Tariq ibn Amr al-Amawi (; 644–693) was an

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 ...

commander and

governor of Medina In early Islamic history, the governor of Medina () was an official who administered the city of Medina and its surrounding territories. During the era of the Rashidun, Umayyad and early Abbasid caliphates, the governor was generally appointed b ...

in 691/92–693. He was a ''

mawla ''Mawlā'' (, plural ''mawālī'' ), is a polysemous Arabic word, whose meaning varied in different periods and contexts.A.J. Wensinck, Encyclopedia of Islam 2nd ed, Brill. "Mawlā", vol. 6, p. 874. Before the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the te ...

'' (non-Arab Muslim convert) and freedman of Caliph

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, played a major role ...

().Fishbein 1990, p. 194.Yavari 1988, p. 76. He later entered the service of the Umayyad caliph

Abd al-Malik Abdul Malik () is an Arabic (Muslim or Christian) male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and ''Malik''. The name means "servant of the King", in the Christian instance 'King' meaning 'King ...

() and took part in the suppression and execution of the latter's kinsman and claimant to the throne,

Amr ibn Sa'id ibn al-As Amr or AMR may refer to: Science, environment and medicine * Antimicrobial resistance, of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, parasites) to antimicrobials * Anisotropic magnetoresistance, resistance varying with magnetic field * Accelerating Mome ...

in 689. Tariq was deployed toward Zubayrid Medina by Abd al-Malik with orders to station his troops between Ayla and

Wadi al-Qura Wadi al-Qura () is a wadi north of Medina in Saudi Arabia,. mentioned in early Islamic sources. It was located on the main trade road between the Hejaz and Bilad al-Sham, Syria. The wadi is tentatively identified with the modern Wadi al-'Ula regio ...

. He was instructed to guard the southern approaches of Umayyad Syria, check the influence of the Zubayrid governors of Medina,

Fadak Fadak () was a village with fertile land in an oasis near Medina. The takeover of Fadak by Muslims in 629 CE was peaceful and a share of it thus belonged to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. After Muhammad died in 632, Fadak was confiscated from h ...

and

Khaybar KhaybarOther Arabic transliteration, standardized Arabic transliterations: / . Anglicized pronunciation: , . (, ) is an oasis in Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province, Saudi Arabia, situated some north of the city of Medina. Prior to ...

and otherwise remain on standby. One of Tariq's first actions was his dispatch of horsemen against the Zubayrid commander Abu Bakr ibn Abi Qays who had previously killed an Umayyad commander and his men. A 2,000-strong Zubayrid contingent from

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

was sent against Tariq in response, but the latter routed them. Following the defeat of

Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr Mu'sab ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam al-Asadi (; died October 691) was the governor of Basra in 686–691 for his brother, the Mecca-based counter-caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, during the Second Fitna. Mus'ab was a son of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ...

, the governor of Iraq for his brother, rival caliph

Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (; May 624October/November 692) was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the Umayyads from 683 until his death. The son of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Asma bint Abi Bakr, and grandson of ...

, in 691, Abd al-Malik appointed Tariq governor of

. This appointment became short-lived, however, when the caliph dispatched Tariq at the head of 5,000 Syrian troops to assist in the siege of Ibn al-Zubayr by

al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf Abu Muhammad al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi Aqil al-Thaqafi (; ), known simply as al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf (), was the most notable governor who served the Umayyad Caliphate. He began his service under Caliph Abd al-Malik (), who successiv ...

in Mecca.Fishbein 1990, p. 208. On the way there from Iraq, Tariq captured Medina from its Zubayrid governor before becoming al-Hajjaj’s second-in-command at Mecca.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{s-end 7th-century Muslims Umayyad governors of Medina People of the Second Fitna Generals of the Umayyad Caliphate 7th-century Arab people