Ismail ibn Abd Allah ibn Abi al-Muhajir
Ismail ibn Abd Allah ibn Abi al-Muhajir[1] (Arabic: إسماعيل بن عبدالله بن أبي المهاجر) or Ismail ibn Ubayd Allah (Arabic: إسماعيل بن عبيد الله) was an Umayyad governor of Ifriqiya (North Africa) from 718 to 720.
Ismail ibn Abd Allah ibn Abu al-Muhajir (or al-Muhajjar) was from a client tribe of the Quraysh and ostensibly a grandson of Abu al-Muhajir (a former governor of Ifriqiya).
In 718, Ismail ibn Abd Allah was appointed by Caliph Umar ibn AbdulAziz or Umar II to replace his predecessor's appointee, the unpopular Muhammad ibn Yazid. Ismail was one of the new crop of Umar II's competent governors, with instructions to improve the Kairouan administration and pursue the integration of non-Arab Muslims into the empire, rather than treat them as conquered peoples. As such, Ismail encouraged conversions among the Berbers of North Africa and curbed the abuses of the Arab military caste. Ismail adhered to Islamic law and eliminated extraordinary taxes and slave-tributes on Berber populations. He is credited for completing the conversion of the Berber population to Islam.[2]
In a curious note, Ismail ibn Abd Allah was the first and only Umayyad governor of Ifriqiya who was not given supervisory authority over Iberia (al-Andalus). In an unusual step, Caliph Umar II decided to appoint Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani as the governor of al-Andalus directly, and made him directly answerable to Damascus, rather than going through Kairouan.
Ismail ibn Abd Allah's tenure was competent but short. He was relieved of his post in 720 by Umar II's successor, Caliph Yazid II and replaced by the dubious Yazid ibn Abi Muslim as governor in Kairouan.
| Preceded by Muhammad ibn Yazid |
Governor of Ifriqiya 718–720 |
Succeeded by Yazid ibn Abi Muslim |
References
- as reported in Ibn Khaldun, Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique, 1852 trans., Algiers, Vol. 1 p.356. Ibn Abd al-Hakam reports his name as Ismail ibn Obeid Allah
- Ibn Khaldun, ibid.