Nasr ibn Musharraf al-Rawadifi (; died 1032) was an Arab chieftain of the Citadel of

Maniqa Maniqa () is a castle located in the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range, dated back to the Roman era, it was also known as "Malikas" or "Malghanes" during the Crusader rule. History In 1028, Byzantine Megas doux, doux of Antioch Michael Spondyles was ...

and Jabal al-Rawadif near

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

Biography

In 1027 AD, the ruler of Aleppo,

Salih ibn Mirdas Abu Ali Salih ibn Mirdas (), also known by his ''Arabic name#Laqab, laqab'' (honorific epithet) Asad al-Dawla ('Lion of the State'), was the founder of the Mirdasid dynasty and emir of Ancient City of Aleppo, Aleppo from 1025 until his death in ...

, was able to defeat doux of Antioch,

Michael Spondyles Michael Spondyles (, ) was a high-ranking Byzantine courtier who became governor of Antioch, and then Apulia and Calabria. Biography A court eunuch and favourite of Constantine VIII (r. 1025–28), Spondyles was among the coterie of court offici ...

who was inexperienced in warfare. Nevertheless, Pothos Argyros succeeded in capturing Nasr ibn Musharraf al-Rawadifi, ruler of the disputed border area of Jabal Rawadif, who later succeeded in being set free after promising assistance to Michael Spondyles. Al-Rawadifi also managed to convince the doux of the necessity of building the Citadel of Maniqa to increase the control of the Byzantines in the region. The doux of Antioch was persuaded by al-Rawadifi's suggestion, and decided to build the castle from Byzantine financing, according to the historian

John Skylitzes John Skylitzes, commonly Latinized as Ioannes Scylitzes (, ; , ; early 1040s – after 1101), was a Byzantine historian of the late 11th century. Life Very little is known about his life. The title of his work records him as a '' kouropalat ...

, and put 1,000 Roman soldiers to protect it. Emperor

Romanos III Argyros Romanos III Argyros (; Latinized Romanus III Argyrus; 968 – 11 April 1034), or Argyropoulos, was Byzantine Emperor from 1028 until his death in 1034. He was a Byzantine noble and senior official in Constantinople when the dying Constantine ...

also decided to promote al-Rawadifi to be the dignity of

patrikios The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

. As the construction of the fortress was completed, al-Rawadifi sent news to the judge of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

and the

Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...

commander of the region to attack the Byzantine garrison. After killing the guards and capturing it, al-Rawadifi succeeded in controlling Bikisrail as well. He then attempted to occupy

Maraclea Maraclea was a small coastal Crusader town and a castle in the Levant, between Tortosa and Baniyas (Buluniyas). The modern-day location is known as Kharab Maraqiya (). History Following the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Caliph Mu'awiya I repopu ...

, but the doux of Antioch,

Niketas of Mistheia Niketas of Mistheia was a Byzantine official, originally from Mistheia, and '' doux'' of Antioch (1030–1032). He was an eunuch who held the titles of ''patrikios'' and '' rhaiktor''. Career In 1030, Byzantine Emperor Romanos III Argyros appoint ...

, was able to repel the siege. In 1031 AD, Niketas attempted to take control of Maniqa, but the army of al-Rawadifi managed to burn the siege equipment at night, forcing the Byzantines to withdraw. One year later, Niketas succeeded in capturing the castle after a 13-day siege, in addition to al-Rawadifi's wife and four daughters,John Skylitzes, ''Synopsis of Histories'', 383.91–93 meanwhile al-Rawadifi managed to escape. In 1032 AD, al-Rawadifi was killed fighting the Byzantines near Tripoli.

References

Sources

* * {{John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811–1057 1032 deaths 11th-century Arab people Arab people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Medieval Arabs killed in battle