Muhammad al-Tawil of Huesca
Encyclopedia
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik al-Tawil was a muwallad
Wāli
of Huesca
in the late-ninth and early-tenth centuries. Acting autonomously from his nominal masters the Emirs of Córdoba
, he carried out his own foreign policy and warfare with both Christian and Muslim regional rivals, including the Counts of Barcelona, Pallars
and Aragon
, the King of Pamplona and the Banu Qasi
of the Upper March. He gave rise to a short-lived dynasty, the Banu al-Tawil , who would rule Huesca, Barbastro and Lleida, off and on, for a century, eventually losing out to the Banu Tujibi
of Zaragoza.
. On 12 March 887, he killed the great-grandson of Amrus, Mas'ud ibn Amrus, governor of Huesca, and seized power there.
, a member of the rival Banu Qasi, rose in rebellion against the Emirate. Muhammad ambushed an army led by Ismail's sons, Musa and Mutarrif, leading to the death of Musa and 300 of his soldiers and the capture of Mutarrif. This defeat and the subsequent death of Is'mail ended the rebellion and al-Tawil petitioned the Emir to be given the lands of the rebels. However, Emir Abd Allah instead returned the territory to Muhammad ibn Lubb ibn Qasi, nephew of the rebel. In 893, he witnessed a charter of king Fortún Garcés of Pamplona, appearing as 'pagan' Mohomet Atavel in Osca along with his rival Muhammad ibn Lubb. Three years later he again came to blows with the Banu Qasi. Muhammad al-Tawil mobilized his troops to oppose Lubb ibn Muhammad, the son of the Banu Qasi leader, in his plans to fortify or refortify Monzón
. They fought a battle in which Lubb's undermanned and poorly equipped army was able to rout those of al-Tawil and capture his brother Fortoun. In 898, the death of Muhammad ibn Lubb ibn Qasi while besieging Zaragoza presented Muhammad al-Tawil with an opportunity to recover lost ground, but Lubb ibn Muhammad returned from negotiations with another Muwallad rebel, Umar ibn Hafsun
, to again defeat al-Tawil, this time capturing him. He was forced to cede Barbastro and lands between Huesca and Monzón and to pay 100,000 gold dinares as well as to give his son Abd al-Malik and daughter Sayyida as hostages to insure delivery of the money. Lubb subsequently married Sayyida and forgave the unpaid half of the ransom. Nothing is heard of al-Tawil over the next few years, perhaps because he had turned his armies against his Christian neighbors to the north in campaigns that escaped notice of the Cordoba-based chroniclers of Al-Andalus. He next appears in 906/7, taking the castles of Barbastro and Alquézar and the region of la Barbitania from Lubb ibn Muhammad.
eventually routed the southern troops and reasserted Pamplona's role as feudal overlord to Galindo's Aragon. The next year saw Muhammad al-Tawil launch a campaign against Sunyer, Count of Barcelona, forcing him to flee the field of battle. However a second Barcelona campaign resulted in the death of Muhammad al-Tawil on 23 October 913.
) who married Lubb ibn Muhammad ibn Qasi. He also had sons Yahya and Lubb, and perhaps Walid, presumably to a different mother.
Abd al-Malik ibn Muhammad succeeded his father in Huesca and Barbarsto, giving Monzón to Amrus. Abd al-Malik faced two challenges from Banu Sabrit kinsmen who entered Huesca intending to seize control, but the residents failed to support them and each was killed on the day they entered the city, Muhammad ibn Walid ibn Abd Allah ibn Sabrit on 8 August 915, and Zakariyya ibn Isa ibn Musa ibn Sabrit on 15 March 916. Abd al-Malik then had Asbag ibn Isa and Abd al-Malik ibn Isa, the brothers of Zakariyya, killed. Next his brother Amrus challenged him and Abd al-Malik ibn Muhammad was captured and strangled.
