Abd Al-Aziz Ibn Musa - Assassination and Al-Andalus After

Assassination and Al-Andalus After

Sources differ on the year, but ‘Abd al-Aziz Ibn Musa ibn Nusayr was assassinated by Ziyad ibn ‘Udhra al-Balawi on order of the Caliph Sulayman. However, Ibn Khaldun reports the order was received and carried out by Habib ibn Abi Obeida al-Fihri The caliph feared that he wanted to establish his own personal monarchy in Al-Andalus, separate from the Umayyad caliphate based in Damascus. Dates of his assassination vary between the years 715, 716, or 718 . ‘Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa was beheaded in the monastery of Santa Rufina, used during the time as a mosque. After his death, ‘Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa’s head was brought to Damascus and displayed publicly to an audience where the caliph knew that his father, Ibn Musa ibn Nusayr, was in attendance. ‘Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr was succeeded by his cousin, Ayyub ibn Habib al-Lakhmi, who is thought to have played a role in his assassination. His tenure as governor did not last long and for a period of forty years following his assassination, Al-Andalus was filled with chaos and turmoil. Rival Arab factions continuously fought to gain power, and also to expand Islamic control in the area. Governors were appointed or chosen, but there were often deposed by rival groups or by the Umayyad caliph in Damascus. This pattern continued until 756, when an Umayyad emirate was established in Córdoba. Islamic power remained in the region until 1492, when Ferdinand and Isabella conquered the Islamic kingdom of Granada.