Kulthum ibn Iyad al-Qushayri () was an

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 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 ...

for a few months, from February to his death in October 741.

Life

Kulthum ibn Iyad, an Arab aristocrat of the

Qays Qays ʿAylān ( ar, قيس عيلان), often referred to simply as Qays (''Kais'' or ''Ḳays'') were an Arab tribal confederation that branched from the Mudar group. The tribe does not appear to have functioned as a unit in the pre-Islamic er ...

i tribe of Qushayr (branch of the

Banu Amir The Banū ʿĀmir ibn Ṣaʿṣaʿa ( ar, بنو عامر بن صعصعة) was a large and ancient Arab tribe originating from central Arabia, that dominated Najd for centuries after the rise of Islam. The tribe is an Arab Adnanite tribe and its ...

), was appointed by the

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 ...

in February 741 as governor 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 ...

(

, i.e. central North Africa), with authority over all 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, ...

(western North Africa) 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 Iberian Peninsula). He replaced the disgraced

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 ...

, whose misgovernment had provoked 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 ...

in the area of modern Morocco and led to the defeat of the Arab army at the

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 late 740. Kulthum was given an Arab army of 30,000, raised from the regiments () of the east, specifically,

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 = , ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

Qinnasrin Qinnasrin ( ar, قنسرين; syr, ܩܢܫܪܝܢ, ''Qinnašrīn'', lit=Nest of Eagles), also known by numerous other romanizations and originally known as ( la, Chalcis ad Belum; grc-gre, Χαλκὶς, ''Khalkìs''), was a historical town in ...

Hims ar, حمصي, Himsi , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_ti ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and Egypt. The military command of this elite

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

army was given to Kulthum's nephew and designated successor,

Balj ibn Bishr al-Qushayri Balj ibn Bishr al-Qushayri () was an Umayyad military commander in the Maghreb (North Africa) and al-Andalus (Iberia), and briefly became the ruler of al-Andalus in 742 until his death in August of the same year. Balj was a member of the Banu Qu ...

, and the vice-command to the designated second successor,

Tha'laba ibn Salama al-Amili Tha'laba ibn Salama al-Amili () was an Arab military commander in Jordan, North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, and briefly ruler of al-Andalus from August 742 to May 743. He died in 750. Thalaba ibn Salama went to North Africa with the 'Syrian ...

. Kulthum arrived in the environs of Kairouan in the summer of 741. He did not enter the city, but dispatched a messenger assigning the government of the city to Abd al-Rahman ibn Uqba al-Ghifari, the

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 ...

of Ifriqiya. Kulthum then hurried along the coast to make junction with the remaining Ifriqiyan forces of Habib ibn Abi Ubayda, then holding ground against the Berber rebellion around

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 ...

. The junction between the Ifriqiyan and Syrian forces did not go smoothly. The Syrian commanders, particularly Balj ibn Bishr, treated their Ifriqiyan counterparts in a high-minded and disdainful fashion, and the armies nearly came to blows. Kulthum papered over the differences and kept the armies together. The armies moved down 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 ...

into the area central modern Morocco, where they finally encountered the Berber rebel army of Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati. Disdaining the advice of the experienced Ifriqiyans, Kulthum made several tactical errors which led to the disastrous defeat of the Arab army at the

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 (near ...

in October 741. Kulthum was killed in the field. His nephew Balj rescued the remnants of the Syrian army and ferried them over to al-Andalus in early 742.

Life

See also