Amrus ibn Muhammad had been given Monzón by his brother in 914, but was rejected by the residents, who invited Muhammad ibn Lubb ibn Qasi to replace him. He took Huesca from his brother on 25 December 918, but the people rejected him and he was forced to flee weeks later. Amrus went to Barbastro and Alquézar, asking Abd-ar-Rahman III
to appoint him governor there. He then enlisted the help of Sancho I of Pamplona and Bernard I Hunifred of Ribagorza to reduce Monzón. He subsequently fought against his brother Furtun, the Banu Qasi, and the Banu Tujibi, taking and ransoming several important hostages, and himself being captured and ransomed. He submitted to the Caliph in 933/4 and died 6 June 935.
Furtun ibn Muhammad was nominated in Huesca in place of his brother Amrus. In 931/2 he signed a pact with Muhammad ibn Hasim, rebel leader of the Banu Tujibi, and in response Abd ar-Rahman punished Huesca, imprisoning many men. They responded by expelling Furtun in 933. He first fled to Las Peñas de San Miguel y Aman, but then went to Córdoba and humbled himself before the Caliph and was restored to Huesca in 936/7. However, when at the Battle of Simancas
he withheld his troops from the fight, he was hunted down near Calatayud
by Salama ibn Ahmad ibn Salama and taken to Córdoba, where he was crucified in front of the Alcázar
.
Yahya ibn Muhammad received Huesca when Furtun fled in 933 and governed Merida from 935. However, he fell under suspicion and was imprisoned. Following Furtun's fall he was returned to favor and given Barbastro. He died there 20 December 951. He was succeeded in Barbastro by brother Lubb ibn Muhammad, who died suddenly at Córdoba in December 955. Other sources report a brief interlude by Walid ibn Muhammad. Musa Aznar ibn Muhammad was given Lleida
, and in 940, Huesca. He married Dadildis, daughter of Jimeno Garcés of Pamplona, dying 18 December 954. He was followed in Huesca by son Abd al-Malik ibn Musa, later forced to share Huesca with Lubb's son Yahya ibn Lubb, who had followed his father in Barbastro. The family is last definitively heard from in 974, when a Walid ibn Abd al-Malik of the Banu Sabrit took part in a tournament in Córdoba. Control of Huesca passed to the Banu Tujibi.
While always nominally a vassal of Córdoba, the rebellious, semi-autonomous actions of the Banu al-Tawil along with those of their rivals the Banu Qasi, set the stage for their successors, the Banu Tujibi and Banu Hud
, to establish a fully independent taifa
state in what had been the Upper March of the Caliphate.
Muladi
The Muladi were Muslims of ethnic Iberian descent or of mixed Arab, Berber and European origin, who lived in Al-Andalus during the Middle Ages. They were also called "Musalima" .-Etymology:...
Wāli
Wali
Walī , is an Arabic word meaning "custodian", "protector", "sponsor", or authority as denoted by its definition "crown". "Wali" is someone who has "Walayah" over somebody else. For example, in Fiqh the father is wali of his children. In Islam, the phrase ولي الله walīyu 'llāh...
of Huesca
Huesca
Huesca is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the comarca of Hoya de Huesca....
in the late-ninth and early-tenth centuries. Acting autonomously from his nominal masters the Emirs of Córdoba
Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ruled the Iberian peninsula and part of North Africa, from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous...
, he carried out his own foreign policy and warfare with both Christian and Muslim regional rivals, including the Counts of Barcelona, Pallars
County of Pallars
The County of Pallars or Pallás was a de facto independent petty state, nominally within the Carolingian Empire and then West Francia during the ninth and tenth centuries, perhaps one of the Catalan counties, originally part of the Marca Hispanica in the ninth century...
and Aragon
County of Aragon
The County of Aragon or Jaca was a small Frankish marcher county in the central Pyrenean valley of the Aragon river, comprising Ansó, Echo, and Canfranc and centred on the small town of Jaca...
