Nasr ibn Musharraf al-Rawadifi ( ar, نصر بن مشرف الروادفي; died 1032) was an Arab chieftain of the Citadel of

Maniqa Maniqa ( ar, المنيقة) is a castle located in the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range, dated back to the Roman era, it was also known as "Malikas" or "Malghanes" during the Crusader rule. History In 1028, Byzantine doux of Antioch Michael Spond ...

and Jabal al-Rawadif near Antioch.

Biography

In 1027 AD, the ruler of Aleppo, Salih ibn Mirdas, was able to defeat doux of Antioch,

Michael Spondyles Michael Spondyles ( el, , it, Michele Sfrondilo) was a high-ranking Byzantine courtier who became governor of Antioch, and then Apulia and Calabria. Biography A court eunuch and favourite of Constantine VIII (r. 1025–28), Spondyles was a ...

who was inexperienced in warfare. Nevertheless, Pothos Argyros succeeded in capturing Nasr ibn Musharraf al-Rawadifi, ruler of the disputed border area of Jabal Rawadif, who later succeeded in being set free after promising assistance to Michael Spondyles. al-Rawadifi also managed to convince the doux of the necessity of building the Citadel of Maniqa to increase the control of the Byzantines in the region. The doux of Antioch was persuaded by al-Rawadifi's suggestion, and decided to build the castle from Byzantine financing, according to the historian John Skylitzes, and put 1,000 Roman soldiers to protect it. Emperor Romanos III Argyros also decided to promote al-Rawadifi to be a Patriarch. As the construction of the fortress was completed, al-Rawadifi sent news to the judge of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in t ...

and the Fatimid commander of the region to attack the Byzantine garrison. After killing the guards and capturing it, al-Rawadifi succeeded in controlling Bikisrail as well. He then attempted to occupy

Maraclea Maraclea was a small coastal Crusader town and a castle in the Levant, between Tortosa and Baniyas (Buluniyas). The modern-day location is known as Kharab Maraqiya ( ar, خراب مرقية). History Following the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ...

, but the doux of Antioch, Niketas of Mistheia, was able to repel the siege. In 1031 AD, Niketas attempted to take control of Maniqa, but the army of al-Rawadifi managed to burn the siege equipment at night, forcing the Byzantines to withdraw. One year later, Niketas succeeded in capturing the castle after a 13-day siege, in addition to al-Rawadifi's wife and four daughters,John Skylitzes, ''Synopsis of Histories'', 383.91–93 meanwhile al-Rawadifi managed to escape. In 1032 AD, al-Rawadifi was killed fighting the Byzantines near Tripoli.

References

Sources

* * {{John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811–1057 1032 deaths 11th-century Arabs Arab people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Medieval Arabs killed in battle