Ibrahim I ibn al-Aghlab ( ar, إبراهيم بن الأغلب; 756–812) was the first
Emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
of the
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 ...
from
Aghlabid family (800-812).
Origin and early career
He was the son of al-Aghlab, a
Khurasani who had been a companion of
Abu Muslim during the
Abbasid Revolution
The Abbasid Revolution, also called the Movement of the Men of the Black Raiment, was the overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE), the second of the four major Caliphates in early History of Islam, Islamic history, by the third, the A ...
. He had served as 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 ...
in 765–767, being killed during the revolt of al-Hasan ibn Harb.
The ''
Encyclopaedia of Islam
The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is an encyclopaedia of the academic discipline of Islamic studies published by Brill. It is considered to be the standard reference work in the field of Islamic studies. The first edition was published in ...
'' describes Ibrahim as "energetic and wise, prudent and shrewd, a brave fighter as well as skilful diplomat", and of considerable education, including in
Islamic jurisprudence, as well as talented in poetry and oratory.
In 795, Ibrahim was appointed governor of
the Zab. From that position he played a leading role in the suppression of a revolt against the
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 ...
governor of Ifriqya,
Muhammad ibn Muqatil al-Akki. As a reward, on 9 July 800 Caliph
Harun al-Rashid
Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar
, أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...
recognized him as emir of Ifriqiya, and bestowed virtually complete independence in exchange for an annual payment of 40,000
gold dinar
The gold dinar ( ar, ﺩﻳﻨﺎﺭ ذهبي) is an Islamic medieval gold coin first issued in AH 77 (696–697 CE) by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The weight of the dinar is 1 mithqal ().
The word ''dinar'' comes from the La ...
s to the
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 ...
treasury. This allowed Ibrahim and his successors to establish the hereditary
Aghlabid dynasty
The Aghlabids ( ar, الأغالبة) were an Arab dynasty of emirs from the Najdi tribe of Banu Tamim, who ruled Ifriqiya and parts of Southern Italy, Sicily, and possibly Sardinia, nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, for about a cent ...
.
Reign
Ibrahim was successful in subduing the last
Berber uprisings that had continued since the
Great 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 by ...
, although the southern part 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, ...
had to be given up for lost, and the Berbers there allowed to keep their
Kharijite or
Shi'a
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
beliefs, which a century later would provide the basis for the downfall of the Aghlabids to the Shi'a
Fatimids.
Domestically, Ibrahim and his successors faced constant opposition from the Arab settler community (''
jund
Under the early Caliphates, a ''jund'' ( ar, جند; plural ''ajnad'', اجناد) was a military division, which became applied to Arab military colonies in the conquered lands and, most notably, to the provinces into which Greater Syria (the Le ...
'') in
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
and
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 ...
, which was jealous of their prerogatives and oppressed the native population. In addition, Ibrahim was a
Mu'tazili Muslim, and in opposition to the
Maliki
The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...
jurists of Kairouan. He named Abu Muhriz, a Mu'tazili imam, as
Qadi
A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a '' sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and mino ...
(Shari'a magistrate) Qayrawan (cadi of Kairouan) in 806.
Ibrahim faced two revolts from the ''jund'', one by Hamdis ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Kindi in 802, and another by Imran ibn Mukhallad in 809. As a result, Ibrahim established the palace city of
al-Abbasiyya Al-Abbasiyya ( ar, العباسية, al-Abbāsiyya, the Abbasid place), also known as Qasr al-Aghaliba (, 'the Aghlabid palaces') and al-Qasr al-Qadim (, 'the old palace'), was the first palace city and capital of the Aghlabid dynasty, which ruled ...
(or ''al-Qasr al-Qadim''), just south of Kairouan, and imported a large number of
black African
Black is a Racialization, racialized classification of people, usually a Politics, political and Human skin color, skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have ...
slave soldiers
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
to lessen his dependence on the ''jund''.
On his death on 5 July 812, he was succeeded by his son Abdallah I ().
References
Sources
*Hitti, Philip K. ''A History of the Arabs'', 5th ed. London, 1951.
*
{{Authority control
756 births
812 deaths
Aghlabid emirs of Ifriqiya
8th-century Arabs
Mu'tazilism
Governors of the Abbasid Caliphate