, the King of Pamplona and the Banu Qasi
Banu Qasi
The Banu Qasi, Banu Kasi, Beni Casi or Banu Musa were a Basque Muladi dynasty that ruled the upper Ebro valley in the 9th century, before being displaced in the first quarter of the 10th century.-Dynastic beginnings:...
of the Upper March. He gave rise to a short-lived dynasty, the Banu al-Tawil , who would rule Huesca, Barbastro and Lleida, off and on, for a century, eventually losing out to the Banu Tujibi
Banu Tujibi
The Banu Tujibi were a dynasty that were appointed to govern Catalayud in 872, and in 886 were given Zaragoza. This they held as governors under the Umayyads...
of Zaragoza.
Background
Muhammad al-Tawil was son of Abd al-Malik ibn Abd Allah ibn Sabrit, a local lord in the region of Huesca. He was a scion of the Banu Sabrit , the descendants of Sabrit, a late-eighth-century relative and ally of rebel Amrus ibn YusufAmrus ibn Yusuf
Amrus ibn Yusuf al-Muwalad was a Muwallad general of the Emirate of Córdoba and governor of Zaragoza.Amrus, a native of Huesca, and his kinsman Sabrit were servants of Aysun ibn Sulayman al-Arabi. The kinsmen joined Aysun's brother when Matruh al-Arabi rebelled and entered Zaragoza...
. On 12 March 887, he killed the great-grandson of Amrus, Mas'ud ibn Amrus, governor of Huesca, and seized power there.
Rivalry with the Banu Qasi
In 889/90, Is'mail ibn Musa of LeidaLeida
Leida is a genus of moths of the Noctuidae family.-References:*...
, a member of the rival Banu Qasi, rose in rebellion against the Emirate. Muhammad ambushed an army led by Ismail's sons, Musa and Mutarrif, leading to the death of Musa and 300 of his soldiers and the capture of Mutarrif. This defeat and the subsequent death of Is'mail ended the rebellion and al-Tawil petitioned the Emir to be given the lands of the rebels. However, Emir Abd Allah instead returned the territory to Muhammad ibn Lubb ibn Qasi, nephew of the rebel. In 893, he witnessed a charter of king Fortún Garcés of Pamplona, appearing as 'pagan' Mohomet Atavel in Osca along with his rival Muhammad ibn Lubb. Three years later he again came to blows with the Banu Qasi. Muhammad al-Tawil mobilized his troops to oppose Lubb ibn Muhammad, the son of the Banu Qasi leader, in his plans to fortify or refortify Monzón
Monzón
Monzón is a small town in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It has a population of 17,050. It is located in the northeast and adjoins the rivers Cinca and Sosa.-Historical overview:...
. They fought a battle in which Lubb's undermanned and poorly equipped army was able to rout those of al-Tawil and capture his brother Fortoun. In 898, the death of Muhammad ibn Lubb ibn Qasi while besieging Zaragoza presented Muhammad al-Tawil with an opportunity to recover lost ground, but Lubb ibn Muhammad returned from negotiations with another Muwallad rebel, Umar ibn Hafsun
Umar ibn Hafsun
`Umar ibn Hafsun ibn Ja'far ibn Salim , known in Spanish history as Omar ben Hafsun, was a 9th century Christian leader of anti-Ummayad dynasty forces in southern Iberia.-Ancestry:...
, to again defeat al-Tawil, this time capturing him. He was forced to cede Barbastro and lands between Huesca and Monzón and to pay 100,000 gold dinares as well as to give his son Abd al-Malik and daughter Sayyida as hostages to insure delivery of the money. Lubb subsequently married Sayyida and forgave the unpaid half of the ransom. Nothing is heard of al-Tawil over the next few years, perhaps because he had turned his armies against his Christian neighbors to the north in campaigns that escaped notice of the Cordoba-based chroniclers of Al-Andalus. He next appears in 906/7, taking the castles of Barbastro and Alquézar and the region of la Barbitania from Lubb ibn Muhammad.
