The Ifriqiyan Army's Rising against Ibn al-Ash'ath in His Palace

وثبة جند إفريقية بابن الأشعث في قصره

between 754 and 758 CE

In al-Baladhuri: Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath al-Khuza'i entered Ifriqiya as governor at Abu al-Abbas's caliphate's end in seventy thousand — it is said forty — and governed it four years, repairing Qayrawan's city; then the province's army and others rose on him — al-Baladhuri heard from informants that the townspeople and resident troops rose on him and he fought them forty days in his palace until the obedient gathered to him of the Khurasanis who had come with him and others, and he prevailed over his foes and passed them over the names: whoever was named Mu'awiya or Sufyan or Marwan or a name matching the Umayyads' he killed, and whoever was named otherwise he spared — then al-Mansur dismissed him.

Overview

Al-Baladhuri reports that Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath al-Khuza'i entered Ifriqiya as governor at the end of the caliphate of Abu al-Abbas, with seventy thousand men, or it is said forty thousand. ¹

His governorship and the revolt of the troops

He governed Ifriqiya for four years and repaired the city of al-Qayrawan. Then the troops of the province and others rose against him. Al-Baladhuri heard from informants that he fought them for forty days while he was in his palace. ¹

Victory and his removal

Those who were loyal to him, who had come with him from Khurasan and elsewhere, gathered to him, and he defeated those who had fought him. He reviewed them by name, and killed whoever was called Mu'awiya, Sufyan, Marwan or a name matching the names of the Umayyads, and spared those with other names. Then al-Mansur removed him. ¹

The date is derived in the data: between about 754 and 758 CE.

The Founding of Qayrawan

In al-Baladhuri: Mu'awiya ibn Khudayj sent — or, some say, Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan gave him the Maghreb — Uqba ibn Nafi' al-Fihri, who raided Ifriqiya with ten thousand Muslims, conquered it, and laid out its Qayrawan, whose site was a thicket of trees and thickets unapproachable for beasts, snakes and deadly vermin; Uqba being a righteous man whose prayer was answered, he prayed to his Lord and all that was removed — till the very beasts carried away their young in flight; and Musa ibn Ali said the first to build it was Uqba ibn Nafi', who laid it out then built — the people building houses and dwellings with him — and built its congregational mosque; and a body of Ifriqiya's people told from their shaykhs that when Uqba wished to make Qayrawan a misr he pondered where its mosque should be, and saw in a dream as though a man gave the call to prayer in the place where its minaret stood — so when morning came he built the minarets in the man's station, then built the mosque. Al-Waqidi said Abdallah ibn Sa'd stayed governor until Muhammad ibn Abi Hudhayfa seized Egypt; then Mu'awiya gave Maslama ibn Mukhallad al-Ansari Egypt and the Maghreb, and he gave the Maghreb to his mawla Abu al-Muhajir; when Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ruled he restored Uqba to his office — who raided Sus al-Adna beyond Tangier, roaming unchallenged till he returned; Abu al-Abbas gave Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath al-Khuza'i Ifriqiya — he repaired Qayrawan's city and mosque — then al-Mansur dismissed him and gave his place to Umar ibn Hafs Hazarmard.

The Ifriqiyan Army's Rising against Ibn al-Ash'ath in His Palace

At a glance

In time

In space

Overview

His governorship and the revolt of the troops

Victory and his removal

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

Time

The Founding of Qayrawan