View source for Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri

{{Short description|Arab governor of al-Andalus from 747 to 756}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri
| order1               = [[List of Umayyad Governors of Al-Andalus|Governor of Al-Andalus]]
| term_start1          = January 747
| term_end1            = January 750
| predecessor1         = [[Abd al-Rahman ibn Katir al-Lahmi]]
| successor1           = ''himself'' (as [[Malik]])
| order = [[List of Umayyad Governors of Al-Andalus|Malik of Andalus]]
| term_start = January 750
| term_end = May 756
| predecessor = ''himself'' (as [[Wali (administrative title)|Governor]])
| successor = [[Abd al-Rahman I]]
| birth_date          = 711 AD
| death_date          = 759 AD
| death_place         = [[Toledo, Spain]]
| parents             = [[Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri]] (father)
| relations           = 
}}

'''Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri''' ({{langx|ar|يوسف بن عبد الرحمن الفهري}}) was an [[Umayyad]] governor of [[Narbonne]] in [[Septimania]] and the [[governor of al-Andalus]] from 747 to 756, ruling independently following the collapse of the [[Umayyad#Umayyad Caliphs at Damascus|Umayyad Caliphate]] in 750. He was a descendant of [[Uqba ibn Nafi]], the founder of [[Kairouan]].<ref>Hitti, Philip Khuri (1970). ''History of the Arabs from the Earliest Times to the Present''. Macmillan. {{ISBN|978-0-333-09871-4}}, p. 504.</ref>

==Governor in Narbonne==
After the [[Battle of Tours|Battle of Poitiers]] (732), Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman was appointed governor of Narbonne according to the ''[[Chronicle of Moissac]]'', where he was in command of military operations. During four years he is said to have raided and pillaged the Lower Rhone, and in 735 he took Arles.<ref>{{cite book | author = Collins, Roger| year = 1989 | title = The Arab Conquest of Spain 710-797 | publisher = Blackwell |location = Oxford, UK / Cambridge, USA|isbn= 0-631-19405-3|page=91}}</ref>

Between 716 and 756, al-Andalus was ruled by governors sent from [[Damascus]] or appointed on the recommendation of the Umayyad regional governors of [[Ifriqiya]] to which it belonged administratively.<ref>Abun-Nasr, Jamil M. (1987). ''A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-33767-4}}, p. 71.</ref> Like many of his predecessors, Yusuf struggled to control infighting between the Berbers (the bulk of his power base) and the Arabs, and also had to deal with perennial feuding between 'Adnani and Qahtani Arab tribes comprising his forces.<ref>Gerli, E. Michael & Armistead, Samuel G. (2003). ''Medieval Iberia: An Encyclopedia''. Taylor & Francis. {{ISBN|9780415939188}}, p. 4.</ref>

==Governor of al-Andalus==
After the instability of the [[Berber Revolt]] in al-Andalus, an arrangement was concluded between different Arab factions to alternate in office. However, after taking over and completing his term, he refused to give up the reins of power, ruling unchallenged for nine years, while in Damascus the Umayyads were definitively overthrown in 750. It has been pointed out that he actually ruled as king (''malik''), and not as governor (''wali''). After becoming ruler, al-Fihri conducted a census,<ref>Wolf, Kenneth Baxter (2000). ''Conquerors and Chroniclers of Early Medieval Spain''. Liverpool University Press, {{ISBN|0-85323-554-6}}, p. 156.</ref> as part of which Bishop [[Hostegesis]] prepared a list of tax and [[jizya]] payers. The bishop then made annual visits to make sure the taxes were collected properly.<ref>Imamuddin, S. M. (1981). ''Muslim Spain - 711-1492 A.D: A Sociological Study''. Brill Academic Publishers. {{ISBN|90-04-06131-2}}, p. 58.</ref>

Yusuf had just broken an attempted revolt in [[Zaragoza]] (755) when he launched a campaign against the [[Basques]] of [[Pamplona]] in 755, but the detachment sent was annihilated.<ref>Trask, R. Larry (1996). ''The History of Basque''. London: Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-13116-2}}, p. 12.</ref> This was the moment chosen by the [[Umayyad]] prince [[Abd al-Rahman I|Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu'awiya ibn Hisham]], who had fled [[Bilad al-Sham|Syria]] some years before to escape from the [[Abbasid]]s, to disembark on the southern coast of present-day Spain. He went on to capture important southern strongholds such as [[Málaga]] and [[Seville]].

On Abd al-Rahman's arrival, Andalusian forces were divided, with both commanders claiming the allegiance of both Berbers and the Syrian {{Transliteration|ar|[[jund]]s}}. Generally, Yemeni units within the latter joined the Umayyad contender, while their Mudar and Qays rivals remained loyal to Yusuf.<ref>Collins, Roger (1989). p. 122.</ref> After attempting a failed compromise with Abd al-Rahman by which the Umayyad survivor would succeed him, Yusuf al-Fihri was defeated at the [[Battle of Musarah]]<ref>Al-Sulami, Mishal Fahm (2004).'' The West and Islam: Western Liberal Democracy Versus the System of Shura''. London: Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-31634-0}}, p. 207.</ref> just outside [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]] in March 756<ref>{{cite book|title=The Holy Sword: the story of Islam from Muhammad to the present|url=https://archive.org/details/holyswordthestor010090mbp|last=Payne|first=Robert|location=New York|publisher=Harper|year=1959}}</ref> by Abd al-Rahman, who thus became the first independent [[Emir of Córdoba]].

Still Yusuf managed to flee the battlefield north and make his way towards [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]], possibly first attempting to recapture Seville, but failing. Yusuf may have been killed on his retreat to Toledo, while other accounts locate him in that stronghold still for two or three years, where he was eventually killed by some of his own men.<ref>Collins, Roger (1989). p. 132.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Umayyad conquest of Hispania]]
*[[Septimania]]
*[[Battle of Avignon]]
*[[Battle of Narbonne (737)]]
*[[Timeline of the Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Abd al-Rahman ibn Katir al-Lahmi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Umayyad Governors of Al-Andalus|Governor of Al-Andalus]]
|years=747–756}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Abd al-Rahman I]]|as=[[Emir of Córdoba]]}}
{{end}}
{{Umayyad governors of al-Andalus}}

[[Category:711 births]]
[[Category:759 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Narbonne]]
[[Category:Umayyad governors of Al-Andalus]]
[[Category:8th-century Arab people]]
[[Category:Fihrids]]