Ahmad ibn Umar

Ahmad ibn Umar ibn Shu'ayb (Arabic: أحمد بن عمر بن شعيب‎) was the seventh Emir of Crete, reigning from c. 925–940.

The surviving records on the internal history and rulers of the Emirate of Crete are very fragmentary. He is tentatively identified as a son of the third emir, Abu Abdallah Umar, and as the great-grandson of the conqueror of Crete and founder of the emirate, Abu Hafs Umar. He is believed to have reigned from c. 925 to c. 940, succeeding his nephew, Ali ibn Yusuf ibn Umar.[1][2]

During his reign, in the 930s, the Cretans heavily raided the Byzantine territories around the Aegean Sea: attacks are recorded in the Peloponnese, Central Greece, Mount Athos, and the western coast of Asia Minor.[3] This new wave of raids led to the decision of the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII to launch another expedition to recapture Crete. This expedition did not sail until 949, and was a failure.[3]

He was succeeded by his son, Shu'ayb.[2][4]

References

1. Miles 1964, pp. 11–15.
2. Canard 1971, p. 1085.
3. Canard 1971, p. 1084.
4. Miles 1964, p. 13.

Sources

• Canard, M. (1971). "Iḳrīṭis̲h̲". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1082–1086. OCLC 495469525.
• Miles, George C. (1964). Byzantium and the Arabs: Relations in Crete and the Aegean Area. Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 18. pp. 1–32. doi:10.2307/1291204. JSTOR 1291204.