Berber Revolt

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Berber Revolt

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The 740–743 Berber revolt was a major secession challenging Umayyad rule across North Africa.

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Origins & Early Life

The Berber Revolt or the Kharijite Revolt of 740–743 AD (122–125 AH in the Islamic calendar) took place during the reign of the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik and marked the first successful secession from the Arab Caliphate (then ruled from Damascus). Inspired by Kharijite puritan preachers, the Berber revolt against their Umayyad Arab rulers began in Tangier in 740 and was led initially by Maysara al-Matghari. The revolt soon spread throughout the rest of the Maghreb and across the Strait of Gibraltar to Al-Andalus. Although the Berbers managed to end Umayyad rule in the western Maghreb following the Battle of Badgoura and Battle of the Nobles, the Umayyads scrambled and managed to prevent the core of Ifriqiya (Tunisia, eastern Algeria, and western Libya) and al-Andalus (Spain and Portugal) from falling into rebel hands, notably securing victory in the decisive Battle of al-Asnam. However, the rest of the Maghreb was never brought back to caliphal authority.

Career & Major Achievements

After failing to capture the Umayyad provincial capital of Kairouan, the Berber rebel armies dissolved, and the western Maghreb fragmented into a series of small statelets, ruled by tribal chieftains and Kharijite imams. The Berber revolt was probably the largest military setback in the reign of Caliph Hisham. From it emerged some of the first Muslim states outside the Caliphate. The underlying causes of the revolt were the policies of the Umayyad governors in Kairouan, Ifriqiya, who had authority over the Maghreb (all of North Africa west of Egypt) and Al-Andalus. Since the Muslim conquest of North Africa, Arab commanders had treated non-Arab (notably Berber) auxiliaries inconsistently, and often rather shabbily.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

When they arrived in North Africa, the Umayyads faced a Christian-majority population in Africa Proconsularis (which became Ifriqiya, modern-day Tunisia), and Christians, pagans, and Jewish minorities in the Maghreb al-Aqsa (modern-day Morocco). Some Berbers of the Maghreb quickly converted and participated in the region's growth of Islam, but Arab authorities continued to treat them as second-class people. Although Berbers had undertaken much of the fighting in the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, they were given a lesser share of the spoils and frequently assigned to the harsher duties (e.g. Berbers were thrown into the vanguard while Arab forces were kept in the back; they were assigned garrison duty on the more troubled frontiers). Although the Ifriqiyan Arab governor Musa ibn Nusayr had cultivated his Berber lieutenants (most famously, Tariq ibn Ziyad), his successors, notably Yazid ibn Abi Muslim, had treated their Berber forces particularly poorly. Most grievously, Arab governors continued to levy extraordinary dhimmi taxation (the jizya and kharaj) and slave-tributes on non-Arab populations that had converted to Islam, in direct contravention of Islamic law.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Berber Revolt

True or False: “Did the Umayyads successfully regain full caliphal authority over all of the Maghreb after the revolt?”

Answer (FALSE ❌): The Umayyads failed to bring back the rest of the Maghreb; instead, it fragmented into small statelets ruled by tribal chieftains and Kharijite imams.

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