8th century – 8th century
Maghrib
The movement toward Maghribian independence began when direct Umayyad control weakened after 740. Long-standing tensions over political inequality, taxation, military rewards, and the treatment of Berber converts encouraged Kharidjite opposition. The revolt that began in the western Maghrib in 741 marked the opening of a process that would lead to several independent states.
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The Story
After the battle of Poitiers in 732, the force drawing western Muslim provinces toward Damascus began to weaken. In 740, a contrary process started: provinces moved away from direct central control, creating the conditions for several independent states. Kayrawan had administered a vast area extending from Lebda, east of Tripoli, to Narbonne beyond the Pyrenees, but direct rule from Damascus had lasted only a little more than forty years.
The emerging independence was rooted in the tension between Islamic ideals of fraternity and their uneven political application. Berbers who had converted to Islam and fought for the empire were often denied equal treatment, burdened by discriminatory taxation, excluded from rewards, and assigned less fertile lands in Spain. These policies made Umayyad rule appear incompatible with the principles it claimed to represent.
Kharidjite doctrines supplied a language and organization for resistance. Sufrite and Ibadite communities spread through the Maghrib, while Berbers and Arabs together attacked Umayyad administration. The general uprising beginning in the western Maghrib in 741 therefore represented an Islamic revolt against imperial government and opened the era of Maghribian independence.
8th century – 8th century
Maghrib
The movement toward Maghribian independence began when direct Umayyad control weakened after 740. Long-standing tensions over political inequality, taxation, military rewards, and the treatment of Berber converts encouraged Kharidjite opposition. The revolt that began in the western Maghrib in 741 marked the opening of a process that would lead to several independent states.
Continue exploring
The Story
After the battle of Poitiers in 732, the force drawing western Muslim provinces toward Damascus began to weaken. In 740, a contrary process started: provinces moved away from direct central control, creating the conditions for several independent states. Kayrawan had administered a vast area extending from Lebda, east of Tripoli, to Narbonne beyond the Pyrenees, but direct rule from Damascus had lasted only a little more than forty years.
The emerging independence was rooted in the tension between Islamic ideals of fraternity and their uneven political application. Berbers who had converted to Islam and fought for the empire were often denied equal treatment, burdened by discriminatory taxation, excluded from rewards, and assigned less fertile lands in Spain. These policies made Umayyad rule appear incompatible with the principles it claimed to represent.
Kharidjite doctrines supplied a language and organization for resistance. Sufrite and Ibadite communities spread through the Maghrib, while Berbers and Arabs together attacked Umayyad administration. The general uprising beginning in the western Maghrib in 741 therefore represented an Islamic revolt against imperial government and opened the era of Maghribian independence.
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