, during which the Umayyads defeated the Zubayrids and subsequently conquered Iraq. After the battle's conclusion, Ibn al-Ashtar's body was confiscated and burned by the Umayyad forces. His son Nu'man served as a commander of the Madh'hij and Banu Asad contingent of the Kufan troops of

Yazid ibn al-Muhallab Yazid ibn al-Muhallab al-Azdi (; 672/673–24 August 720) was a commander and statesman for the Umayyad Caliphate in Lower Mesopotamia, Iraq and Greater Khorasan, Khurasan in the early 8th century. In 720, he led the last of a series of wide scal ...

during the latter's rebellion against the Umayyads in 720.

Assessment

Ibn al-Ashtar is described as the "most talented commander Kufa produced during the Marwanid period" (684–750) by historian Hugh N. Kennedy.Kennedy 2001, p. 23.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{refend 691 deaths 7th-century Arab people Arab generals People of the Second Fitna Generals of the Rashidun Caliphate