Ahmad ibn Ziyadat Allah ibn Qurhub, commonly known simply asIbn Qurhub, ruledSicily in rebellion against theFatimid Caliphate, from 913 to 916. He launched raids against theByzantine Empire insouthern Italy and against the shores of FatimidIfriqiya, but was deposed and handed over to the Fatimids, who executed him and his followers in July 916.
Ahmad hailed fromSicily,[1] whosegradual conquest from theByzantine Empire had been started by theAghlabids in the 820s. The process had ended with theconquest ofTaormina in 902, but had left some Byzantine strongholds in the mountainous northeast of the island (theVal Demone) as well as across theStrait of Messina inCalabria.[2]
Ahmad ibn Qurhub's patronymics indicate a relationship with Uthman ibn Qurhub, who had been governor of the island in the 830s, and with a Muhammad ibn Qurhub, a military commander who had begun thesiege that led to the capture ofSyracuse in 878. This Muhammad may have been Ahmad's father.[3]
Ahmad had served as Aghlabid governor ofTripoli just before the overthrow of the Aghlabids and the establishment of theFatimid Caliphate in 909.[1]
Soon after its establishment, the Fatimid regime in Ifriqiya sent its own governors to the island. However, the local Sicilian army, which was used to a broad autonomy in running its affairs, deposed the first governor,al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Khinzir, and drove away his successor,Ali ibn Umar al-Balawi.[1] Rejecting the Fatimids'Shi'a regime, on 18 May 913 they raised Ibn Qurhub to power as governor of the island.[1][4] Ibn Qurhub quickly rejected Fatimid suzerainty, and declared for the Fatimids'Sunni rival, theAbbasid caliphal-Muqtadir atBaghdad. The latter recognized Ibn Qurhub as emir of Sicily, and in token of this sent him a black banner,robes of honour, and a gold collar.[4][5] As the historian Alex Metcalfe writes, the movement headed by Ibn Qurhub was peculiar to Sicily's circumstances. As a frontier society centred onjihad, "some form of caliphal authority [...] was essential for Sicily's legitimate existence as a political entity", but at the same time, it was a "specifically Sicilian attempt to free itself from colonial rule from Ifriqiya".[3]
Already in spring/summer 913 he launched the customary annual raids against the Byzantine territories: his son Ali besieged Taormina, which had been reoccupied and rebuilt by the Byzantines, for two months without success,[3][5] but Ibn Qurhub himself led a raid into Calabria, returning with considerable booty and many prisoners.[4] A treaty between the Sicilian Arabs and the Byzantinestrategos of Calabria, Eustathios, whereby the Byzantines agreed to give 22,000 gold coins annually in exchange for a truce, may have taken place soon after this.[3][6][7] According toHeinz Halm, this truce may have led to dissatisfaction among the Sicilian troops with Ibn Qurhub and contributed to his eventual downfall, since it put an end to the profitable plundering raids against Byzantine territories.[7]
In July 914, the Sicilian fleet, commanded by Ibn Qurhub's younger son Muhammad, raided the coasts of Ifriqiya. AtLeptis Minor, the Sicilians caught a Fatimid naval squadron by surprise on 18 July: the Fatimid fleet was torched, and 600 prisoners were made. Among the latter was the former governor of Sicily, Ibn Abi Khinzir, who was executed.[4][5] The Sicilians defeated a Fatimid army detachment sent to repel them, and proceeded south, sackingSfax and reaching Tripoli in August 914. Only the presence of the Fatimid heir-designate,al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah, who was thenon his way to invade Egypt, deterred an attack on the city.[5]
In the next year, however, a similar undertaking failed, and the Sicilian fleet was defeated by the Fatimids, possibly with Byzantine assistance.[4][5] As a result, the Sicilians began to turn to the Fatimids, with theBerbers ofAgrigento being the first to defect, and other cities following soon after.[5] His support vanishing, Ibn Qurhub prepared to flee toal-Andalus, but on 14 July 916 he was captured by the Sicilians, who delivered him and his supporters to the Fatimid caliphal-Mahdi Billah in chains.[4][5] Al-Mahdi brought them to his palace city atRaqqada, where they were lashed on the tomb of Ibn Abi Khinzir, mutilated, and publicly crucified.[4][5]
Sicily was subdued by a Fatimid army underAbu Sa'id Musa ibn Ahmad al-Dayf, which besiegedPalermo until March 917. The local troops were disarmed, and aKutama garrison loyal to the Fatimids was installed, under the governorSalim ibn Asad ibn Abi Rashid.[8] Nevertheless, the legacy of Ibn Qurhub on Sicily was remembered for some time: as late as 973, whenIbn Hawqal visited Palermo, he found one of the gates of the city walls named after him.[9]
| Preceded byas governor for theFatimid Caliphate | Emir ofSicily 18 May 913 – 14 July 916 | Succeeded byas governor for theFatimid Caliphate |
