Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Battle of al-Qarn (1160)

Not to be confused with Battle of al-Qarn.

The Battle of al-Qarn also known as the Battle of Gabal al-Qarn or the Battle of the Horn Mountain[1], was part of the Almohad conquest of Ifriqiya, and opposed the Almohads led by Abd al-Mu'min against the Banu Riyah led by Muhriz ibn Ziyad, it lasted 10 days from 19 to 29 April 1160.

Battle of al-Qarn
Part of Almohad conquest of Ifriqiya
Date19 - 29 April 1160
Location
Gabal al-Qarn, South of Kairouan, Tunisia
Result Decisive Almohad victory
Belligerents
Almohads

Banu Hilal

Commanders and leaders
Abd al-Mu'min
Abu Muhammed ibn Abd al-Mu'min
Abu Abdallah ibn Abd al-Mu'min		 Muhriz ibn Ziyad  †
Ma'sud ibn Zaamam
Gabbara ibn Kamil
Strength
30,000 men 80,000 tents
Casualties and losses
Unknown Heavy

Context

After having conquered all of Ifriqiya, Abd al-Mu'min called on the emirs of Banu Riyah, in which he demanded 10,000 Arabs he would take to Iberia, to battle the Christians. Abd al-Mu'min is then escorted to the mountains of Zaghouan by the Riyahides contingents. That's when Yusuf ibn Malik, emir of the Banu Mohamed Riyahides, tells Abd al-Mu'min that his tribe refused to go with him to Iberia and that they suspected the caliph would kick them out of their lands. The Arabs are then excluded from his plans, and the Arab leaders would take their tribes and would move to the desert, Abd al-Mu'min would march westwards towards Wadi-l'Nisa (near Constantine) and would remain there for 20 days, and would intercept every route, and would not let any soilder leave the camp, the Arabs would regain confidence and would return to Ifriqiya, where they once lived, Abd al-Mu'min finds out and would send an army of 30,000 men led by his two sons Abu Muhammed and Abu Abdallah, they would attack the Arabs from behind through the Sahara cutting off all escape routes, the Arabs had settled south of Kairouan near the Gabal al-Qarn, there were 80,000 men, led by 3 Arab leaders, Muhriz ibn Ziyad, Gabbara ibn Kamil, and Ma'sud ibn Zaamam.[2]

Battle

As soon as the Almohads started attacking the Arabs, a disagreement happens between the three Arab chiefs, in which, Gabbara and Ma'sud would escape with their tribes, while Muhriz remained to fight the Almohads, the battle lasts from 19 to 29 April, and would end in the complete rout of the Arab army, and the death of Muhriz ibn Ziyad who's head would be placed on a lance, the Arabs would be massacred, and the remaining survivors of the battle would abandon everything to the victors, from tents, children, women and livestock which would all be given to Abd al-Mu'min.[1][2][3][4][5]

Aftermath

Abd al-Mu'min would take the Riyahides women to the western Maghreb where a deputation of the Banu Riah would be sent to retrieve the captives, Abd al-Mumin would return all of the women back to these deputations.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c The Chronicle of Ibn Al-Athir for the Crusading Period from Al-Kamil Fi'l-Ta'rikh. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. 2010. ISBN 978-0-7546-6951-7.
  2. ^ a b c Idris, Hady Roger (1962). La Berbérie orientale sous les Zīrīdes, Xe-XIIe siècles (in French). Librairie d'Amérique et d'Orient, Adrien-Maisonneuve. pp. 401–403.
  3. ^ al-Athīr, ʻIzz al-Dīn Ibn (1898). Annales du Maghreb & de l'Espagne (in French). A. Jourdan.
  4. ^ d'Honneur.), Ernest MERCIER (Chevalier de la Légion (1875). Histoire de l'établissement des Arabes dans l'Afrique Septentrionale, selon les documents fournis par les auteurs Arabes et notamment par l'Histoire des Berbères, d'Ibn Khaldoun, etc (in French).
  5. ^ Khaldûn, ʿAbd al-Raḥman b Muḥammad Ibn (1854). Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale, tr. par le baron de Slane (in French). p. 32.
Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_al-Qarn_(1160)