Battle of the Nobles
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The Battle of the Nobles ( ar, غزوة الأشراف, translit=Ghazwat al-Ashraf) was an important confrontation in the
Berber Revolt The Berber Revolt of 740–743 AD (122–125 AH in the Islamic calendar) took place during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik and marked the first successful secession from the Arab caliphate (ruled from Damascus). Fired up b ...
in c. 740 AD. It resulted in a major
Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
victory over the
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
s near
Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
. During the battle, numerous Arab aristocrats were slaughtered, which led to the conflict being called the "Battle of the Nobles". Zenata Berber chieftain
Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati () was a Zenata Berber chieftain and military commander during the Berber Revolt of the 740s against the Umayyads in the Maghreb. For reasons which are still obscure, Maysara al-Matghari, the original leader of the Berb ...
led the revolting Berber soldiers.


Background

The
Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
in the early eighth century was under Umayyad rule. The
Berber Revolt The Berber Revolt of 740–743 AD (122–125 AH in the Islamic calendar) took place during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik and marked the first successful secession from the Arab caliphate (ruled from Damascus). Fired up b ...
broke out in early 740 in western Morocco, in response to the oppressive, unfair (and, by
Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...
, illegal) tax-collection and slave-tribute policies imposed upon Muslim Berbers by the governor
Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab al-Saluli () was an important Umayyad official in Egypt from 724 to 734, and subsequently Umayyad governor of Kairouan, Ifriqiya from 734 to 741. It was under his rule that the Great Berber Revolt broke out in the Maghreb ...
of
Kairouan Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by th ...
, governor of
Ifriqiya Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna ( ar, المغرب الأدنى), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia and eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (today's western Libya). It included all of what had previously ...
and overlord of the
Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
and
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, ...
. The Berber rebellion was inspired by
Kharijite The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), 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 c ...
activists of the
Sufri The Sufris ( ar, الصفرية ''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 oppose ...
te sect, who held out the promise of a new puritan Islamic order, without ethnic or tribal discrimination, a prospect appealing to the long-suffering Berbers. The revolt began under the leadership of the Berber chieftain (alleged water-carrier)
Maysara al-Matghari Maysar al-Matghari (Berber language, Berber: ''Maysar Amteghri'' or ''Maysar Amdeghri'', ; sometimes rendered ''Maisar'' or ''Meicer''; in older Arab sources, bitterly called: ''al-Ḥaqir'' ('the ignoble'); died in September/October 740) was a Berb ...
. The Berber rebels successfully seized
Tangiers Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capit ...
and much of western Morocco by the late summer of 740. The Berbers had timed their uprising carefully. The bulk of the Ifriqiyan army, under command of the general
Habib ibn Abi Obeida al-Fihri Habib ibn Abi Ubaida al-Fihri () (died October 741) was an Arab military commander of the illustrious Fihrid (or 'Oqbid') family who played an important role in the early history of Ifriqiya (Tunisia) and al-Andalus (Spain). Biography Habib ibn ...
, was at that moment overseas, on an expedition to conquer
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
. The governor
Obeid Allah ibn el-Habhab Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab al-Saluli () was an important Umayyad official in Egypt from 724 to 734, and subsequently Umayyad governor of Kairouan, Ifriqiya from 734 to 741. It was under his rule that the Great Berber Revolt broke out in the Maghreb ...
immediately dispatched instructions ordering Habib to break off the expedition and ship the army back to Africa. But this would take time. So, in the meantime, Obeid Allah assembled a cavalry-heavy column composed of much of the aristocratic elite of
Kairouan Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by th ...
, and placed it under the command of Khalid ibn Abi Habib al-Fihri (probably Habib's brother). This column was dispatched immediately to
Tangiers Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capit ...
and instructed to serve as the vanguard and to keep the Berber rebels in check, until the Sicilian expeditionary force disembarked and caught up with them. A second, smaller reserve army, under Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Mughira al-Adhari, was sent to
Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the por ...
, and instructed to hold there in case the Berber army should break through to Ifriqiya.


