?Abd al-Ra?m?n ibn ?ab?b al-Fihr? ( Arabic : ????????? ?? ???? ?????? ), called al-?iqlab? ( ??????? ), was an Abbasid -appointed governor of al-Andalus (Spain) in the 770s. He was sent from Ifr?qiya to oppose the Umayyad ruler ?Abd al-Ra?m?n I . He landed in Tudm?r and demanded the submission of Sulaym?n ibn Yaq??n al-Kalb? al-A?r?b? , commander of Barcelona . When this was refused, he marched against him and was defeated near Valencia . Shortly afterwards he was assassinated by a Berber . His was the last effort by the Abbasids to assert their rule in al-Andalus. ^[1]

Ibn ?ab?b was a member of the Fihrid family , which was prominent in Ifr?qiya. A Fihrid, Y?suf ibn ?Abd al-Ra?m?n al-Fihr? , was the governor of al-Andalus deposed by ?Abd al-Ra?m?n I in 756. ^[2] According to some modern historians, Ibn ?ab?b was also related by marriage to Y?suf, but this is not supported by any primary source. ^[3] Ibn ?ab?b's nickname, al-?iqlab? , literally means "the Slav ", but according to Ibn ?Idh?r? it was given to him not on account of his origins but because of his tall height, fair complexion and blue eyes. ^[3]

The region of Tudm?r in southeastern Spain, which Ibn ?ab?b made his base of operations, was originally an autonomous Christian tributary under Theodemir , who gave his name to the region. It was still under the rule of Theodemir's son Athanagild as late as 754. Ibn ?ab?b's decision to target Barcelona when the centre of Umayyad power, Cordoba , lay closer to Tudm?r is difficult to explain. Possibly Ibn ?ab?b believed there was more support for the Abbasids among the Yemenis of the northeast and hoped by his challenge to Ibn al-A?r?b? to draw them to his following. The 11th-century Collection of Anecdotes on the Conquest of al-Andalus places Ibn ?ab?b's arrival shortly after ?Abd al-Ra?m?n I had defeated a Yemeni rebellion in Seville , so perhaps he judged that his base of support near Cordoba had been too weakened for an immediate attack on the centre. ^[1]

The Arabic sources are inconsistent in dating Ibn ?ab?b's arrival in Spain. The Collection of Anecdotes placed it around 775, but Ibn al-Ath?r writing in the 13th century placed it in 778. Collating the Arabic and Latin sources, Roger Collins places it in the early 770s. ^[1] Antonio Ubieto Arteta, accepts a date of 161 AH , which fell between 9 October 777 and 27 September 778. ^[4] Pierre Guichard, basing his conclusion on Ibn al-Ath?r and al-?Udhr? , places Ibn ?ab?b's arrival in 161 (777). Guichard believes he held out in Tudm?r for several months before being forced to hide out in "the mountains of the land of Valencia" until his assassination in 163 (779). ^[2]

According to the Collection of Anecdotes , the Berber who assassinated him, S?a??n, had ingratiated himself with Ibn ?ab?b for just that purpose. Having killed him, he led the pro-Abbasid cavalry over to ?Abd al-Ra?m?n I. ^[5]

Some modern historians have linked Ibn ?ab?b to the embassy sent by al-A?r?b? of Barcelona and ?usayn of Zaragoza to Charlemagne , king of the Franks , in 777. This search for an alliance abroad against ?Abd al-Ra?m?n I precipitated the Frankish campaign that ended in disaster at the battle of Roncevaux Pass . Ibn ?ab?b's involvement, however, is chronologically impossible as well as incongruous with al-A?r?b?'s cool reception to Ibn ?ab?b's overtures. ^[3]

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