The Fihrids (), also known as Banu Fihr (), were an

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, ...

family and clan, prominent in

North Africa 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 ...

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, ...

in the 8th century. The Fihrids were from the Arabian clan of Banu Fihr, part of the

Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...

, the tribe of the

Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

. Probably the most illustrious of the Fihrids was Uqba ibn Nafi al-Fihri, the Arab Muslim conqueror of North Africa in 670-680s, and founder of

al-Qayrawan 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 ...

. Several of his sons and grandsons participated in the subsequent

conquest of Hispania The Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula was a process by which the Roman Republic seized territories in the Iberian Peninsula that were previously under the control of native Celtic, Iberian, Celtiberian and Aquitanian tribes and the Car ...

in 712. As spearheads of the western conquest, the al-Fihris were probably the leading aristocratic Arab family 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

in the first half of the 8th century. They produced several governors and military leaders of those provinces. After 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 ...

of 740-41, the west fell into a period of anarchy and disorder. The

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 ...

Caliph 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 = , ...

, facing revolts in Persia, did not have the resources to re-impose their authority in the west. In the vacuum, the Fihrids, the pre-eminent local Arab family, seized power in the west.

Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥabīb al-Fihrī () (died 755) was an Arab noble of the Fihrid family, and ruler of Ifriqiya (North Africa) from 745 through 755 AD. Background Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib was a great-grandson of Oqba ibn Nafi al-Fihri (Mu ...

in Ifriqiya (745–755) and

Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri ( ar, يوسف بن عبد الرحمن الفهري) was an Umayyad governor of Narbonne in Septimania and the governor of al-Andalus from 747 to 756, ruling independently following the collapse of the Umayyad ...

in Al-Andalus (747–756) ruled their dominions virtually independently of the

Caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

. For a moment, it seemed as if the Fihrids might succeed in turning the western half of the Islamic world into a private family empire. The Fihrids greeted the fall of the Umayyads in 749-50 with delight, and sought to reach an accommodation with the new

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

Caliphs of the east to allow them to continue. But when the Abbasids rejected their offer of nominal vassalship and demanded full submission, the Fihrids broke with the Abbasids and declared independence. In a decision that would prove fatal, Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib invited the remnants of the fugitive

clan to take refuge in his dominions. He soon regretted his decision. The arriving Umayyad princes, as the sons and grandsons of

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

s, were of more noble blood than the Fihrids themselves, and became a focal point of conspiracies among the Arab nobles of

, resentful of Ibn Habib's autocracy. Ibn Habib set about persecuting the exiles. One of them, the young

Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Rahman ( ar, عبد الرحمن, translit=ʿAbd al-Raḥmān or occasionally ; DMG ''ʿAbd ar-Raḥman''; also Abdul Rahman) is a male Arabic Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', '' ...

, would flee to Al-Andalus, depose the Fihrids there and erect the Umayyad Emirate of Qurtubah in 756. While the Andalusi branch was eclipsed by the Umayyads, the Ifriqiyan branch of the Fihrids descended into a bloody family quarrel in 755, that threw Ifriqiya into chaos, and ended with them being overrun and extinguished in a

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 ...

Berber uprising in 757–758. The al-Fihri name continued to have a magical effect in Al-Andalus, and pretenders drawn from that family continued to challenge Umayyad rule until the end of the century. The descendants of this family are found in

Fez, Morocco Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès, Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the List of cities in Morocco, second largest city i ...

under the name of al-Fassi al-Fihri, and some are found in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. The genealogy of the Fihrids:H. Fournel, 1857, Étude sur la conquête de l'Afrique par les Arabes, Paris, Impermerie Imperiale, p.95 * Nafi al-Fihri ** Oqba ibn Nafi al-Fihri, founder of

, conqueror 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, ...

, emir of

(666-674, 681-683) *** Abu Obeida ibn Oqba al-Fihri, participated in

, 712. ****

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 ...

, conqueror of

Sous The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) ( ar, سوس, sūs, shi, ⵙⵓⵙ, sus) is an area in mid-southern Morocco. Geologically, it is the alluvial basin of the Sous River (''Asif n Sus''), separated from the Sahara desert ...

, military commander of Ifriqiyan army, fell at Bagdoura in 741. ***** Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib, emir of

(745-755) ****** Habib ibn Abd al-Rahman, wali of

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

, killed his uncles Muhammad and Ilyas in combat, emir of

(755-57) ******* Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib, 'al-Siqlabi', united with Berber rebel Abu Ha'tem, led Iberian revolt in 778-779. ******** Abd al-Rahman ibn Yusuf al-Fihri, governor of

Saragossa Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

in 740s. ******** Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Fihri, led Iberian revolt in 785. ******

, emir of

(747-756), wali of Toledo (756-759) *******Muhammad ibn Yusuf *******al-Qasim ibn Yusuf ***** Ilyas ibn Habib, murdered his brother Abd al-Rahman, wali of

Tripolitana Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...

, emir of

(755-56) ***** Abd al-Wareth ibn Habib, complicit in murder of Abd al-Rahman ***** Amran ibn Habib, opposed to murder of Abd al-Rahman, joined with Habib ibn Abd al-Rahman. **** Khalid ibn Abi Habib, fell at

Battle of the Nobles The Battle of the Nobles ( ar, غزوة الأشراف, translit=Ghazwat al-Ashraf) was an important confrontation in the Berber Revolt in c. 740 AD. It resulted in a major Berber victory over the Arabs near Tangier Morocco. During the battle, num ...

in 740. **** Muhammad ibn Abi Obeida, may have been complicit in murder of Abd al-Rahman, killed in conflict with Habib ibn Abd al-Rahman.

References

{{reflist Arab clans History of North Africa History of the Umayyad Caliphate Abbasid Revolution