jan 1, 663 - The Emerge of Uqba' Ibn Nafi al-Fihri

Description:

Uqba' ibn Nafi al-Fihri was the commander of Arabs' armies. Initially, he was under 'Amr al-As. He once reached Zawila's south and oasis.

Uqba' ibn Nafi hold a significant role in the conquest of Maghrib. He shouldered a responsibility to invade Maghrib. He was called by the caliph to led the invasion of Maghrib and he succeeded. His biggest achievement would be the foundation of Qayrawan in Tunisia. He often fought in war against the Byzantines. But, he could not achieve physical success. This eventually led to his recall or dismiss from Qayrawan. He was replaced by Abul-Muhajir Dinar in 647 C.E.

Uqba' however was called once again in southern Tunisia. And he was reinstalled by the caliph as the the commander of Tunisia in 681 C.E. He set out to an expedition into the west. Along the journey, he took along with him Abul-Muhajir Dinar and Kusayla (as captives). Many records written by the Arab writers, wrote that Uqba' went to the region of Wadi Dra'a and Sus in southern Morocco. He had reached these regions as well as exploring the trans-Saharan trade routes. His expedition frankly speaking was not gaining huge amount of interest among society. The best role of his was the conqueror of North Africa.

Kusayla whom he brought along managed to escape from Uqba's possession when they marched to westwards. During Uqba' time in the neighbourhood of Biskra, he was attacked. During this time, he was accompanied by small troops of armies near the Roman fortress of Tahuda. He died. He was then buried near Biskra, a place where his tomb-mosque remained stand until today.

Qayrawan was evacuated by Zuhayr b. Qays (deputy) after the death of Uqba' while Kusayla founded a Berber kingdom and Qayrawan became the capital. Kusayla treated Muslims i Qayrawan well and fairly until Zuhayr reurned to Tunisia. Prior to the news of Uqba's death, Byzantine tried to re-capture or retake the regions belonged to Arabs and they somewhat quite successful. Byzantine even shared some of the areas with Kusayla.

Source:
Jamil M. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period (Londoon, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987), 29-30.

Added to timeline:

Date:

Images: