Omar Ben Hafsun

Omar Ben Hafs Ben Chafar was born, towards 850, within a family muladi, (Christian converted with the Islam), certainly of noble ancestors Visigoth S (one supposes of the king Visigoth Witiza?), his/her grandfather Chafar Ben Salim was the first Moslem of the famille.
His/her Hafs father which has had left Ronda for a place called Torrecilla, close to Parauta, where will be born probably Omar and her two brothers Ayyub and Chafar.

History

The legend says that the Omar young person was quarreller, and in a fight it killed a neighbor, it must flee and takes refuge in the inaccessible mountains of High Guadalhorce, (Procession of Gaitanes), in the ruins of an old castle which will be the Bobastro (Bubaštrū ببشترو in Arabic) impregnable.

With the other fugitive ones it starts with rapiner with the sierras of Rayya and of Takoronna until it is captured by the wali ( governor ) of Malaga, which was unaware of the murder that it had made in Ronda, it will impose a simple fine to him. Omar decides to exile in Africa north in order to flee justice, it will work as stone mason, encouraged by other muladi which predicts to him that it will be a king of a large kingdom, it decides to turn over about the year 880, while benefitting from the internal crescent chaos of Al-Andalus.

With the support of his uncle Mohadir it joins together his allies and of dissatisfied with which it restores the ruins of the castle of Bobastro and starts to badger the sector. That worries the emir of Cordoue, Muhammad Ier, which sends a strong quota. Omar makes a pact and enters to the service of the emir with her men in 883. With the army omeyyade it takes share with the seat of Álava, after a rebellion of the local wali.

The apogee

But the muladí that it is, and not Arabic, make that after one two years period it gives up Cordoue, and turns over to Bobastro, by accommodating hundreds of partisans Mozarabs, muladís and including some Berber plain against the aristocracy of Arab origin which dominated them.
It seizes Auta quickly, (with Riogordo), Mijas, Comares and Archidona. In 886, it makes a pact with others rebellious, Banu Rifá which dominated Alhama and its mountain and must face the troops of the emir, ordered by the crown prince Al-Mundir. When it is about to be put in failure, the emir Muhammad Ier dies on August 4th, 886 and Al-Mundir must turn over to Cordoue to deal with the émirat.
During this Omar pause, benefits to reorganize its troops, by recruiting countrymen, takes from it the absolute control of the sierras of Takoronna (Mountain of Ronda) and of Rayya (Málaga-Axarquía), seizes Iznájar and Priego, and made incursions towards Cabra there Jaén.
The emir Al-Mundhir (886 - 888) sends three generals to subject it, it can recover only Iznájar. With beginning of the year 888, the emir himself must take the command of his troops, besieges Archidona, the muladis go, after having carried out the defenders Mozarabs, whose chief is crucifié between a dog and a pig. The same fact occurs in Priego, which is also taken again. After these victories, Al-Mundir continues the harassing of Bobastro. Omar again makes a pact with the emir her rendering in exchange of the amnistie.
Omar breaks the truce when the emir withdraws himself, which causes the Al-Mundir anger which promises not to raise the seat as long as the rebel will not go. The sick emir, must call with his brother 'Abd Allāh ibn Muhammad. When this one arrives the June 29th 888, it finds it already dead.
'Abd Allāh ibn Muhammad tries to dissimulate the death of his/her brother during three days, but not going Bobastro, it announces it with the troops, which turn over to Cordoue in funeral procession. Omar, attacks this procession, the new emir 'Abd Allāh asks him to respect the late one. Omar accepte.
Under the emirate of Abd Allāh the internal Al-Andalus rebellions intensify. Omar benefits from it to sign alliances with others rebellious muladís, like Ibn Mastana in the mountains of Cordoue, and Ibn Al Saliya with Jaén, of Berber like Banu Jalí de Cañete and including Arabic like Banu Hayyay of Seville.
This alliance was a threat mortal for the emirate, well it is not a “ United Kingdom ” under the only command of Omar as some historians affirm it, nor an exclusive revolt of muladis against Arabic as the ethnic composition of alliance shows it.
Omar takes Estepa, Osuna and Ecija into 889, conquers Baena while massacring in her defenders, Priego and the remainder of Bétique goes without fighting, its troops make incursions close to the capital, Cordoue.
The vast state which Omar control establishes of the taxes, and seeks a legitimacy by sending emissary into 891 to the Aghlabides of Tunis, informing that he recognized the caliphate of Baghdad. And in 910 with the Fatimides, when the latter take the succession of Aghlabides, without them to inform that they were Shiite and in fact since the mosques controlled by Omar one launched proclamations Shiite although the population followed the doctrines sunnite. At the same time it installs a Christian bishop with Bobastro, built a church, and is converted with Christianity into 899, having taken as Samuel first name. By also testing the recognition of its state by the king asturien Alphonse III Large the (866-910).
During this time the emir 'Abd Allāh ibn Muhammad had obtained in Poley an important victory, with 14.000 men it puts in failure on May 16th, 891 the 30.000 of Omar who walked on Cordoue, it recovers Ecija and other fortified towns of the Guadalquivir.

