Musa ibn Nusayr
Governor of Ifriqiya who oversaw the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb and Iberia.
His father was a slave who entered the service of Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan, who freed him.[1] Various accounts disagree on Musa's ancestry, with some saying his father belonged to the Lakhmid clan and others to the Banu Bakr confederation.[2] He respected Berber traditions and used diplomacy, leading many Berbers to convert and join his army.[3] Musa's birthplace was either Kafarmara or Kafarmathra in Syria, and his birth year is recorded as 640.[1]
According to al-Tabari, Musa's father was captured following the 633 fall of Ayn al-Tamr, a Mesopotamian city.[2] The caliph Abd al-Malik appointed Musa as co-governor of Iraq, alongside his own brother Bishr ibn Marwan.[4] In 698, Musa was appointed governor of Ifriqiya, becoming the first holder of that office who was not answerable to the governor of Egypt.[5]
Quick Facts
- Office
- Umayyad governor of Ifriqiya
- Monarch
- Abd al-Malik; Al-Walid I
- Term
- 703–715
- Predecessor
- Hassan ibn al-Nu'man
- Successor
- Muhammad ibn Yazid
- Born
- 640
- Birthplace
- Hebron, Rashidun Caliphate
- Died
- 716
Facts from the source article.
What the cited sources add
After a successful reconnaissance raid, Musa ordered Tariq bin Ziyad to cross the strait with about 7,000 Berbers and Arabs, landing at Gibraltar.[6] The Muslims won the Battle of Guadalete against a Visigoth army of 100,000 under Roderic.[7] Both Muslim and Christian accounts report that the Visigoth nobleman Julian, Count of Ceuta, urged Musa to invade Iberia by describing the population's hardships and the region's wealth.[8] Julian provided some guides who accompanied Tariq's army.[7]
Egilona, who had been Roderic's wife, married Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa, one of Musa's sons.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Musa ibn Nusayr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: al-Baladhuri, p. 397 of English translation; the same in other sources, although Al-Bakri (p. 41 of Spanish translation) says that some say he was liberated by ; al-Baladhuri, p. 397 of English translation, and editor's note.; Al-Bakri, p. 42 of Spanish translation. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Musa ibn Nusayr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Editor's note, p. 41 of the Spanish translation of Al-Bakri.; These conflicting accounts are mentioned by al-Baladhuri (p. 362 of English translation), Al-Bakri (p. 41 of Spanish translation).; Editor's note p. 17-18 of Spanish translation of Akhbār majmūʿa. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Musa ibn Nusayr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Tarikhe", Tarikhe, July 2025; It is not completely certain that Tariq was a Berber. See the article on Tariq bin Ziyad for a list of the several possibilities. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Musa ibn Nusayr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ibn Abd al-Hakam, p. 329 of the English translation, p. 203 of Torrey's Arabic text. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Musa ibn Nusayr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: al-Baladhuri, p. 362 of English translation. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Musa ibn Nusayr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rogers, "The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology", Oxford University Press, 2010, p. 13 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Musa ibn Nusayr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Syed Ameer Ali, "A Short History of the Saracens", Kegan Paul, 1899, p. 109 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Musa ibn Nusayr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lewis, "God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215", W. W. Norton, 12 January 2009, p. 119–120; "The Sword of Islam: A.D. 565 to 740 : the Muslim Onslaught All But Destroys Christendom", Christian History Project, 2004, p. 243 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Musa ibn Nusayr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ibn Abd al-Hakam, pp. 212–213 of Arabic text, pp. 51–52 of Spanish translation.; Ibn Abd al-Hakam, pp. 213–214 of Arabic text, pp. 55–56 of Spanish translation. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Musa ibn Nusayr (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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