Habib ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri () (? – May/June, 757) 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 ...

noble of the Oqbid or

Fihrid The Fihrids (), also known as Banū Fihr (), were an Arab family and clan, prominent in North Africa and Al-Andalus in the 8th century. The Fihrids were from the Arabian clan of Banu Fihr, part of the Quraysh, the tribe of the Prophet. Probably ...

family, and briefly ruler 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 ...

(North Africa) from 755 to 757. Habib ibn Abd al-Rahman was the son and designated heir of Ifriqiyan strongman and ruler

Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥabīb al-Fihrī () (died 755) was an Arab noble of the Fihrid family, and ruler of Ifriqiya (North Africa) from 745 through 755 AD. Background Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib was a great-grandson of Uqba ibn Nafi al-Fihri ...

, who had ruled Ifriqiya semi-independently since 745. Habib had served as ''

wali The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...

'' in

Barqa 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 ...

(

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 ...

) on his father's behalf. In 755, in a palace coup, the emir Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib was murdered by his brothers Ilyas ibn Habib and Abd al-Wareth ibn Habib. Ilyas promptly proclaimed himself ruler of

. The young Habib fled

Kairouan Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( , ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya (reigned 661� ...

and took refuge in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

with his uncle Amran ibn Habib, who was appalled at the

fratricide Fratricide (; – the assimilated root of 'to kill, cut down') is the act of killing one's own brother. It can either be done directly or via the use of either a hired or an indoctrinated intermediary (an assassin). The victim need not be ...

. Amran helped Habib raise an army to avenge his father's murder. The armies met south of Tunis in late 755, but before battle was enjoined, an agreement was reached to partition

between the

Fihrids The Fihrids (), also known as Banū Fihr (), were an Arab family and clan, prominent in North Africa and Al-Andalus in the 8th century. The Fihrids were from the Arabian clan of Banu Fihr, part of the Quraysh, the tribe of the Prophet. Probably ...

. Amran was to be assigned the government of

and environs, the young Habib the government of southerly

Gafsa Gafsa (; ; ') is the capital of Gafsa Governorate in Tunisia. With a population of 120,739, Gafsa is the ninth-largest Tunisian city and is 335 km from the country's capital, Tunis. Overview Gafsa is the capital of Gafsa Governorate, in ...

and Nefzoua, leaving Ilyas with

and the remainder of

. The settlement made, Habib proceeded to Kairouan, while Ilyas accompanied Amran back to Tunis. But once in Tunis, Ilyas suddenly ordered the arrest of Amran and his coterie and dispatched them in chains to

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 ...

. Ilyas then bore down on

and pressured the young Habib to agree to depart for al-Andalus. A ship was outfitted, and even set out, but was forced back to port by contrary winds. During this farcical interlude, Habib was seized by partisans of his late father

Abd al-Rahman Abdelrahman or Abd al-Rahman or Abdul Rahman or Abdurrahman or Abdrrahman ( or occasionally ; DMG ''ʿAbd ar-Raḥman'') is a male Arabic Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and '' ...

, who promptly proclaimed Habib emir of

and raised an army in his name. The two armies met in the environs of

Laribus :''see Lares (disambiguation) for namesakes'' Lares, also called Laribus, was a city of Roman Africa and medieval Ifriqiya, located at modern Henchir Lorbeus, Tunisia. Names The site of present-day Lorbeus was called ''Laribus'' in Roman times. T ...

. But before battle was enjoined, Habib challenged Ilyas to solve the quarrel in single combat. At first hesitant, Ilyas finally consented, at the urging of his own commanders. Habib defeated and killed Ilyas, carrying his head as a trophy in a procession back to

. This took place in December 755. Hearing of Ilyas's defeat, Abd al-Wareth and remaining partisans of Ilyas fled south and took shelter among the Warfajuma Berbers. A sub-tribe of the Nafzawa, the Warfajuma had been fired up by

Kharijite The Kharijites (, singular ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challeng ...

