Ibrahim Bin Al-Aghlab: Charisma And Contibutions Towards The Aghlabids Dynasty

Abstract

This article discusses historical biography of one prominent Islamic leader figure from the Aghlabids reign namely Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab. He fouded the dynasty in the year 184A.H./800A.D. in Tunis after having been granted autonomy from the ‘Abbasid ruler to govern and manage his own country. This study aims to investigate the background of Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab and analyses his charisma and contributions of in ensuring the strength and stability of his sovereignty. To achieve the outline objectives, this qualitative study employs literature review to analyse the data. The finding of this study reveals Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab as a competence figure in leadership which led the Abbasid Caliph, Harun al-Rashid to allow him to set up his own sovereign power of Aghlabids dynasty in Tunis. Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab had gained the trust and confidence from the caliph himself in light of the former’s success in defeating the insurgencies from the Idrisids rule and Kharijite of Ifriqiyyah. As such, his prowess as a war commander was not only feared but respected as well by the enemies, particularly the Byzantine.

Keywords: Ibrahim bin al-AghlabIslamic leaderthe Aghlabids dynastyIfriqiyyah,‘Abbasid ruler

Introduction

The Aghlabids dynasty was a small sovereign country tucked in the North of Africa, known at present day as Tunisia. The dynasty was established in 184-296H/800-900M at the time of the ‘Abbasid dynasty but was conferred autonomy status away from the domain of the administration of the empire. Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab, the founder of the small sovereign is of the Bani Tamim clan, hailed from Khurasan was also a notable Islamic warrior fighting for the empire. The Aghlabids dynasty managed to conquer Ifriqiyyah and established Qayrawan as the new capital for Ifriqiyyah. This city was of a vital importance as an administration centre as well as centre for socio-economic development.

The majority of the writings produced by the previous and contemporary scholars emphasize on the founder of the kingdom, the history of the establishment and the development of the Aghlabids dynasty and the territories that had been conquered in general. The work of Ibn al-Athir (1998), Kitab al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh is the main source regarding the history of the Aghlabids dynasty. This primary source contains important information on the establishment of the dynasty itself, the expansion of the territories and the administration of the government. The author, however fails to emphasis in respect of the charisma and inherent characters of Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab. This is particularly so because he concentrates on the information regarding historical facts of the Islamic kingdom, the history of certain places, and he is not writing on detailed personal biography and characters of the said Islamic ruler.

Ibn ‘Idhari (2009), in his book al-Bayan al-Mughrib fi Akhbar Muluk al-Andalus wa al-Maghrib describe in detail about the political affairs of the Aghlabids dynasty in administering and managing the territories they have conquered. Despite many successful conquests the government was forced to face numerous rebellions from the local insurgents from each captive territory. However, this book fails to show a detailed description of Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab’s background and provides little information about his characters and leadership.

One of the earliest and famous historians, al-Baladhuri (1991) in his book Futuh al-Buldan presents information on the conquest of the territories by Islamic governments, the geography of the region successfully conquered and Islamic figure instrumental to the expansion of the Islamic colonies and the ongoing wars. However, this book is very concise and does not touch on Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab who made the city of Qayrawan as the capital of the Aghlabids dynasty. Meanwhile, a book entitled A History of Islamic Sicily penned by Ahmad (1975) revolving around the development of Islamic knowledge. Flocks of scholars were brought in from Qayrawan to teach fiqh and at the same time set up the school of Maliki. This book gives information about the establishment of the Aghlabids dynasty and not writing in detail on the background and characters of the figure who established the government.

In his book, The New Islamic Dynasties: Chronological and Genealogical Manual , Bosworth (2004) discusses on Islamic sovereigns which managed their own territories. Unfortunately, this book is silent on the information directed to the biography of Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab as well as prove of his characters and leadership. The study on a journal authored by Takayama (1992) states a list of governors appointed during the Aghlabids reign who consisted of army commanders and government officials (they use the title of guardian or sahib), and there were even Amirs of the Aghlabids dynasty who directly ministered Sicily without appointing a governor. However, the author fails to provide the necessary information with regards to the biography and characters of Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab and his contributions to the prominence of his kingdom.

The resulting writing shows the importance of the war figure, Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab in enlivening the Islamic civilization at that point. Therefore, this article is very important and appropriate as an added value to the existing information regarding the Islamic history and civilization. Although Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab is the founder of a small kingdom but his charisma and personality as well as his contributions to Islamic civilization had a big impact on the Islamic world and the west.

Problem Statement

A few great civilizations bore its origin from Islam and with them came numerous figures worth mentioning who fought for the greatness of Islam irrespective of localities and enemies and at the expense of their own lives. These selfless individuals are more often that they were not coming from a line of scholars but they are war lords who were more than willing to sacrifice their own lives for a greater cause of spreading the message of peace that Islam offers. However, these noble individuals are often unsung, leaving little to no recognition at all from the latter ummah in particular and much less generally from the world at large. The glory and excellence of the Aghlabids dynasty in developing and expanding their influence relies heavily on the Amirs who led the government. In the fold of Islamic civilization, Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab is among the great leaders who have left a remarkable imprint in history for being a distinguished leader in politics, economy, social, military and cultural development of Muslims and non-Muslims in the territory of Ifriqiyyah that of which were revered by friends and foes alike. Yet his charisma and personality as well as his contributions to Islamic civilization, particularly to the Aghlabids dynasty are not much being highlighted by the scholars. Therefore, there needs to introduce the charisma and prominence of Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab. This research tries to establish and prove the special background of Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab that launch him to be distinguished and significant Islamic ruler of the Aghlabids dynasty.

Research Questions

This article is expected to answer the following questions:

• Who is Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab and what are the charisma belongs to him?

• What are the contributions of Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab towards the development of the Aghlabids dynasty?

Purpose of the Study

This article aims:

• To investigate the background of Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab and to analyse his charisma.

• To analyse the contributions of Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab towards the development of the Aghlabids dynasty.

Research Methods

This research is a qualitative study that enables the researcher to explore, analyse and gain a deep understanding of the studied subject. Qualitative assessment methods are selected because this assessment does not involve measurement and statistical techniques and the findings also do not pass through statistical procedures or quantitative methods. This qualitative study uses full library research method. All the data and information in this research are compiled from the materials on biography and characters of Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab and his contributions towards the glory of the Aghlabids dynasty. This assessment requires the researchers to procure materials from the primary and secondary references in the library to collect data. All the information acquired is mainly used to support, enhance and deepen the researchers’ knowledge so that the understanding and appreciation of the research title can be well-mastered. The materials obtained are of varied medium of instructions such as Malay, English and Arabic.

Findings

The findings of the study are as follows:

Conclusion

Indeed, the charisma of Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab has proven when he succeeded to reign a small dynasty whose population was barbaric while he was an Arab. His sovereign has had a profound effect on Muslims around Tunis and non-Muslims on the European side. It was his idea that the futuhat Islamiyyah on the Sicily island in southern Italy began. Great contributions have been done by Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab in ensuring that the Aghlabids dynasty can last longer and be able to develop from various aspects of life. Thus, the charisma of Ibrahim bin al-Aghlab reveals him as a cunning political leader who can influence the ‘Abbasid Caliph, Harun al-Rashid to allow him set up the Aghlabids dynasty with their own autonomouns powers.

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia under post-doctorate scheme.

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