First Encounter

Maysara's Berber forces encountered the vanguard Ifrqiyan column of Khalid ibn Abi Habib somewhere on the outskirts of Tangiers. After a brief skirmish, Maysara ordered the Berber armies to fall back. Rather than give pursuit, the Arab cavalry commander Khalid ibn Abi Habib held the line just south of Tangiers, blockading the Berber-held city while awaiting the reinforcements from the Sicilian expedition. Regrouping after these skirmishes, the Berber rebels deposed and killed their leader,
Maysara al-Matghari Maysar al-Matghari (Berber language, Berber: ''Maysar Amteghri'' or ''Maysar Amdeghri'', ; sometimes rendered ''Maisar'' or ''Meicer''; in older Arab sources, bitterly called: ''al-Ḥaqir'' ('the ignoble'); died in September/October 740) was a Berb ...
, and elected the
Zenata The Zenata (Berber language: Iznaten) are a group of Amazigh (Berber) tribes, historically one of the largest Berber confederations along with the Sanhaja and Masmuda. Their lifestyle was either nomadic or semi-nomadic. Etymology ''Iznaten (ⵉ ...
Berber chieftain,
Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati () was a Zenata Berber chieftain and military commander during the Berber Revolt of the 740s against the Umayyads in the Maghreb. For reasons which are still obscure, Maysara al-Matghari, the original leader of the Berb ...
, as the new Berber commander. The reasons for Maysara's fall are not altogether clear - possibly because his sudden cowardice shown before the Arab cavalry column proved him military unfit, possibly because the puritan
Sufri The Sufris ( ar, الصفرية ''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 oppose ...
te preachers found a flaw in the piety of his character, or simply because the
Zenata The Zenata (Berber language: Iznaten) are a group of Amazigh (Berber) tribes, historically one of the largest Berber confederations along with the Sanhaja and Masmuda. Their lifestyle was either nomadic or semi-nomadic. Etymology ''Iznaten (ⵉ ...
tribal chieftains, being closer to the Ifriqiyan frontline, felt they should be the ones leading the rebellion. The chronicler
Ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (; ar, أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, ; 27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732-808 AH) was an Arab The Historical Muhammad', Irving M. Zeitlin, (Polity Press, 2007), p. 21; "It is, of ...
claims Khalid ibn Abi Obeida encountered the Berber forces and held his position at the 'Shalif' river, which many commentators have taken to be the well-known
Chelif Chelif River ( ar, وادي الشلف) (also spelled Chéliff, or Sheliff) is a river in Algeria, the longest in the country. It rises in the Saharan Atlas near the city of Aflou, flows through the Tell Atlas and empties into the Mediterranean ...
river (''Wadi ash-Shalif'') in central
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
. However, it is highly improbable that the Berber rebel army would have been that far east by then. Modern historians have suggested Ibn Khaldun or his transcribers made a mistake here. Julien (1961: p. 30) suggests Ibn Khaldun actually meant to say the
Sebou River Sebou (Berber language, Berber: Asif en Sbu, ar, سبو) is a river in northern Morocco. At its source in the Middle Atlas mountains it is known as the Guigou River (Berber: Asif n Gigu). The river is 496 kilometers long and has an average wat ...
, whose upper reaches would indeed appropriately place the Ifriqiyan column close to
Tangiers Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capit ...
. The chronicler En-Nuweri indeed reports the skirmish was outside the walls of Tangiers.


The battle

Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati () was a Zenata Berber chieftain and military commander during the Berber Revolt of the 740s against the Umayyads in the Maghreb. For reasons which are still obscure, Maysara al-Matghari, the original leader of the Berb ...
opted to immediately attack the Ifriqiyan army mulling around the 'Shalif' (or the outskirts of Tangiers) before the arrival of the reinforcements from Sicily. The Berber rebels under Khalid ibn Hamid overwhelmed and completely defeated the army of Khalid ibn Abi Habib, massacring the cream of the Ifriqiyan Arab nobility.


Aftermath

News of the slaughter of the Ifriqiyan nobles spread like a shock-wave. The reserve army of Ibn al-Mughira in
Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the por ...
fell into a panic. Seeing
Sufri The Sufris ( ar, الصفرية ''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 oppose ...
te preachers everywhere around the city, the troops launched a series of indiscriminate massacres, provoking a massive uprising in the hitherto-quiet city. The Sicilian expeditionary army of Habib ibn Abi Obeida arrived too late to prevent the massacre of the nobles. Realizing they were in no position to take on the Berbers by themselves, they retreated to
Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the por ...
to gather the reserves, only to find that that city too was now in disarray and the troops killed or scattered. Habib ibn Abi Obeida entrenched what remained of the Ifriqiyan army in the vicinity of
Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the por ...
(perhaps as far back as
Tahert Tiaret ( ar, تاهرت / تيارت; Berber: Tahert or Tihert, i.e. "Lioness") is a major city in northwestern Algeria that gives its name to the wider farming region of Tiaret Province. Both the town and region lie south-west of the capital of ...
), and called upon
Kairouan Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by th ...
for reinforcements. The request was forwarded to
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 = , ...
. Hearing of the defeat of the nobles, Caliph
Hisham Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, هشام بن عبد الملك, Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; 691 – 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743. Early life Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrat ...
is said to have exclaimed "By God, I will most certainly rage against them with an Arab rage, and I will send against them an army whose beginning is where they are and whose end is where I am!".Blankinship, 1994:p.209 In February, 741, the Umayyad Caliph
Hisham Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, هشام بن عبد الملك, Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; 691 – 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743. Early life Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrat ...
appointed
Kulthum ibn Iyad al-Qasi Kulthum ibn Iyad al-Qushayri () was an Umayyad governor of Ifriqiya for a few months, from February to his death in October 741. Life Kulthum ibn Iyad, an Arab aristocrat of the Qaysi tribe of Qushayr (branch of the Banu Amir), was appointed by ...
to replace the disgraced Obeid Allah as governor in Ifriqiya. Kulthum was to be accompanied by a fresh Arab army of 30,000 raised from the Syrian regiments (''junds'' in Arabic) of the east. This would set up the even more momentous
Battle of Bagdoura The Battle of Bagdoura (or Baqdura) was a decisive confrontation in the Berber Revolt in late 741 CE. It was a follow-up to the Battle of the Nobles the previous year, and resulted in a major Berber victory over the Arabs by the Sebou River (nea ...
in late 741.


See also

*
Berbers and Islam The Berber people, Berbers (Exonym and endonym, autonym: ''Imazighen'') are an Indigenous peoples, indigenous ethnic group of the Maghreb region of North Africa. Following the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, most Berber tribes eventually became Mu ...
*
Umayyad conquest of North Africa The Muslim conquest of the Maghreb ( ar, الْفَتْحُ الإسلَامِيُّ لِلْمَغرِب) continued the century of rapid Muslim conquests following the death of Muhammad in 632 and into the Byzantine-controlled territories of ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of The Nobles
Nobles Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...
Berber Revolt