Wars against the Christian North
In October 908, Muhammad al-Tawil launched a campaign against the County of Pallars. The castle of Roda sent emissaries to sue for peace, offering tribute, but al-Tawil rejected them and destroyed the castle. He launched another attack on Monte Pedroso and Oliola, taking 300 prisoners who he ransomed for 13,000 gold pieces. In 911, al-Tawil marched north through Aragon, the territory of his brother-in-law Count Galindo Aznárez II. He then met up with Abd Allah, brother of Lubb ibn Muhammad ibn Qasi, for a strike against Pamplona. While experiencing initial success, Sancho I of PamplonaSancho I of Pamplona
Sancho I Garcés was king of Pamplona from 905 to 925. He was a son of García Jiménez, who was king of "another part of the kingdom" of Pamplona and Dadildis de Pallars, his second wife...
eventually routed the southern troops and reasserted Pamplona's role as feudal overlord to Galindo's Aragon. The next year saw Muhammad al-Tawil launch a campaign against Sunyer, Count of Barcelona, forcing him to flee the field of battle. However a second Barcelona campaign resulted in the death of Muhammad al-Tawil on 23 October 913.
Family and Legacy
Muhammad al-Tawil married Sancha Aznar, daughter of Aznar Galíndez II of Aragon and granddaughter of García Íñiguez of Pamplona. By her he had five children, sons Abd al-Malik, Amrus, Furtun, and Musa Aznar, and one daughter, Sayyida (called Velasquita in the Roda CodexRoda Codex
The Roda Codex is a medieval manuscript which represents a unique source for details of the 9th century Kingdom of Navarre and neighbouring principalities, now Madrid, Real Academia de la Historia, cód...
) who married Lubb ibn Muhammad ibn Qasi. He also had sons Yahya and Lubb, and perhaps Walid, presumably to a different mother.
Abd al-Malik ibn Muhammad succeeded his father in Huesca and Barbarsto, giving Monzón to Amrus. Abd al-Malik faced two challenges from Banu Sabrit kinsmen who entered Huesca intending to seize control, but the residents failed to support them and each was killed on the day they entered the city, Muhammad ibn Walid ibn Abd Allah ibn Sabrit on 8 August 915, and Zakariyya ibn Isa ibn Musa ibn Sabrit on 15 March 916. Abd al-Malik then had Asbag ibn Isa and Abd al-Malik ibn Isa, the brothers of Zakariyya, killed. Next his brother Amrus challenged him and Abd al-Malik ibn Muhammad was captured and strangled.
Amrus ibn Muhammad had been given Monzón by his brother in 914, but was rejected by the residents, who invited Muhammad ibn Lubb ibn Qasi to replace him. He took Huesca from his brother on 25 December 918, but the people rejected him and he was forced to flee weeks later. Amrus went to Barbastro and Alquézar, asking Abd-ar-Rahman III
Abd-ar-Rahman III
Abd-ar-Rahman III was the Emir and Caliph of Córdoba of the Ummayad dynasty in al-Andalus. Called al-Nasir li-Din Allah , he ascended the throne in his early 20s, and reigned for half a century as the most powerful prince of Iberia...
to appoint him governor there. He then enlisted the help of Sancho I of Pamplona and Bernard I Hunifred of Ribagorza to reduce Monzón. He subsequently fought against his brother Furtun, the Banu Qasi, and the Banu Tujibi, taking and ransoming several important hostages, and himself being captured and ransomed. He submitted to the Caliph in 933/4 and died 6 June 935.
