Siege of Carmona (763)
| Siege of Carmona (763) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Emirate of Cordoba | Abbasid Caliphate | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Abd al-Rahman I |
al-Ala ibn Mughith al-Judhami † Umayya ibn Qatan (POW) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 700 men | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 2,000 killed | ||||||
  Location in Spain | |||||||
The siege of Carmona (763) was a decisive military engagement between the Umayyad Emirate of Cordoba, led by Abd al-Rahman I, and an Abbasid-backed expeditionary force in Andalusia. Triggered by an uprising aligned with the Abbasid Caliphate, the conflict ended in a crushing Umayyad victory that effectively ended Abbasid military interference in the Iberian Peninsula.
Background
In 763, Al-Ala ibn Mughith al-Judhami set up his government in Beja, backed by the local Egyptian jund (Arab army division).[1] The Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur, made a final attempt to bring Andalusia under Abbasid control, providing Al-Ala with funds, arms, and moral backing. Al-Ala raised the Abbasid flag and appointed himself governor. Although Islamic historiography and traditional accounts treat this as an internal rebellion, modern historians view it as a contest of legitimate authority between rival claimants, demonstrating tangible local support for the Abbasid cause in al-Andalus.[2]
Unwilling to risk a pitched battle against superior numbers, the Umayyad emir Abd al-Rahman I (r. 756–788) abandoned his capital of Córdoba and withdrew to the strong hill fortress of Carmona.[3][4][5][2]
The Siege
Al-Ala besieged the fortress for two months.[6] The prolonged duration suggests that Abd al-Rahman's available garrison was small—numbering around 700 men—and that many Andalusian leaders and tribal units were watching from the sidelines to see who would prevail before committing their allegiance.[2] According to the Akhbār majmūʿa, the Palestinian jund of Seville and Sidonia marched to join the siege under Ghiyāth ibn Alḳama al-Lakhmī, but they were intercepted and negotiated into withdrawing by Badr, a freedman and commander loyal to Abd al-Rahman.[1]
Eventually, recognizing that the besiegers were growing complacent, Abd al-Rahman ordered his men to burn the scabbards of their swords. This symbolic act of no retreat inspired his 700 soldiers to launch a sudden, ferocious sortie that completely surprised the Abbasid camp. Al-Ala and many of his principal officers were killed in the fighting.[7][4][5]
Aftermath
The fallen Abbasid commanders were beheaded, and Al-Ala's head was embalmed and sent eastward to Kairouan as a grim message of defiance to Caliph al-Mansur.[7][4][5]
The debacle at Carmona extinguished the threat of direct Abbasid expansion into al-Andalus, leaving both Cordoba and Baghdad preoccupied with domestic challenges. Upon hearing the news of the defeat and the death of his commander, al-Mansur reportedly remarked:[8]
We all belong to God. We sent this miserable man to his death. Praise be to God who has put the sea between me and this devil.
References
- 1 2 Manzano Moreno 1998, p. 85–114.
- 1 2 3 Collins 1989, pp. 135–136.
- ↑ Kennedy 2014, p. 34.
- 1 2 3 Flood 2018, p. 24.
- 1 2 3 Venning 2017.
- ↑ Brill 1993, p. 829.
- 1 2 Kennedy 2014, pp. 34–35.
- ↑ Kennedy 2014, p. 35.
Sources
- Kennedy, Hugh (2014). Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of al-Andalus. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-87041-8.
- Flood, Timothy M. (2018). Rulers and Realms in Medieval Iberia, 711–1492. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-7471-1.
- Venning, Timothy (2017). A Chronology of Early Medieval Western Europe: 450–1066. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-58916-1.
- Brill, ed. (1993). First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913–1936. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-09796-4.
- Collins, Roger (1989). The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710–797. Blackwell. ISBN 9780631194057.
- Manzano Moreno, Eduardo (1998). Marín, Manuela (ed.). The Settlement and Organisation of the Syrian Junds in Al-Andalus. Routledge. pp. 85–114. ISBN 978-0-86078-708-2.