Al-Kahina was the Arab name used for a Berber woman who led the Djarawa in the Aures mountains. She assembled Zanata groups after the defeat of Kusayla and opposed the extension of Arab authority across the Maghrib. Her leadership represented a major phase of Berber resistance after the Arab conquest had already eliminated much Byzantine control in Ifriqiya.

Expecting Hassan ibn al-Numan to use Baghaya as a base for attacking the Aures, al-Kahina occupied the town and blocked the route into the interior. Hassan advanced to Miskiana and attacked in 696, but the Djarawa counterattack forced the Arab army to retreat, leaving casualties and prisoners. Al-Kahina then withdrew into the mountains rather than immediately advancing on Kairouan.

Al-Kahina adopted a scorched-earth policy, ordering the destruction of standing crops between the Aures and Ifriqiya because she believed the Arabs were interested primarily in plunder. The policy alienated sedentary communities, which later appealed to Hassan for help. After reinforcements arrived, Hassan returned with an army strengthened by Berber contingents and defeated al-Kahina in 701, killing her and routing her followers.

The settlement that followed tied military service to amnesty. The Aures Berbers supplied 12,000 men to Hassan's army, and the defeated queen's two sons were placed in command of them. The passage states that these fighting men, including the two princes, adopted Islam, linking the defeat of al-Kahina to the subsequent integration of Berber forces into the Arab conquest.