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Uqba ibn Nafi
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Uqba ibn Nafi
ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAbd al-Qays al-Fihrī al-Qurashī (Arabic: عقبة بن نافع بن عبد القيس الفهري القرشي), also simply known as Uqba ibn Nafi (622–683), was an Arab general serving the Rashidun Caliphate since the reign of Umar and later the Umayyad Caliphate during the reigns of Mu'awiya I and Yazid I, leading the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco and a failed attempt in Nubia. He is credited with establishing Umayyad rule in North Africa. Uqba was the nephew of Amr ibn al-As. He is often surnamed al-Fihri in reference to the Banu Fihr, a clan connected to the Quraysh. His descendants would be known as the ʿUqbids or Fihrids.
Uqba was born in 622. Uqba, as a general of the Rashidun Caliphate, was raised in a thoroughly Islamic environment with a strong military character, and actively participated in the golden age of the Muslim Expansions. He entered the Maghreb alongside his nephew Amr ibn al-As while still in the early years of youth, around the age of fourteen. It is likely that he was accompanied by his father, Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAbd al-Qays, who had taken part in the war against Nubia alongside Abd Allah ibn Sa'd. It is also possible that he entered Barqa via al-Ṣaʿīd or Faiyum. His father Nāfiʿ was one of the first Muslims to settle in Egypt.
During the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, the Sudanese element entered into the service of the Islamic state. ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ led an expedition into the southern desert, reaching Fezzan, and from there to Waddan, Germa, and Kawar, near Kanem in Bilād al-Sūdān. These regions had broken their pact with the Arab conquerors and fought against them, so he imposed on each of them a tribute of three hundred and sixty slaves.
After Amr ibn al-As had taken control of Barqa, he began preparing to invade the surrounding regions of the Maghreb. He organized two armies: one advanced along the coast to seize Tripolitania and nearby coastal cities such as Sirte and Sabratha, while the other moved inland to capture many of the key settlements in the interior desert—centers of resistance in the heart of the land—to prevent their inhabitants from attacking the Muslims from behind and cutting off their retreat. The most important of these oases was the Fezzan oasis. Amr dispatched his commander ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ to Fezzan, which he conquered, and he then continued his advance until reaching Zawila, which he secured through a peace agreement. ʿUqba succeeded in his mission. According to Ibn Abd al-Hakam, "The land between Barqa and Zawila came under Muslim control."
Amr ibn al-As wrote to the Caliph ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab reporting the success of ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ. According to al-Baladhuri:
“He appointed ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ al-Fihri over the Maghreb, and he reached Zawila. The people of Barqa all submitted willingly—their obedience was commendable. The Muslims among them paid the alms (ṣadaqa), and the non-Muslim subjects acknowledged the poll tax (jizya). ʿUqba arrived in Zawila and in all the areas between it and Barqa that he deemed manageable. He ordered all his governors to collect the alms from the wealthy and redistribute it to the poor, to collect the poll tax from the dhimmīs and send it to him in Egypt, and to take one-tenth and half of one-tenth (ʿushr and niṣf al-ʿushr) from the lands of the Muslims.”
After capturing Barqa, then proceeding to Tripolitania in 644. Upon conquering Cyrenaica in 642 or 643, Amr ibn al-As fixed the jizyah to be paid by its Berber tribes at 13,000 dinars. After a short while, Amr ibn al-As returned back to Egypt for multiple reasons and one of them was at the request of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab, after leaving ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ in charge of Barqa and the surrounding desert regions to call their inhabitants to Islam. Barqa then became the base of the Islamic army in western Egypt.
After the First Fitna and establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate in 661 by Mu'awiya I, a second invasion of the Maghreb began. An army of 10,000 Muslims and thousands of others led by Uqba departed from Damascus and marched into the Exarchate of Africa, beginning another long series of Umayyad attempts to conquer all of Roman Africa. Later, Caliph Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān appointed Mu'awiya ibn Hudayj as governor of Ifriqiya in the year 45 AH / 665 CE. His appointment was primarily due to his capability as a military commander, the large number of his tribesmen in Egypt, and his support for Caliph Uthman ibn Affan during the struggle for the caliphate, in addition to his knowledge of military affairs. He was accompanied by Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, Yahya ibn al-Hakam, Khalid ibn Thabit al-Fahmi, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, and Abd Allah ibn Umar, along with detachments from the armies of Levant (al-Sham) and Egypt, numbering ten thousand soldiers. Ibn Hudayj marched with his forces through Barqa and Tripolitania. ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ, who was in command of the garrison in Barca, joined the campaign. Ibn Hudayj benefited from his experience with the nature of warfare in those regions.
