The Fihrids (), also known as Banū Fihr (), were 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 ...

family and clan, prominent in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

in the 8th century. The Fihrids were from the Arabian clan of Banu Fihr, part of the

Quraysh The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...

, the tribe of the

Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

. Probably the most illustrious of the Fihrids was Uqba ibn Nafi al-Fihri, the Arab Muslim conqueror of North Africa in 670-680s, and founder of al-Qayrawan. Several of his sons and grandsons participated in the subsequent conquest of Hispania in 712. As spearheads of the western conquest, the al-Fihris were probably the leading aristocratic Arab family 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 ...

and

in the first half of the 8th century. They produced several governors and military leaders of those provinces. After the Berber Revolt of 740-41, the west fell into a period of anarchy and disorder. 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 ...

Caliph in

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 ...

, facing revolts in Persia, did not have the resources to re-impose their authority in the west. In the vacuum, the Fihrids, the pre-eminent local Arab family, seized power in the west. Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri in Ifriqiya (745–755) and Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri in Al-Andalus (747–756) ruled their dominions virtually independently of the

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

. For a moment, it seemed as if the Fihrids might succeed in turning the western half of the Islamic world into a private family empire. The Fihrids greeted the fall of the Umayyads in 749-50 with delight, and sought to reach an accommodation with the new

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

Caliphs of the east to allow them to continue. But when the Abbasids rejected their offer of nominal vassalship and demanded full submission, the Fihrids broke with the Abbasids and declared independence. In a decision that would prove fatal, Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib invited the remnants of the fugitive

clan to take refuge in his dominions. He soon regretted his decision. The arriving Umayyad princes, as the sons and grandsons of

caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

s, were of more noble blood than the Fihrids themselves, and became a focal point of conspiracies among the Arab nobles of al-Qayrawan, resentful of Ibn Habib's autocracy. Ibn Habib set about persecuting the exiles. One of them, the young Abd al-Rahman, would flee to Al-Andalus, depose the Fihrids there and erect the Umayyad Emirate of Qurtubah in 756. While the Andalusi branch was eclipsed by the Umayyads, the Ifriqiyan branch of the Fihrids descended into a bloody family quarrel in 755, that threw Ifriqiya into chaos, and ended with them being overrun and extinguished in a Kharijite

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 ...

uprising in 757–758. The al-Fihri name continued to have a magical effect in Al-Andalus, and pretenders drawn from that family continued to challenge Umayyad rule until the end of the century. The descendants of this family are found in

Fez, Morocco Fez () or Fes (; ) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fez-Meknes, Fez-Meknes administrative region. It is one of the List of cities in Morocco, largest cities in Morocco, with a population of 1.256 million, according to ...

under the name of al-Fassi al-Fihri, and some are found in

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. The genealogy of the Fihrids:H. Fournel, 1857, Étude sur la conquête de l'Afrique par les Arabes, Paris, Impermerie Imperiale, p.95 * Nafi al-Fihri ** Uqba ibn Nafi al-Fihri, founder of al-Qayrawan, conqueror of the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

, emir of

(666-674, 681-683) *** Abu Ubayda ibn Uqba al-Fihri, participated in conquest of Hispania, 712. **** Habib ibn Abi Ubayda al-Fihri, conqueror of Sous, military commander of Ifriqiyan army, fell at Bagdoura in 741. ***** Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib, emir of

(745-755) ****** Habib ibn Abd al-Rahman, wali of

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...

, killed his uncles Muhammad and Ilyas in combat, emir of

(755-57) ******* Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib, 'al-Siqlabi', united with Berber rebel Abu Hatim, led Iberian revolt in 778-779. ******** Abd al-Rahman ibn Yusuf al-Fihri, governor of Saragossa in 740s. ******** Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Fihri, led Iberian revolt in 785. ****** Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri, emir of

(747-756), wali of Toledo (756-759) *******Muhammad ibn Yusuf *******al-Qasim ibn Yusuf ***** Ilyas ibn Habib, murdered his brother Abd al-Rahman, wali of Tripolitana, emir of

(755-56) ***** Abd al-Warith ibn Habib, complicit in murder of Abd al-Rahman ***** Imran ibn Habib, opposed to murder of Abd al-Rahman, joined with Habib ibn Abd al-Rahman. **** Khalid ibn Abi Habib, fell at Battle of the Nobles in 740. **** Muhammad ibn Abi Ubayda, may have been complicit in murder of Abd al-Rahman, killed in conflict with Habib ibn Abd al-Rahman.

References

{{reflist Arab clans History of North Africa History of the Umayyad Caliphate Abbasid Revolution