Decline

The new century will see the beginning of the decline, worsened by its disputed conversion, Seville and Carmona dominated by Arabic Ibrahim ibn Hayyay breaks alliance. The new defeat of Omar with Estepa makes it possible the emir to reconquer Jaén into 903. Berber Banu Jali give up it and are submitted to the emir. Bobastro and all its kingdom are attacked by the enemy armies and lose Martos into 906. The death of the emir 'Abd Allāh ibn Muhammad and the arrival with the throne of its grandson 'Abd Al-Rahmān III Al-Nāsir (912 - 929), worsen even more the situation. The young person omeyyade wants to pacify his emirate, it organizes an large army with which it conquers Ecija again, then walk on the sierra of Elvira, fascinating Baza and Salobreña by avoiding the direct attack against Bobastro. During this first forwarding 'Abd Al-Rahmān III recovers 70 fortified towns and 300 “husún” or minor fortresses.

The fall

In 914, new attacks of Abd Al-Rahmān III, by the sierra of Takoronna it overcomes Omar with Ojén, and follows by the coast towards Algésiras, then it moves towards Seville which is subjected. Carmona under Banu Hayyay is besieged and fall in 917. The loss of Baeza in 916 and its defeats in front of Jaén and Antequera, obliges Omar has to attack the emir, the lost indicator, his Chafar son (also Christian), him does not obey more and to show its frankness and its obedience with the caliphate, Omar attacks her own son, who had taken again the fortified town of Ubeda into 917, it fall however sick and dies in September of this same year.

Succession

Its state passes to his/her Chafar oldest son, after having lost several places in 919, it is assassinated in October 920. He succeed his/her Sulayman brother who briefly recovers Ojén, loses Jete there Almuñécar in 921, it is captured at the time of a combat in 927 and is decapitated, like his/her brother Abd Al-Rahmán. His/her other Hafs brother was also prisoner. After having lost Malaga, Bobastro the mythical place goes the January 19th 928. After having taken Bobastro, Abd Al-Rahmán III orders to exhume the corpses of Omar and her Chafar son, to expose them to the public of Cordoue. Then he traverses to Malaga by demolishing the useless castles, and exiles the partisans Mozarabs of Hafs, the last wire of Omar. With this final victory, it reaches a great prestige which encourages it to proclaim Caliph into 929.

Analyzes facts

According to Handbook Acién Almansa, Omar Ben Hafsún was not the glorious rebel like affirmed it the historians of the 19th century. Either the “ chief of all the southernmost Spanish race ” like called it the Dutch historian Dozy, nor “ the caudillo of oppressed Spanish nationality ” of Simonet in its maximum expression of the Spanish preserving nationalism of Francoism, theory which as Sanchez Albornoz divided by writing “ the Hispanic race was illuminated by a large popular captain (...) as the Spaniards, Christians or Moslems liked with passion ”.
The version Arabist of Lévi-Of Provence underlines the depredation without distinction and the lack of ethics of Omar Ben Hafsún, or the anthropological explanation of Guichard which saw in the rebellion the survival of a Western company feudatory vis-a-vis the East Andalusian, were in opposition these last years by the Andalusian nationalist versions which see in this revolt “ independence and Andalusian autonomy vis-a-vis it central capacity ” and Omar like “ an Andalusian hundred percent ” (Domínguez Ortiz).

External bonds

Bobastro in images

Galerie of images click to increase.

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