Muhammad ibn Muqatil ibn Hakim al-Akki () was a provincial governor for the

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

. Appointed to

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 ...

in 797, he was the last Provincial governor of that province prior to the establishment of the Aghlabid Governor dynasty in 800.

Career

The son of Muqatil ibn Hakim al-Akki, a supporter of the Abbasid Revolution, Muhammad himself was a foster brother of the caliph

Harun al-Rashid Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ar-Rāshīd (), or simply Hārūn ibn al-Mahdī (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Hārūn al-Rāshīd (), was the fifth Abbasid caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from September 786 unti ...

(r. 786–809). In 797, Harun appointed him to Ifriqiya, as a replacement for Harthamah ibn A'yan. Arriving at the provincial capital al-Qayrawan in late October or early November, his administration quickly ran into problems due to his bad conduct, and his relations with the '' jund'' (local army) soon became strained. Eventually a rebellion led by Makhlad ibn Murrah al-Azdi and supported by members of the ''jund'' and the local

Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...

broke out. Muhammad dispatched an army which defeated the rebels and killed Makhlad. In October 799, a new revolt led by

Tammam ibn Tamim al-Tamimi Tammam is both a given name and a surname. People with the name include: Given name *Tammam ibn Alkama al-Wazir (fl. 9th century), Umayyad poet * Tammam Hassan (1918-2011), Egyptian linguist * Tammam Raad (born 1965), Syrian politician * Tammam Sal ...

was launched 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 ...

and quickly gathered a large degree of support. Muhammad engaged the rebels as they marched toward al-Qayrawan, but was defeated and forced to retreat into the city. Tammam continued his advance and entered al-Qayrawan. Muhammad was given a guarantee of safety by the rebels on the condition that he departed from Ifriqiya. Accepting the arrangement, he departed and made his way to

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 ...

. Shortly after his exile, Muhammad received a letter from Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab, the governor of the Zab, informing him that he had expelled Tammam from al-Qayrawan and inviting him to return to the province; Muhammad consequently was able to resume his governorship. A fresh attempt was soon made by Tammam, who had fled to Tunis, to overthrow Muhammad, but Ibrahim defeated him again and gained his submission. Muhammad's restored rule over Ifriqiya did not last for long. His continuing unpopularity among his subjects led to Ibrahim writing to Harun al-Rashid, telling him of the hatred for Muhammad and asking to be appointed over Ifriqiya in exchange for certain financial guarantees. Harun granted this request; Muhammad was dismissed and Ibrahim became the first governor of the Aghlabid dynasty.

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* * * * * {{s-end Abbasid governors of Ifriqiya 8th-century births 9th-century deaths 8th-century Arab people 8th-century people from Ifriqiya

Career

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