ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Shuʿayb ibn ʿUmar al-Qurṭubī al-Ballūṭī ( ar, عبد العزيز بن شعيب بن عمر القرطبي البلوطي), known as Kouroupas ( el, Κουρουπᾶς) in the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

sources, was the tenth and last Emir of Crete, ruling from 949 to the Byzantine reconquest of the island in 961.

Reign and loss of Crete

The surviving records on the internal history and rulers of the

Emirate of Crete The Emirate of Crete ( ar, إقريطش, Iqrīṭish or , ''Iqrīṭiya''; gr, Κρήτη, Krētē) was an Islamic state that existed on the Mediterranean island of Crete from the late 820s to the reconquest of the island by the Byzantine Empi ...

are very fragmentary. Following the studies of George C. Miles with the aid of

numismatic Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

evidence, he is tentatively identified as a son of the eighth emir, Shu'ayb II, who ruled , himself the great-great-grandson of the conqueror of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

and founder of the

, Abu Hafs Umar. The beginning of his reign is placed in 949, in succession to his uncle Ali. By the Byzantine chroniclers he is chiefly called "Kouroupas", apparently from an Arabic surname ''al-Qurtubi'', "from Cordoba", whence the family had originally come. Byzantines under Nikephoros Phokas besiege Chandax

Byzantines under Nikephoros Phokas besiege Chandax

The 14th-century Egyptian historian

al-Nuwayri Al-Nuwayrī, full name Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad bin ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Nuwayrī ( ar, شهاب الدين أحمد بن عبد الوهاب النويري, born April 5, 1279 in Akhmim, present-day Egypt – died June 5, 1333 in Cairo) was an E ...

reports that the Byzantine emperor

Romanos II Romanos II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Ρωμανός, 938 – 15 March 963) was Byzantine Emperor from 959 to 963. He succeeded his father Constantine VII at the age of twenty-one and died suddenly and mysteriously four years later. His son Bas ...

dispatched three embassies to the island, seeking to conclude a peace treaty in exchange for the payment of an annual sum to Abd al-Aziz, with the purpose of concealing the ongoing preparations for a campaign to recover the island. This report is mostly considered legendary by modern scholars. At the head of a huge fleet and army, Nikephoros Phokas sailed in June or July 960, landed on the island, and defeated the initial Muslim resistance. A long siege of the emirate's capital of

Chandax Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...

followed, which dragged over the winter into 961. The city was finally stormed on 6 March 961. At this time, Abd al-Aziz is described by Theodosios the Deacon as small, pale, bald, and very ill, but an eloquent and flattering speaker. In vain, the emir sent for aid to the

Fatimids The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyna ...

in Ifriqiya and the

Caliphate of Cordoba A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

in Spain; the Muslim rulers sent envoys to him, but, impressed by the Byzantine might, they refrained from intervening.

Later life

After the capture of Chandax, Abd al-Aziz was taken captive with his family to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, where they were paraded at Nikephoros Phokas'

triumphal procession The ''Triumphal Procession'' (in German, ''Triumphzug'') or ''Triumphs of Maximilian'' is a monumental 16th-century series of woodcut prints by several artists, commissioned by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. The composite image was prin ...

. They were then given rich presents and an estate to settle by Romanos II. The Byzantine sources report that the emperor considered making Abd al-Aziz a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

, but the latter refused to convert to Christianity. One of his sons, however, al-Nu'man, or Anemas in Greek, converted and entered Byzantine service, until he was killed at the

Siege of Dorostolon The Battle of Dorostopol was fought in 971 between the Byzantine Empire and forces of Kievan Rus'. The Byzantines, led by John I Tzimiskes, were victorious. Background During the course of the Rus'-Bulgarian war, Svyatoslav I of Kiev overran ...

in 971. Some modern researchers consider it possible that the later Byzantine aristocratic family of the same name descended from him.

References

Sources

* * * * {{s-end 10th-century Arabs 10th-century rulers in Europe Arab people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Emirs of Crete Prisoners of war held by the Byzantine Empire People from Crete