Uqba ibn Nafi

ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAbd al-Qays al-Fihrī al-Qurashī, also simply known as Uqba ibn Nafi, was an Arab general serving the Rashidun Caliphate since the reign of Umar and later the Umayyad Caliphate during the reigns of Muawiyah I and Yazid I, leading the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. He is credited to establishing Umayyad rule in North Africa. Uqba was the nephew of Amr ibn al-As. He is often surnamed al-Fihri in reference to the Banu Fihr, a clan connected to the Quraysh. His descendants would be known as the ʿUqbids or Fihrids. Biography Uqba was born in 622. As a general of the Rashidun Caliphate, Uqba accompanied Amr ibn al-As in his initial capture of cities in North Africa starting with Barqa, then proceeding to Tripolitania in 644. Upon conquering Cyrenaica in 642 or 643, Amr ibn al-As fixed the jizyah to be paid by its Berber tribes at 13,000 dinars. After the First Fitna and establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate in 661 by Mu'awiya I, a second invasion of the Maghreb began. An army of 10,000 Muslims and thousands of others led by Uqba departed from Damascus and marched into Byzantine Africa, conquering it. In 670 now the emir or commander, Uqba led an Arab army to North Africa, crossing the Egyptian deserts, and setting up military posts at regular intervals along his route. In a region of what is now Tunisia, he established the town now called Kairouan (meaning "camp" or "caravanserai" in Persian) about 99 miles south of present-day Tunis, which he used as a base for further operations. This became a place of religious pilgrimage and the most important city in North Africa. Kairouan was chosen as the capital of the new Umayyad province of Ifriqiya. Uqba chose the site for its first mosque, and the Great Mosque of Kairouan was constructed on the same year. This mosque has served as a model of all later mosques in the Maghreb, and is considered one of the masterpieces of Islamic architecture. Death In 683 Uqba was ambushed by the Berber Christian king Kusaila and his Byzantine allies in the Battle 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.