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Uqba ibn Nafi
ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAbd al-Qays al-Fihrī al-Qurashī (Arabic: عقبة بن نافع بن عبد القيس الفهري القرشي), also simply known as Uqba ibn Nafi (622–683), was an Arab general serving the Rashidun Caliphate since the reign of Umar and later the Umayyad Caliphate during the reigns of Mu'awiya I and Yazid I, leading the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco and a failed attempt in Nubia. He is credited with establishing Umayyad rule in North Africa. Uqba was the nephew of Amr ibn al-As. He is often surnamed al-Fihri in reference to the Banu Fihr, a clan connected to the Quraysh. His descendants would be known as the ʿUqbids or Fihrids.
Uqba was born in 622. Uqba, as a general of the Rashidun Caliphate, was raised in a thoroughly Islamic environment with a strong military character, and actively participated in the golden age of the Muslim Expansions. He entered the Maghreb alongside his nephew Amr ibn al-As while still in the early years of youth, around the age of fourteen. It is likely that he was accompanied by his father, Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAbd al-Qays, who had taken part in the war against Nubia alongside Abd Allah ibn Sa'd. It is also possible that he entered Barqa via al-Ṣaʿīd or Faiyum. His father Nāfiʿ was one of the first Muslims to settle in Egypt.
During the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, the Sudanese element entered into the service of the Islamic state. ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ led an expedition into the southern desert, reaching Fezzan, and from there to Waddan, Germa, and Kawar, near Kanem in Bilād al-Sūdān. These regions had broken their pact with the Arab conquerors and fought against them, so he imposed on each of them a tribute of three hundred and sixty slaves.
After Amr ibn al-As had taken control of Barqa, he began preparing to invade the surrounding regions of the Maghreb. He organized two armies: one advanced along the coast to seize Tripolitania and nearby coastal cities such as Sirte and Sabratha, while the other moved inland to capture many of the key settlements in the interior desert—centers of resistance in the heart of the land—to prevent their inhabitants from attacking the Muslims from behind and cutting off their retreat. The most important of these oases was the Fezzan oasis. Amr dispatched his commander ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ to Fezzan, which he conquered, and he then continued his advance until reaching Zawila, which he secured through a peace agreement. ʿUqba succeeded in his mission. According to Ibn Abd al-Hakam, "The land between Barqa and Zawila came under Muslim control."
Amr ibn al-As wrote to the Caliph ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab reporting the success of ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ. According to al-Baladhuri:
“He appointed ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ al-Fihri over the Maghreb, and he reached Zawila. The people of Barqa all submitted willingly—their obedience was commendable. The Muslims among them paid the alms (ṣadaqa), and the non-Muslim subjects acknowledged the poll tax (jizya). ʿUqba arrived in Zawila and in all the areas between it and Barqa that he deemed manageable. He ordered all his governors to collect the alms from the wealthy and redistribute it to the poor, to collect the poll tax from the dhimmīs and send it to him in Egypt, and to take one-tenth and half of one-tenth (ʿushr and niṣf al-ʿushr) from the lands of the Muslims.”
After capturing Barqa, then proceeding to Tripolitania in 644. Upon conquering Cyrenaica in 642 or 643, Amr ibn al-As fixed the jizyah to be paid by its Berber tribes at 13,000 dinars. After a short while, Amr ibn al-As returned back to Egypt for multiple reasons and one of them was at the request of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab, after leaving ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ in charge of Barqa and the surrounding desert regions to call their inhabitants to Islam. Barqa then became the base of the Islamic army in western Egypt.
After the First Fitna and establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate in 661 by Mu'awiya I, a second invasion of the Maghreb began. An army of 10,000 Muslims and thousands of others led by Uqba departed from Damascus and marched into the Exarchate of Africa, beginning another long series of Umayyad attempts to conquer all of Roman Africa. Later, Caliph Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān appointed Mu'awiya ibn Hudayj as governor of Ifriqiya in the year 45 AH / 665 CE. His appointment was primarily due to his capability as a military commander, the large number of his tribesmen in Egypt, and his support for Caliph Uthman ibn Affan during the struggle for the caliphate, in addition to his knowledge of military affairs. He was accompanied by Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, Yahya ibn al-Hakam, Khalid ibn Thabit al-Fahmi, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, and Abd Allah ibn Umar, along with detachments from the armies of Levant (al-Sham) and Egypt, numbering ten thousand soldiers. Ibn Hudayj marched with his forces through Barqa and Tripolitania. ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ, who was in command of the garrison in Barca, joined the campaign. Ibn Hudayj benefited from his experience with the nature of warfare in those regions.
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