Battle of Tabarka | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Muslim conquest of North Africa | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Belligerents | |||||||||
Umayyad Caliphate | Berber tribes | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Hasan ibn al-Nu'man | Dihya † |
The Battle of Tabarka was a military engagement fought between the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate and Dihya, a Berber queen. The battle took place near the city of Tabarka, Tunisia, in either 701, 702 or 703 AD. The battle resulted in a major victory for the Umayyads and the end of organized Berber resistance to the caliphate.
During the late 7th century, forces of the Arab-dominated Umayyad Caliphate conducted a decades-long conquest of the Maghreb, then under the nominal control of the Byzantine Empire. One major obstacle to the invasion was Dihya, a Berber queen who had fought against the Umayyad advance into Numidia. In 698, she won a victory over the Umayyads at the Battle of Meskiana, temporarily halting Hassan ibn al-Nu'man's campaign to conquer Numidia. [1]
Regrouping in Libya, the Umayyads invaded Numidia again in either 701, 702 [2] or 703. Dihya gathered many Berber tribes people to resist the new invasion. The two armies clashed near the town of Tabarka near the modern Algeria–Tunisia border, where a choke point exists between the Mediterranean sea and the Aurès Mountains. [3] The battle - described as "fierce" [3] - ended in a victory for the Umayyads, the death of Dihya, and the end of organized Berber resistance to the Umayyad invasion. [3]
Dihya was later killed in Bir al-Kahina (al-Kâhina's well), Aurès. [4] Sources disagree on whether Dihya's two sons - both of whom survived the battle - converted to Islam before the battle and fought against their mother [3] or converted after the battle in exchange for their lives being spared. [4]
Battle of Tabarka | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Muslim conquest of North Africa | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Belligerents | |||||||||
Umayyad Caliphate | Berber tribes | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Hasan ibn al-Nu'man | Dihya † |
The Battle of Tabarka was a military engagement fought between the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate and Dihya, a Berber queen. The battle took place near the city of Tabarka, Tunisia, in either 701, 702 or 703 AD. The battle resulted in a major victory for the Umayyads and the end of organized Berber resistance to the caliphate.
During the late 7th century, forces of the Arab-dominated Umayyad Caliphate conducted a decades-long conquest of the Maghreb, then under the nominal control of the Byzantine Empire. One major obstacle to the invasion was Dihya, a Berber queen who had fought against the Umayyad advance into Numidia. In 698, she won a victory over the Umayyads at the Battle of Meskiana, temporarily halting Hassan ibn al-Nu'man's campaign to conquer Numidia. [1]
Regrouping in Libya, the Umayyads invaded Numidia again in either 701, 702 [2] or 703. Dihya gathered many Berber tribes people to resist the new invasion. The two armies clashed near the town of Tabarka near the modern Algeria–Tunisia border, where a choke point exists between the Mediterranean sea and the Aurès Mountains. [3] The battle - described as "fierce" [3] - ended in a victory for the Umayyads, the death of Dihya, and the end of organized Berber resistance to the Umayyad invasion. [3]
Dihya was later killed in Bir al-Kahina (al-Kâhina's well), Aurès. [4] Sources disagree on whether Dihya's two sons - both of whom survived the battle - converted to Islam before the battle and fought against their mother [3] or converted after the battle in exchange for their lives being spared. [4]