ʿAlqama or ʿAlḳama (Arabic: علقمة) was a distinguished

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 ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who served in northern

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

at the beginning of the 8th century. By order of Munuza, governor of the

Kingdom of Asturias The Kingdom of Asturias was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the nobleman Pelagius who traditionally has been described as being of Visigothic stock. Modern research is leaning towards the view that Pelagius was of Hispano-Roman ...

, Al Qama commanded an army tasked to end the riot of

Pelagius of Asturias Pelagius (; – 737) was a nobleman who founded the Kingdom of Asturias in 718.; ; ; Pelagius is credited with initiating the ''Reconquista'', the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, and establishing the Asturian mona ...

. Al Qama's army arrived and set up camp in the

Cantabrian Mountains The Cantabrian Mountains or Cantabrian Range () are one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. They stretch for over 300 km (180 miles) across northern Spain, from the western limit of the Pyrenees to the Galician Massif ...

near the town of

Covadonga Covadonga ( Asturian: ''Cuadonga'', from ''cova domnica'' "Cave of Our Lady") is one of 11 parishes in Cangas de Onís, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in Northwestern Spain. It is situated in the Picos de ...

where Pelagius was hiding. After Pelagius refused to surrender, Al Qama ordered his soldiers to enter the mountain pass where they were ambushed in the ensuing

Battle of Covadonga The Battle of Covadonga took place in 722 between the army of Pelagius of Asturias and the army of commanders Alqama and Munuza, as part of the Umayyad Caliphate. Fought near Covadonga, in the Picos de Europa, it resulted in a victory for th ...

. Al Qama was killed and his army dispersed and retreated from Asturias. He was probably the father of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAlḳama al-Lakhmī who later became the governor of Arbunah.

References

722 deaths Al-Andalus military personnel {{Spain-mil-bio-stub