Al-Ḥurr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-
Thaqafi ( ar, الحر بن عبد الرحمن الثقفي) was an early
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
governor who ruled the
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
province of
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...
from between 716 and 718. He was the third successor to
Musa bin Nusair
Musa ibn Nusayr ( ar, موسى بن نصير ''Mūsá bin Nuṣayr''; 640 – c. 716) served as a Umayyad governor and an Arab general under the Umayyad caliph Al-Walid I. He ruled over the Muslim provinces of North Africa (Ifriqiya), and direct ...
, the
North African
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
governor who had directed the conquest of
Visigothic Hispania several years earlier in 711.
[Hitti (1956) p. 499] Al-Hurr was the first Muslim commander to cross the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
in 717, leading a small raiding party into
Septimania
Septimania (french: Septimanie ; oc, Septimània ) is a historical region in modern-day Southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septima ...
. His incursions were largely unsuccessful, for which he was deposed in 718.
[Livermore (1947) p. 30]
Background
In 711, an Umayyad army led by freedman
Tariq bin Ziyad
Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād ( ar, طارق بن زياد), also known simply as Tarik in English, was a Berbers, Berber commander who served the Umayyad Caliphate and initiated the Muslim Umayyad conquest of Hispania, Umayyad conquest of Visigothic Hispa ...
had been sent to the
Iberian peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
under the orders of North African governor
Musa bin Nusair
Musa ibn Nusayr ( ar, موسى بن نصير ''Mūsá bin Nuṣayr''; 640 – c. 716) served as a Umayyad governor and an Arab general under the Umayyad caliph Al-Walid I. He ruled over the Muslim provinces of North Africa (Ifriqiya), and direct ...
, resulting in its eventual
conquest
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms.
Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...
. Leaving his son 'Abd al-'Aziz in charge, Musa led a triumphant procession of over 400 well-dressed
Visigoth
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...
ic princes, followed by slaves and prisoners of war, to the Caliph
al-Walid I
Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ( ar, الوليد بن عبد الملك بن مروان, al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān; ), commonly known as al-Walid I ( ar, الوليد الأول), was the sixth Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad ca ...
in
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
. During that visit, Musa dramatically fell out of favor with al-Walid: Tariq informed the caliph that the treasure paraded, for which Musa had claimed credit, had actually been captured by himself instead. Musa was stripped of his status, and 'Abd al-'Aziz remained in charge of the newly conquered territories, which were now named "
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...
."
Governorship
After the assassination of Abd al-Aziz in 716, and the six-month rule of his cousin Ayyub ibn Habib al-Lakhmi, al-Hurr ibn 'abd al-Rahman al-Thaqafi was assigned the post. Soon afterwards, he relocated the Andalusian administrative capital from
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
to
Córdoba.
Al-Hurr was heavily involved in trying to suppress Christian Gothic resistance, and was largely successful in doing so. He's actually credited with the pacification of virtually all Visigothic Hispania, except for the mountain ranges of the Basque region, most of the Pyrenees and the still almost intact
Duchy of Cantabria
The Duchy of Cantabria was created by the Visigoths in northern Spain. Its precise extension is unclear in the different periods, but it seems likely that it included Cantabria, parts of Northern Castile, La Rioja, and probably western areas ...
in the north of the Peninsula. After his rule in al-Andalus, the realm would become years later the leading realm in the
Reconquista
The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...
.
Some historians date the small
Battle of Covadonga
The Battle of Covadonga took place in 718 or 722 between the army of Pelagius the Visigoth and the army of the Umayyad Caliphate. Fought near Covadonga in the Picos de Europa, either in 718 or 722, it resulted in a victory for the forces of Pelag ...
at the end of his term in office, in 718.
Under the governorate of al-Hurr, coins with bilingual
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
inscriptions were minted. He also laid the foundations of the future Umayyad administration by sending Umayyad officials to towns, setting up rules for the management of real estate and taxation imposed on it (the ''tributa'' or land based taxation), returning property to Christian owners where applicable and punishing Berbers for looting and concealment of undeclared acquisition of goods. This job of establishing a civil administration was continued by his successor
Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani
Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani ( ar, السمح بن مالك الخولاني) was the Arab governor general of Al-Andalus from between 719 and 721. In 720, under his governorate he minted the first purely Arab coins in Al-Andalus as part of hi ...
and completed by the wali
Yahya ibn Salama al-Kalbi
Yahya ibn Salama al-Kalbi () was sent as governor of al-Andalus by the Caliph of Damascus Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik and his tenure in office lasted three years.
Yahya denounced the injustices of the policies of Anbasa, especially with respect to ...
.
[Collins, R. (1989) p. 48]
Al-Hurr also turned his attention to the Aquitanians (referred in most Arabic chronicles as "Franks") across the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
. Sources suggest he was enticed by the treasure hoarded in the convents and churches, or maybe chasing refugees, or taking advantage of the civil war going on between the chief officers of the
Merovingian court with the involvement of Odo the Great, duke of
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...
. None of al-Hurr's predecessors had attempted to cross the Pyrenees, and in 717, he attempted to do just that.
He led a small expedition across the range into still Gothic
Septimania
Septimania (french: Septimanie ; oc, Septimània ) is a historical region in modern-day Southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septima ...
, the first of which was likely to just reconnoiter the region. Several attempted raids later, all of which proved unsuccessful, al-Hurr was deposed by the caliph, who appointed
Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani
Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani ( ar, السمح بن مالك الخولاني) was the Arab governor general of Al-Andalus from between 719 and 721. In 720, under his governorate he minted the first purely Arab coins in Al-Andalus as part of hi ...
in 718 as his replacement. Al-Samh continued expeditions into present-day France, reaching as far as the
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
, but would be killed in the
Battle of Toulouse in 721.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
External links
Historical and Geographical Motives for Muslim Operations North of the Pyrenees in "The Battle of Tours-Poitiers Revisited", from ''
Providence: Studies in Western Civilization'' v.2 n.1 (1993)", by
William E. Watson.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurr Ibn Abd Al-Rahman Al-Thaqafi
8th-century rulers in Europe
Generals of the Umayyad Caliphate
Umayyad governors of Al-Andalus
Arab generals
Banu Thaqif
8th-century Arabs
Umayyad conquest of Hispania
8th-century people from the Umayyad Caliphate