Umar ibn Hafs Hazarmard ( ar, عمر بن حفص هزارمرد) (d. November 27, 771) was a member of the
Muhallabid family who served as a provincial governor for the
Abbasid Caliphate
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 ...
during the reigns of
Abu al-'Abbas (r. 749–754)
al-Mansur
Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ar, أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور; 95 AH – 158 AH/714 CE – 6 October 775 CE) usually known simply as by his laqab Al-Manṣūr (المنصور) w ...
(r. 754–775). His appointment to
Ifriqiya in 768 marked the beginning of nearly three decades of Muhallabid rule there, but he was unable to maintain order in the province and was killed during a major
Kharijite rebellion.
Career
'Umar was a supporter of 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 Islamic history, by the third, the Abbasid Caliphate ...
and fought during the
Siege of Wasit. Following the Abbasid victory against the
Umayyads Umayyads may refer to:
*Umayyad dynasty, a Muslim ruling family of the Caliphate (661–750) and in Spain (756–1031)
*Umayyad Caliphate (661–750)
:*Emirate of Córdoba (756–929)
:*Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خ ...
, he was appointed to a number of governorships. Under Abu al-'Abbas he was governor of
al-Basrah until 750 and was subsequently appointed to
al-Bahrayn. Following the ascension of al-Mansur, he was appointed twice more to al-Basrah, from 755 to 757 and from 759 to 760.
In 760 'Umar was appointed to
al-Sind
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
, which was under the control of
'Uyaynah ibn Musa al-Tamimi. When the latter refused to relinquish his authority, 'Umar attacked him and besieged him for eleven months, until 'Uyaynah agreed to depart from the region and return to al-Mansur. While in al-Sind, 'Umar secretly sided with the movement of
Muhammad the Pure Soul and gave assistance to Muhammad's son 'Abdallah when the latter arrived in the region; when al-Mansur became aware of this, he managed to avoid punishment after a member of his household volunteered to take the blame in his place.
In 768, following the killing of
al-Aghlab ibn Salim at-Tamimi, the governor of Ifriqiya, 'Umar was dismissed from Sind and appointed to that province instead. Arriving in
al-Qayrawan with five hundred horsemen, he won over the city leaders by acting generously toward them, and the first three years of his governorship were peaceful.
Kharijite rebellion and death
After receiving orders from al-Mansur, 'Umar went to
Tubna
Tubna ( ar, تبنة, also spelled ''Tibna'' or ''Tebnah'') is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate in the Hauran region. It is located 58 km south Damascus and 42 km from Daraa.
History
Tubna w ...
in order to strengthen its defenses, and left
Habib ibn Habib al-Muhallabi
Habib ( ar, حبيب, ''ḥabīb''; ), sometimes written as Habeeb, is an Arabic masculine given name, occasional surname, and honorific, with the meaning "beloved" or "my love", or "darling". It also forms the famous Arabic word ‘''Habibi’'' ...
as his deputy in al-Qayrawan. While he was at Tubna, however, the
Berbers rose in rebellion, and Habib was killed while attempting to suppress them. Encouraged by their success, the Berbers gathered around
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 ...
and placed themselves under the leadership of the
Ibadi
The Ibadi movement or Ibadism ( ar, الإباضية, al-Ibāḍiyyah) is a school of Islam. The followers of Ibadism are known as the Ibadis.
Ibadism emerged around 60 years after the Islamic prophet Muhammad's death in 632 AD as a moderate sc ...
Abu Hatim Ya'qub ibn Habib al-Ibadi
Abu or ABU may refer to:
Places
* Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan
* Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan
* Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria
* Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...
. When the governor of Tripoli requested assistance, 'Umar dispatched an army against the rebels, but Abu Hatim defeated it and forced it to withdraw to
Qabis.
At this point, the rebellion spread throughout the entire province, and a large Kharijite coalition headed by the
Sufri
The Sufris ( ar, الصفرية ''aṣ-Ṣufriyya'') were Khariji Muslims in the seventh and eighth centuries. They established the Midrarid state at Sijilmassa, now in Morocco.
In Tlemcen, Algeria, the Banu Ifran were Sufri Berbers who oppose ...
Abu Qurra al-Ifrani,
'Abd al-Rahman ibn Rustam, Abu Hatim, 'Asim al-Sidrati al-Ibadi and others advanced upon Tubna and placed it under siege. Despite being badly outnumbered by the rebels, 'Umar was able to extricate himself from the situation by bribing Abu Qurra's men to go home and defeating Ibn Rustam in battle. The remaining Kharijite forces under Abu Hatim decided to abandon Tubna and departed for al-Qayrawan, which they surrounded and besieged for eight months.
'Umar initially remained in Tubna, which he fortified in anticipation of a future attack. News eventually reached him, however, that al-Qayrawan was running critically low on supplies, so he left a garrison in Tubna and advanced against the rebels. The Berbers responded by attacking him en route and forcing him to temporarily withdraw to
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
, but he was eventually able to make his way into al-Qayrawan, bringing with him food, mounts and other provisions.
Following 'Umar's arrival in al-Qayrawan, Abu Hatim returned to set up a new siege of the city, and fighting between the two sides recommenced. As the siege wore on, the situation in the city quickly worsened; food again became scarce and the defenders were forced to eat their animals. 'Umar himself decided to lead a sortie against the rebels, but he was defeated and killed. Following his death, the surviving defenders struck an agreement with Abu Hatim and withdrew to Tubna, allowing the Berbers to storm al-Qawrawan and enter it.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazarmard, Umar ibn Hafs
771 deaths
8th-century rulers in Asia
Abbasid governors of Sind
Abbasid governors of Ifriqiya
Muhallabids
Year of birth unknown
Medieval Arabs killed in battle
8th-century Arabs
8th-century people from Ifriqiya