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Hassan ibn al-Nu'man's Campaigns against al-Kahina

غزوة حسان بن النعمان للكاهنة

between 698 and 703 CE

Ifriqiya → Barqa (Cyrenaica)

In al-Baladhuri: Hassan ibn al-Nu'man al-Ghassani was appointed and raided the Berbers' queen al-Kahina, who routed him; he came to castles within Barqa's bounds and lodged them — a keep among them roofed in glass, whence they were named Qusur Hassan; then Hassan raided her a second time, killed her, and sent a captivity of Berbers to Abd al-Aziz — whereupon Abu Muhjan Nusayb the poet would say 'I was present at Abd al-Aziz's when a captivity of Berbers came: I never saw faces fairer than theirs'.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Umayyad Period
Region
Maghreb
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

690700710720
The Umayyad Period

Overview

The accounts of the campaigns of Hassan ibn al-Nu'man against al-Kahina, queen of the Berbers, differ. The battles took place in Ifriqiya and Barqa. 1

In al-Baladhuri

Hassan was appointed and campaigned against al-Kahina, and she defeated him. He came to some palaces in the district of Barqa and stayed there, so they were called the Palaces of Hassan. Then he campaigned against her a second time and killed her, and he took captives of the Berbers and sent the captives to Abd al-Aziz. 1

In Ibn Khaldun

Hassan advanced in 79 AH, entered Qayrawan and raided Carthage, which he took by force. Then the Muslims were routed in the valley of Maskiana, and Khalid ibn Yazid al-Qaysi was taken captive. Al-Kahina held the rule of Ifriqiya for five years until Hassan returned, and she was killed on the Aures mountain. The Berbers obtained terms that twelve thousand of them would fight with him as holy warriors. 2

In Salabi's book

He reports that Hassan entered Carthage by force and then returned to Qayrawan; that al-Kahina defeated him near Gabes; that the Byzantines retook Carthage in his absence; and that he reconquered it after al-Kahina was killed. 3

An additional source is needed: the accounts differ in dates and order, and the museum does not weigh one above the others.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
Al-Kahina, Queen of the Berbers· Hassan ibn al-Nu'man al-Ghassani· Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan
Occurred at
Ifriqiya· Barqa (Cyrenaica)

People and things also explored

The Martyrdom of Zuhayr ibn Qays at Barqa· The Berbers· Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib's Independent Rule of the Maghreb Frontier· The Revolt of Abu Rakwa al-Umawi against al-Hakim· The Conquest of Tangier· The First Raid on Ifriqiya and the Killing of Its Patrikios· The Founding of Qayrawan· The First Entry of the Arab Tribes into Ifriqiya

Sources

  1. Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition)
  2. Kitab al-Ibar of Ibn Khaldun , p.1607-1608
  3. The Umayyad State: Factors of Prosperity and Consequences of Collapse — Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi (Part Two, 2005) , p.58-60
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Hassan ibn al-Nu'man's Campaigns against al-Kahina”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/hassan-vs-kahina/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-17.

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The Martyrdom of Zuhayr ibn Qays at Barqa

In al-Baladhuri: Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan gave Zuhayr ibn Qays al-Balawi Ifriqiya — he opened Tutus, then returned to Barqa, where word reached him that a body of Romans had come out of ships of theirs and were ravaging; he rode against them with a light cavalry band, met them, and was martyred with those with him — he was buried there, and their graves are called Qubur al-Shuhada.