ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ عقبة بن نافع | |
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 A statue of Uqba bin Nafi in Algeria | |
| Governor ofIfriqiya | |
| In office 666–674 | |
| Monarch | Mu'awiya I |
| Preceded by | Mu'awiya ibn Hudayj |
| Succeeded by | Abu al-Muhajir Dinar |
| In office 681–683 | |
| Monarch | Yazid I |
| Succeeded by | Abu al-Muhajir Dinar |
| Succeeded by | Zuhayr ibn Qays |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 622 |
| Died | 683 Tehouda[1] (near theoasis ofSidi Okba in present-dayAlgeria) |
| Resting place | Sidi Okba Mosque, Algeria |
| Relations |
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| Children | Abu Ubayda ibn Uqba |
| Parent(s) | Nafi ibn Abd al-Qays Salma bint Harmalah |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Rashidun Caliphate Umayyad Caliphate |
| Branch/service | Rashidun army |
| Years of service | 635–683 |
| Rank | General |
| Battles/wars | |
ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAbd al-Qays al-Fihrī al-Qurashī (Arabic:عقبة بن نافع بن عبد القيس الفهري القرشي), also simply known asUqba ibn Nafi, was anArab general serving theRashidun Caliphate since the reign ofUmar and later theUmayyad Caliphate during the reigns ofMu'awiya I andYazid I, leading theMuslim conquest of the Maghreb, including present-dayLibya,Tunisia,Algeria andMorocco and a failed attempt inNubia. He is credited with establishingUmayyad rule in North Africa. Uqba was the nephew ofAmr ibn al-As. He is often surnamedal-Fihri in reference to the Banu Fihr, a clan connected to theQuraysh. His descendants would be known as the ʿUqbids orFihrids.
Uqba was born in 622.[2] As a general of theRashidun Caliphate, Uqba accompaniedAmr ibn al-As in his initial capture of cities in the Maghreb starting withBarqa, then proceeding toTripolitania in 644. Upon conqueringCyrenaica in 642 or 643,Amr ibn al-As fixed thejizyah to be paid by itsBerber tribes at 13,000 dinars.[3] After theFirst Fitna and establishment of theUmayyad Caliphate in 661 byMu'awiya I, a second invasion of the Maghreb began. An army of 10,000 Muslims and thousands of others led by Uqba departed fromDamascus and marched intoByzantine Africa, conquering it.[4]
In 670 now the emir or commander, Uqba led an Arab army to North Africa, crossing theEgyptian deserts, and setting up military posts at regular intervals along his route. In a region of what is nowTunisia, he established the town now calledKairouan (meaning "camp" or "caravanserai" inPersian) about 99 miles south of present-dayTunis, which he used as a base for further operations. This became a place of religiouspilgrimage and the most important city in North Africa. Kairouan was chosen as the capital of the new Umayyad province ofIfriqiya. Uqba chose the site for its first mosque, and theGreat Mosque of Kairouan was constructed on the same year. This mosque has served as a model of all later mosques in the Maghreb,[5] and is considered one of the masterpieces ofIslamic architecture.[6]
In 683 Uqba was ambushed by theBerber Christian kingKusaila and hisByzantine allies in theBattle of Vescera. Uqba was killed beside his hated rival,Abu al-Muhajir Dinar. His armies evacuated Kairouan and withdrew to Barca, though it was recaptured in 688.[7]
In 686,Sidi Uqba Mosque was built as a mausoleum dedicated to him after his death. The building was at first built in a simple manner, completely made out oflimestone mortars, with no precious materials used. This architectural style resembled some of the oldest Islamic architectures and the mosques builtMuhammad.[8]Al-Watiya Air Base in Libya is also known as "Okba ibn Nafa Air Base" after him.
Extant records of most of the accounts describing Arab conquests of North Africa in general and Uqba's conquests in particular date back to at least two centuries after the conquests took place.[9]
One of the earliest reports comes from theArab[10] chroniclerIbn Idhari in hisAl-Bayan al-Mughrib. In it, Ibn Idhari describes the moment when Uqba reached theAtlantic Ocean, where he allegedly said: |
"O God, if the sea had not prevented me, I would have galloped on for ever like Alexander the Great, upholding your faith and fighting the unbelievers!"[11]
Edward Gibbon, referring to Uqba ibn Nafi asAkbah, gives him the title "Conqueror of Africa," beginning his story when he "marched fromDamascus at the head of ten thousand of the bravest Arabs; and the genuine force of the Moslems was enlarged by the doubtful aid and conversion of many thousand Barbarians." He then marched into North Africa. Gibbon continues: "It would be difficult, nor is it necessary, to trace the accurate line of the progress of Akbah." On the North African coast, "the well-known titles ofBugia, andTangier define the more certain limits of theSaracen victories." Gibbon then tells the story of Akbah's conquest of theRoman province ofMauretania Tingitana:
The fearless Akbah plunged into the heart of the country, traversed the wilderness in which his successors erected the splendid capitals of Fez and Morocco, and at length penetrated to the verge of the Atlantic and the great desert.... The career, though not the zeal, of Akbah was checked by the prospect of a boundless ocean. He spurred his horse into the waves, and raising his eyes to heaven, exclaimed: 'Great God! if my course were not stopped by this sea, I would still go on, to the unknown kingdoms of the West, preaching the unity of the holy name, and putting to the sword the rebellious nations who worship another gods than Allah.'
Scholarship on the life and conquests of ibn Nafi are available, but most have not been translated from their original Arabic.
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