Uqba ibn al-Hajjaj al-Saluli ( ar, عُقْبَة بن الْحَجَّاج السَّلُولِيِّ الهَوازِنِيِّ, ʿUqba ibn al-Ḥajjāj al-Salūlī) 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

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, ...

from 734 to 740 (or 737 to 742 according to other sources), appointed by

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 ...

. The new ''

wali A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the ...

'' of Al-Andalus denounced the self-enriching excesses in taxation imposed by Abd al-Malik ibn Katan al-Fihri, imprisoned him and his officials. Uqba ibn al-Hajjaj in turn made a new census, followed by a more rigorous tax collection. He likewise decreed that each person be judged according to the law of their own people, meaning that the Islamic law of the conquerors did not apply at this stage to the previous inhabitants of Iberia, with the Visigothic ''Forum Iudicum'' being still enforced on former inhabitants of the Visigothic Kingdom. This time, however, saw the commencement of serious internal unrest when the Berbers of North Africa rebelled against a new taxation exacted on them despite being Muslim——usually applying only to non-Muslims. Not only that, the youths were forcibly recruited for the military and maidens forced to provide for the harem of the Caliph in

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 = , ...

. At the same time, a new egalitarian predicament, the Kharijitism, was entering Al-Andalus, widely embraced by the Berbers. In 737 Uqba ibn al-Hajjaj sent over an expedition to help the Muslim governor of

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...

in his fight against the Frankish

Charles Martel Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish statesma ...

, but the expedition was routed by the Carolingian leader in the

Battle of the River Berre At the Battle of the River Berre in 737 Frankish forces under the command of Charles Martel intercepted a sizeable Arab force sent from Al-Andalus and led by Uqba ibn al-Hayyay to relieve the siege of Narbonne. The battle, which took place at the ...

. In 739 (or 740) the governor imposed a garrison and direct central rule in

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

, an outpost that may have been held up to that point by the Franks (or probably Basque-Aquitanians) since the aftermath of the

Battle of Poitiers The Battle of Poitiers was fought on 19September 1356 between a French army commanded by King JohnII and an Anglo- Gascon force under Edward, the Black Prince, during the Hundred Years' War. It took place in western France, south of Poi ...

(732). Shortly after, the governor marched over the northern tip of Africa and

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...

to quash a Berber uprising, and ultimately provoked a killing that spurred his downfall.

Notes

{{end 8th-century rulers in Europe Umayyad governors of Al-Andalus 8th-century Arabs 8th-century people from the Umayyad Caliphate