Hudhayfa ibn al-Ahwas al-Qaysi ( ar, حذيفة بن الأحوص القيسي, Ḥudhayfa ibn al-Aḥwaṣ al-Ḳaysī) was the eighth

governor of al-Andalus The southern part of the Iberian peninsula was under Islamic rule for seven hundred years. In Middle Ages, medieval history, "al-Andalus" ( ar, الأندلس) was the name given to the parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by A ...

under the Umayyad caliphate of Damascus. He served for six months in the year AD 728 ( AH 110)., at 493. Hudhayfa succeeded

Yahya ibn Salama al-Kalbi Yahya ibn Salama al-Kalbi () was sent as governor of al-Andalus by the Caliph of Damascus The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the fou ...

as governor towards the middle of 728. This was probably related to the change in the governorship in

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 ...

. The previous governor,

Bashir Bashir or Basheer or the francicized Bachir or Bechir ( ar, بشير) is a male given name. Derived from Arabic, it means "the one who brings good news". It is also a surname. Bashir may refer to: Mononym * Bashir I, Lebanese emir of the Shih ...

, a member of the

Banu Kalb The Banu Kalb ( ar, بنو كلب) was an Arab tribe which mainly dwelt in the desert between northwestern Arabia and central Syria. The Kalb was involved in the tribal politics of the eastern frontiers of the Byzantine Empire, possibly as early ...

like Yahya, died late in 727 and his hand-picked successor was replaced early in 728 by the Caliph

Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik 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 administra ...

. The new governor of Ifriqiya was

Ubayda ˈUbayda al-Ṭunbūriya () (also Obeidet or Ubaida; 830) was an Arabian tunbūr or pandore player and singer. Ubayda's father was the mawlā of one of Abdallah ibn Tahir al-Khurasani's companions. She was taught the tunbūr by Al-Zabaidi al ...

of the Qays Aylan clan. Since the governor of al-Andalus was under the authority of the governor of Ifriqiya, by the middle of the year Yahya (perhaps dead) had been replaced by a Qaysi.

Roger Collins Roger J. H. Collins (born September 2, 1949) is an English medievalist, currently an honorary fellow in history at the University of Edinburgh. Collins studied at the University of Oxford ( Queen's and Saint Cross Colleges) under Peter Brown ...

, ''The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710–797'' (Blackwell, 1989), p. 85. Hudhayfa is the last governor whose appointment by the governor of Ifriqiya with the consent of the caliph is recorded in the ''

Chronicle of 754 The ''Chronicle of 754'' (also called the ''Mozarabic Chronicle'' or ''Continuatio Hispana'') is a Latin-language history in 95 sections, written by an anonymous Mozarab (Christian) chronicler in Al-Andalus. The ''Chronicle'' contains the earlie ...

''. All subsequent governors seem to have governed independently of Damascus.Ann Christys, "The Transformation of Hispania after 711", in Hans Werner Goetz, Jörg Jarnut and Walter Pohl (eds.), ''Regna and Gentes: The Relationship between Late Antique and Early Medieval Peoples and Kingdoms in the Transformation of the Roman World'' (Leiden: Brill, 2003), pp. 219–241. The ''Chronicle of 754'' was written in

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 ...

by a contemporary

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

from al-Andalus. It records that Hudhayfa—whose name is spelled ''Odifa''—was in office for only six months. The ''

Prophetic Chronicle The ''Chronica Prophetica'' ("Prophetic Chronicle") is an anonymous medieval Latin chronicle written by a Christian in April 883 at or near the court of Alfonso III of Asturias in Oviedo. It uses the dating system of the Spanish Era and is esse ...

'' (883) also gives him a term of six months, but the list of governors compiled by the Andalusian scholar

Ibn Habib Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Ḥabīb al-Sulami () (180–238 AH) (796–853 AD) also known as Ibn Habib, was an Andalusi Arab polymath of the 9th century. His interests include medicine, fiqh, history, grammar, genealogy and was reportedly th ...

(878/9) has him ruling for a whole year. The 17th-century historian

al-Maqqari Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Maqqarī al-Tilmisānī (or al-Maḳḳarī) (), (1577-1632) was an Algerian scholar, biographer and historian who is best known for his , a compendium of the history of Al-Andalus which provided a basis for the scholar ...

follows Ibn Habib and dates his term from June or July 728 until April 729.Roger Collins, ''Early Medieval Spain: Unity in Diversity, 400–1000'' (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995), p. 300. The ''Chronicle of 754'' criticises Hudhayfa for unspecified "levity" or "frivolity" (''levitas''), implying that he lacked the virtue of ''

gravitas ''Gravitas'' () was one of the ancient Roman virtues that denoted "seriousness". It is also translated variously as weight, dignity, and importance and connotes restraint and moral rigor. It also conveys a sense of responsibility and commitment ...

'' (dignity) that was considered an imperative of high office. He was succeeded after a brief and unsuccessful term by

Uthman ibn Abi Nis'a al-Khath'ami Uthman ibn Abi Nis'a al-Khath'ami ( ar, عثمان بن أبي نسعة الخثعمي, ʿUthmān ibn Abī Nisʿa al-Khathʿamī) was the ninth governor of al-Andalus for the Umayyad Caliphate. He governed for four months from late AD 728 ( AH 110 ...

Notes

References

{{Umayyad governors of al-Andalus Umayyad governors of Al-Andalus 8th-century people from the Umayyad Caliphate Qays 8th-century Arabs