(

Sufri The Sufris ( ''aṣ-Ṣufriyya'') were Khariji Muslims in the seventh and eighth centuries. They established the Midrarid state at Sijilmassa, now in Morocco. In Tlemcen, Algeria, the Banu Ifran were Sufri Berbers who opposed rule by the Uma ...

tes) and broken away during the Great Berber Revolt of 740s. Abd al-Wareth set about plotting with their chieftain

Asim ibn Jamil al-Warfajumi Asim or ASIM may refer to: *Meaning in Arabic , man who has lots of wives and does not like work'' *Aseem, a male given name of Indian origin, often spelled ''Asim'' meaning ''Man with smelly feet'' *Asem, a male given name ...

to take power in

and depose his nephew Habib. To rally support to their arms, the rebels declared for the

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 ...

caliph

Al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ‎; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known ...

. In 756-57, heeding the danger, Habib ibn Abd al-Rahman set out south against the Warfajuma, leaving the ''

qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History The term '' was in use from ...

'' Abu Quraib in charge of

. But the Ifriqiyan army was roundly defeated by the Berber rebels. Habib proceeded to take shelter in

Gabès Gabès (, ; ), also spelled Cabès, Cabes, and Kabes, is the capital of the Gabès Governorate in Tunisia. Situated on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès, the city has a population of 167,863, making it the 6th largest city in Tunisia. Located 327 ...

and appealed to Abu Quraib to dispatch reinforcements from Kairouan. But these were intercepted by the Berber force and, hearing the rebels had declared for the Abbasids, decided to switch over to them. In early 757, the Warfajjuma under Asim ibn Jamil, marching under the black banner of the Abbasids, entered

unopposed. The Fihrid Abd al-Wareth disappears from the chronicles around this time. Habib, who was forced out of Gabès, and regathered his forces in the Aures hills and made a dash to recover Kairouan but was defeated and killed by the Berbers in the outskirts of the city in May–June, 757. What happened in the aftermath has been much debated. It is alleged by Arab chroniclers that upon seizing the city, the Warfajuma Berbers, possessed by a fanatical (

te)

fervor, set about plundering the city of

and undertaking great massacres of the civil population (the radical

te brand of Kharijitism sported by the Warfajuma leaders regarded all non-

Kharijites The Kharijites (, singular ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challeng ...

as outright apostates deserving death). In the meantime, profiting from the Fihrid family quarrel, the

Ibadi Ibadism (, ) is a school of Islam concentrated in Oman established from within the Kharijites. The followers of the Ibadi sect are known as the Ibadis or, as they call themselves, The People of Truth and Integrity (). Ibadism emerged around 6 ...

tes that Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib had driven into the Tripolitan hills of

Jebel Nafusa The Nafusa Mountains () () is a mountain range in the western Tripolitania region of northwestern Libya. It also includes the regions around the escarpment formed where the northern end of the Tripolitanian Plateau meets the Mediterranean coasta ...

in 752 mounted a comeback. Rallied by their new imam Abu al-Khattab al-Ma'afiri, the Ibadites seized

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 ...

sometime in 757. Although also a

sect, the Ibadites were considerably less fanatical than the Sufrites and were horrified to hear of the massacres in Kairouan. In 758, the Ibadites set out to defeat the Warfajuma and capture Kairouan, putting an end to the Sufrite terror and establishing an (Ibadite) Kharijite imamate over Ifriqiya.

References

Sources

*Ibn Khaldun, ''Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique'', 1852 transl. Algiers. *Julien, Charles-André, ''Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord, des origines à 1830'', édition originale 1931, réédition Payot, Paris, 1961 * Mercier, E. (1888) ''Histoire de l'Afrqiue septentrionale, V. 1'', Paris: Leroux. Repr. Elibron Classics, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Habib ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri Emirs of Ifriqiya 8th-century Arab people 757 deaths Year of birth unknown Fihrids

See also

References

Sources