Furtun ibn Muhammad was nominated in Huesca in place of his brother Amrus. In 931/2 he signed a pact with Muhammad ibn Hasim, rebel leader of the Banu Tujibi, and in response Abd ar-Rahman punished Huesca, imprisoning many men. They responded by expelling Furtun in 933. He first fled to Las Peñas de San Miguel y Aman, but then went to Córdoba and humbled himself before the Caliph and was restored to Huesca in 936/7. However, when at the Battle of Simancas
Battle of Simancas
The Battle of Simancas was a military battle that started on July 19, 939, in the Iberian Peninsula between the troops of the Christian king Ramiro II of León and Muslim caliph Abd al-Rahman III near the walls of the city of Simancas...
he withheld his troops from the fight, he was hunted down near Calatayud
Calatayud
Calatayud is a city and municipality in the province of Zaragoza in Aragón, Spain lying on the river Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest city in the province after the capital, Zaragoza, and the largest town in Aragón other than the three provincial...
by Salama ibn Ahmad ibn Salama and taken to Córdoba, where he was crucified in front of the Alcázar
Alcázar
An alcázar , alcácer or alcàsser is a type of castle in Spain and Portugal. The term derives from the Arabic word القصر meaning "fort, castle or palace"; and the Arabic word is derived from the Latin word, 'castrum', meaning an army camp or fort...
.
Yahya ibn Muhammad received Huesca when Furtun fled in 933 and governed Merida from 935. However, he fell under suspicion and was imprisoned. Following Furtun's fall he was returned to favor and given Barbastro. He died there 20 December 951. He was succeeded in Barbastro by brother Lubb ibn Muhammad, who died suddenly at Córdoba in December 955. Other sources report a brief interlude by Walid ibn Muhammad. Musa Aznar ibn Muhammad was given Lleida
Lleida
Lleida is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida, as well as the largest city in the province and it had 137,387 inhabitants , including the contiguous municipalities of Raimat and Sucs. The metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants...
, and in 940, Huesca. He married Dadildis, daughter of Jimeno Garcés of Pamplona, dying 18 December 954. He was followed in Huesca by son Abd al-Malik ibn Musa, later forced to share Huesca with Lubb's son Yahya ibn Lubb, who had followed his father in Barbastro. The family is last definitively heard from in 974, when a Walid ibn Abd al-Malik of the Banu Sabrit took part in a tournament in Córdoba. Control of Huesca passed to the Banu Tujibi.
While always nominally a vassal of Córdoba, the rebellious, semi-autonomous actions of the Banu al-Tawil along with those of their rivals the Banu Qasi, set the stage for their successors, the Banu Tujibi and Banu Hud
Banu Hud
The Banu Hud were an Arab dynasty that ruled the taifa of Zaragoza from 1039-1110. In 1039, under the leadership of Al-Mustain I, Sulayman ibn Hud al-Judhami, the Bani Hud seized control of Zaragoza from a rival clan, the Banu Tujibi...
, to establish a fully independent taifa
Taifa
In the history of the Iberian Peninsula, a taifa was an independent Muslim-ruled principality, usually an emirate or petty kingdom, though there was one oligarchy, of which a number formed in the Al-Andalus after the final collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba in 1031.-Rise:The origins of...
state in what had been the Upper March of the Caliphate.
Family tree
| Banu Amrus | |
| Banu Šabrit | |
| Banu al-Tawil |
Sources
- Alberto Cañada Juste, "Los Banu Qasi (714-924)", in Principe de Viana, vol. 41 (1980), pp. 5–95 (1980)
- Francisco Codera, "Mohámed Atauil, Rey Moro de Huesca", Revista de Aragón, vol. 1 (1900), pp. 81–85
- Fernando de la Granja, "La Marca Superior en la Obra de al-'Udrí", Estudios de la Edad Media de la Corona de Aragón, vol. 8 (1967), pp. 457–545.
- Philippe Sénac, La frontière et le hommes, VIIIe-XIIe siècle: le peuplement musulman au nord de l'Èbre et les débuts de la reconquête aragonaise, Maisonneuve & Larose, 2000.