Ayxun or Aissó was a nobleman who led a revolt in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Ausona The County of Osona, also Ausona (, ; ), was one of the Catalan counties of the ''Marca Hispanica'' in the Early and High Middle Ages. It was based around the capital city of Vic (''Vicus'') and the corresponding diocese, whose territory was ro ...

, and

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

in 826 to 827. His identity is uncertain. Aissó is thought to have been either a

Goth Goth or Goths may refer to: * Goths, a Germanic people Arts and entertainment * Gothic rock or goth, a style of rock music * Goth subculture, developed by fans of gothic rock * ''Goth'' (2003 film), an American horror film * ''Goth'' (2008 f ...

and former lieutenant of the deposed Count Berà, or 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 ...

(

Ayxun ibn Sulayman ibn Yaqdhan al-Arabí ʿAysūn ibn Sulaymān ibn Yaqdhān al-Kalbī al-Aʿrābī (), often known as Ayxun or Aisso, was the son of Sulayman al-Arabi, who was the wali of Barcelona and Girona in the late 8th century. Aysun, together with his father Sulayman al-Arabi, j ...

), the son of Sulayman al-Arabi who had been imprisoned in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

after being captured by Frankish forces at Girona. After

Bernat of Septimania Bernard (or Bernat) of Septimania (795–844), son of William of Gellone and cousin of Charlemagne, was the Duke of Septimania and Count of Barcelona from 826 to 832 and again from 835 until his execution, and also Count of Carcassonne from 837. ...

was anointed Count of Barcelona, Aisso joined the revolt against the new count. Only the castle of

Roda de Ter Roda de Ter () is a municipality in the comarca of Osona, province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, near Vic, on the Ter River above the Sau Reservoir. Population: 5,435 (2004), area: 2.18 km2. Its church is dedicated to St. Peter. Main monu ...

, in the county of Ausona, resisted and was destroyed by revolters. Many Goth nobles joined Aissó and Guillemó (or Guillemundus) son of Berà and Count of Rasez and

Conflent Conflent (; ) is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. In the Middle Ages it comprised the County of Conflent. The capital of this ''pays'' is Prades (), and it bor ...

. Aissó raided the County of Cerdanya and the region of Vallés from his base in the centre of Catalonia. The young Count Bernat requested and received some help from the Emperor, as well as from some local Goth noblemen or "Hispani" (826). Faced with this opposition, Aissó appealed to the sole power that could be compared to the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

, the

Emir of Córdoba 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 ...

. He sent a deputation, led by his brother, to request help from

Abd ar-Rahman II Abd ar-Rahman II (; 792–852) was the fourth ''Umayyad'' Emir of Córdoba in al-Andalus from 822 until his death in 852. A vigorous and effective frontier warrior, he was also well known as a patron of the arts. Abd ar-Rahman was born in Toled ...

. He sent his General,

Ubayd Allah Ubayd Allah (), also spelled or transliterated Obaidullah, Obaydullah, Obeidallah, or Ubaydullah, is a male Arabic given name that means "little servant of God". Given name Obaidullah * Obaidullah (detainee), an Afghan detainee held in Guantanamo ...

(also known as Abu Marwan), who arrived in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

in May 827. From there, his forces entered the territory of the County of Barcelona, reaching the City of Barcelona later that summer. The city was besieged without success; however, the surroundings were ransacked. The army then moved to Girona, which was attacked on October 10, 827. When

Louis I the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only surviving son of Ch ...

heard of the Muslim raid, he ordered to his son

Pepin I of Aquitaine Pepin I or Pepin I of Aquitaine (French: ''Pépin''; 797 – 13 December 838) was King of Aquitaine and Duke of Maine. Pepin was the second son of Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye. When his father assigned t ...

, and Counts Hugo of Tours and Matfred of Orleans to recruit an army. However, recruitment was slow and, by the time it was formed, Abu Merwan was already returning south. The rebels fled with them in 826. Aissó probably sought refuge in

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

, where he was later murdered on the orders of the

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

, who was suspicious of a conspiracy. Guillemó also lived the rest of his life in exile in Córdoba.

References

{{reflist 9th-century Arab people 9th-century people from the County of Barcelona Gothic warriors Spanish rebels