Sa'dun al-Ruayni () was Governor, or

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 ...

, of

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 ...

from 792 to 801 and the penultimate Muslim ruler of the city.Roger Collins, ''The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710–797'' (Basil Blackwell, 1989). He was appointed successor to Matruh ben Sulayman al-Arabi in circa 792 by 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 ...

Hisham Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (; 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743. Early life Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrative capital of the Umayyad Caliphate, in AH 72 (691–692 CE). Hi ...

. However, in 796 he led a revolt against the Emir; in April 797 he travelled to

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 ...

and offered

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

the city's loyalty in exchange for the empire's help against Córdoba. Charlemagne summoned an assembly in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

in the spring of the 800 which agreed to send an expedition led by his son

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

to Barcelona. The army included several notable commanders including Rostany, Count of

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 ...

;

Ademar Ademar is a masculine Germanic name, ultimately derived from ''Audamar'', as is the German form Otmar. It was in use in medieval France, Latinized as ''Adamarus'' or ''Ademarus'', and in modern times has been popular in French, Spanish and Portu ...

, Count of Narbonne; and

William of Gellone William of Gellone ( 755 – 28 May 812 or 814), the medieval William of Orange, was the second Duke of Toulouse from 790 until 811. In 804, he founded the abbey of Gellone. He was canonized a saint in 1066 by Pope Alexander II.

, Count of

(cousin of

). However, on arriving at Barcelona, Sa'dun, who had in the meantime been reconciled to the Caliphate, refused to open the city gates. The Frankish forces then began a long siege in the autumn of 800. Sa'dun attempted to escape in order to raise help from

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 ...

, but was captured by the besieging army. He was replaced as governor by Harun of Barcelona, however the siege was successful and Harun surrendered the city and its starving population on Saturday, April 3, 801. Louis I entered the city on the following day (April 4, 801). Sa'dun was brought before Charlemagne in the summer of 801 and condemned to exile.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadun Al Ruayni Walis of Barcelona 8th-century Arab people 9th-century Arab people