Following on from the stories of the conquest of al-Andalus, this post presents a translation of a continuous medieval Arabic narrative account of the first governors of al-Andalus following the initial conquest in 711 CE, beginning with Abd al-Aziz bin Musa (the son of the Muslim general Musa bin Nusayr, a key figure in the initial conquest) and ending with Yusuf al-Fihri by 755 CE. Nominally, these governors were serving as provincial governors for the Umayyad Caliphate based out of Syria (al-Sham), but as becomes clear from this narrative and elsewhere, by the time of Yusuf al-Fihri, al-Andalus had become virtually independent, as the centre of power in the East was preoccupied with internal strife, and the appointment of al-Andalus’ governor was entirely a local affair. In this particular narrative, Yusuf is portrayed as largely a figurehead for a local notable seen as exercising the real power in Iberia: namely, al-Sumayl bin Hatim. In general, this period of al-Andalus is interesting for its multiple internal conflicts, whether in the form of Arabs versus Berbers or internal Arab conflict taking tribal and regional dimensions. There are also familiar themes of waging jihad against infidels and conquest and booty.
For this particular period of the history of al-Andalus, no contemporary Arabic written accounts survive. The account translated here is that given in the second volume of ‘Kitab al-Bayan al-Mughrib fi Akhbar al-Andalus wa al-Maghrib’ (‘The Book of Wondrous Clarification of the Reports of al-Andalus and the Maghreb’), written by the 14th century Moroccan historian Ibn Idhari. In fact the only contemporary account available to us is the Latin-language ‘Mozarabic Chronicle’ (also called the ‘Chronicle of 754’), and it is always advisable to compare any Arabic language account of this period with the Latin work, which, broadly speaking, corroborates the Arabic language material. In presenting Ibn Idhari’s account (which makes for a highly readable and worthwhile Arabic source introduction to this historical period), this post will not make exhaustive comparisons, but highlight some notable differences or parallels.
The governorship of Abd al-Aziz bin Musa bin Nusayr
Musa appointed his son Abd al-Aziz to be successor over al-Andalus, and let Habib bin Abi Abda bin Uqba bin Nafi’ to be Abd al-Aziz’s minister and assistant. Alongside the two of them, Musa settled in al-Andalus those who wanted to reside there. When Musa reached Seville, he settled his son there, and so Abd al-Aziz was content with that city to be the base for his rule. After his father left, Abd al-Aziz married Umm Asim, who was the wife of Roderic[i]: her name was Aylah.[ii] Abd al-Aziz lived with her in Seville. Once he consummated his marriage with her, she told him: “If kings are now crowned, they have no sovereignty! What if I made you one from the jewels and gold I have left?” He told her: “That is not allowed in our religion.” She replied to him: “And how will your co-religionists know what you look like in your seclusion?” She persisted with him until he did what she wanted. While he was sitting with her one day and the crown was on his head, a woman came into his presence- Ziyad bin Nabigha al-Tamimi had married her, and she was among the daughters of the Goths’ kings. She noticed Abd al-Aziz wearing the crown on his head, and said to Ziyad: “What if I make you a crown?” Ziyad replied to her: “It is not permitted in our religion to wear it!” She told him: “By the religion of the Messiah, it is on the head of your king and leader!” So Ziyad told Habib bin Abdi Abda about this. Then they began talking about the matter such that the elite soldiers came to know about it. Their sole concern was then to uncover it, such that they saw him with their own eyes. So they said: “He has converted to Christianity!”[iii] Then they attacked him and killed him {and most people know that this story was not true, but rather they killed him on the order of Sulayman as he afflicted his father}.[iv]
al-Waqidi said: The one Abd al-Aziz married after his father left was Roderic’s daughter, who brought him from this world what was indescribable. When she came into his presence, she told him: “Why don’t I see the people of your kingdom glorifying you or prostrating to you, in the way that the people of my father’s kingdom used to do for him?” And so Abd al-Aziz ordered for a door to be made, and it was fitted into the place of his palace, and he made it small. As such, he would give people permission to enter from it, and so the person entering would have to lower his head down because of the shortness of the door. He placed a sitting place for her where she could look at the people when they came into his presence, such that they would not see her. So when she saw them doing this, she thought they were prostrating to him. She said to Abd al-Aziz: “Now your sovereignty has grown strong!” People came to learn of what Abd al-Aziz intended through that door, so Habib bin Abi Abda al-Fihri, Ziyad bin Udhra al-Balawi, Ziyad bin Nabigha al-Tamimi and the people allied with them revolted against him. And so they killed him. It has also been said that they killed him because he rebelled against Sulayman bin Abd al-Malik when he heard of the killing of his brother and what had been to his father.
al-Razi said: when Musa bin Nusayr headed back, he appointed his son Abd al-Aziz to be the successor in rule over al-Andalus. Abd al-Aziz consolidated his authority, had its frontlines manned, and conquered many towns. He was among the best governors, but his tenure did not last long, because the soldiers revolted against him and killed him on account of things they were angry with him about. He was killed at the beginning of Rajab in the year 97,[v] in the city of Seville, at the Rufna mosque. When Abd al-Aziz entered the mihrab, he began reciting the Qur’an, and then recited Surat al-Waqi‘a,[vi] and then Ziyad bin Udhra al-Balawi overpowered him from behind with his sword, and killed him while saying: ‘I have got the better of you, you son of a bitch!’ His tenure lasted one year and ten months.