Battle of Bagdoura The Battle of Bagdoura ( or Baqdura ) was a decisive confrontation in the Berber Revolt in late 741 CE . It was a follow - up to the Battle of the Nobles the previous year , and resulted in a major Berber victory over the Arabs by the Sebou river ( near modern Fes ) . The battle would permanently break the hold of the Umayyad Caliphate over the far western Maghreb ( Morocco ) , and the resulting retreat of elite Syrian forces into Spain would have implications for the stability of al - Andalus . Background . The Berber revolt broke out in early 740 among in western Morocco , in response to the oppressive , unfair ( and , by Islamic law , illegal ) tax collection and slave - tribute policies imposed on Muslim Berbers by Ubayd Allah ibn al - Habhab , governor in Kairouan , Ifriqiya and over all the Maghreb and al - Andalus . The Berber rebellion was inspired by Kharijite activists of the Sufri te sect , who held out the promise of a puritan Islamic order , without ethnic or tribal discrimination , a prospect appealing to the mistreated Berbers . The revolt was begun under the leadership of the Matghara Berber chieftain ( although alleged to be a humble water - carrier ) Maysara al - Matghari . In a few months in 740 , the Berbers successfully seized Tangiers and the whole of western Morocco , down to the Sous valley . But when the Ifriqiyan governor dispatched an Arab vanguard under Khalid ibn Abi Habiba against Tangiers , the Berbers deposed Maysara and placed the rebel army in the hands of a more experienced military commander , the Zenata chieftain Khalid ibn Hamid al - Zanati . Khalid ibn Hamid destroyed the Ifriqiyan army at the Battle of the Nobles in late 740 . The main Ifriqiyan army under Habib ibn Abi Obeida al - Fihri arrived too late to prevent the slaughter of the original army , and could do little more than hold the line around Tlemcen and appeal to Kairouan and Damascus for reinforcements . The Syrian Expedition . Upon hearing the news of the disaster that befell the Ifriqiyan nobles , the Umayyad Caliph Hisham is said to have famously exclaimed " By God , I will most certainly rage against them with an Arab rage , and I will send against them an army whose beginning is where they are and whose end is where I am ! " Hisham dismissed the Ifriqiyan governor Obeid Allah , and appointed Kulthum ibn Iyad al - Qasi as his replacement . Kulthum was to be accompanied by fresh Arab army of 30 , 000 - 10 , 000 Umayyad clients and 20 , 000 tribal forces — raised from the regiments ( " junds " ) of the east . Specifically 6 , 000 men each were to be raised by four main Syrian " junds " of Jund Dimashq ( Damascus ) , Jund Hims ( Homs ) , Jund al - Urdunn ( Jordan ) , and Jund Filastin ( Palestine ) , 3 , 000 from Jund Qinnasrin and an additional 3 , 000 were to be picked up from Egypt . Caliph Hisham designated Kulthum ' s nephew Balj ibn Bishr al - Qushayri as his lieutenant and successor should anything befall him . The Jordanian commander Thalaba ibn Salama al - Amili was designated second successor . The ' Syrian ' army ( as it was called , despite its Egyptian contingent ) set out in early 742 and arrived in Ifriqiya in July – August , 741 . The vanguard Syrian cavalry under Balj ibn Bishr , which had moved ahead of the bulk of the forces , was the first to arrive in Kairouan . Their brief stay was not a happy one . The Syrians arrived in haughty spirits , playing up their role as rescuers of the hapless Ifriqiyans . They received a cool reception by the suspicious Ifriqiyan authorities in Kairouan - it is reported the city ' s gates were closed at Balj ' s approach , and that local officials were quite uncooperative in meeting the requests of the Syrian vanguard . Interpreting this as ingratitude , the frustrated Syrians imposed themselves on the city , requisitioning supplies and billeting troops , with little regard for local authorities or priorities . The citizens of Kairouan immediately wrote to the Ifriqiyan military commander Habib ibn Abi Obeida ( then with the remnant of the Ifriqiyan army , still in the outskirts of Tlemcen ) complaining of the Syrian behavior , and he fired off an heated missive to Kulthum threatening to turn his arms against the Syrians if the abuses in Kairouan did not cease . Kulthum ' s diplomatic reply cooled things down a bit . Moving slower with the bulk of the forces , Kulthum ibn Iyad himself did not himself enter Kairouan , but merely dispatched a message assigning the government of the city to Abd al - Rahman ibn Oqba al - Ghaffari , the qadi of Ifriqiya . Then , collecting the Syrian vanguard , Kulthum hurried along to make junction with the remaining Ifriqiyan forces of Habib ibn Abi Obeida holding ground in the vicinity of Tlemcen . The junction between the African and Syrian forces did not go smoothly . Ifriqiyans were still furious over the news of Syrian misbehavior in Kairouan , and the Syrians still incensed by the ungrateful reception they had received . The heat was turned up when Balj ibn Bishr brought up Habib ' s threatening letter and requested that Kulthum immediately place the Ifriqiyan commander under arrest for treason . In his turn , Habib ibn Abi Obeida threatened to leave the field unless the insufferable Balj and the Syrian commanders apologized and treated the Ifriqiyans with more respect . The quarrel ascended and the armies nearly came to blows . By smooth diplomacy , Kulthum ibn Iyad managed to defuse the situation and hold the armies together , but the mutual resentments would play a role in what followed . The junction made , Kulthum ibn Iyad led the simmering Arab army ( 30 , 000 Syrians and some 40 , 000 Ifriqiyans ) westwards , and descended into the Sebou river valley of central Morocco , where the Berber rebel army had been assembled . The Berber rebel army under the leadership of Khalid ibn Hamid al - Zanati ( possibly jointly with a certain Salim Abu Yusuf al - Azdi ) , some 200 , 000 strong , heavily outnumbered the Arabs . But the Berbers were very poorly equipped , many bearing nothing but stones and knives , with little or no armor , many dressed in only a loin cloth . But they made up for this in knowledge of the terrain , familiarity with Arab arms , excellent morale ( having just cut the cream of the Arab crop the previous year ) and , not to be underestimated , a fanatical Sufri te - inspired religious fervor . The Berbers had their heads shaved in the Sufri Kharijite fashion and tied copies of Qur ' anic scripture to the tips of their lances and spears . The battle . The Arab armies under Kulthum ibn Iyad met the Berber army of Khalid ibn Hamid al - Zanati at Bagdoura ( or Baqdura ) , by the Sebou river in the vicinity of modern Fes . Having fought with and against Berbers before , Habib ibn Abi Obeida and the other Ifriqiyan officers advised the governor Kulthum ibn Iyad against impetuousness . The army should not be tempted to open battle , but should instead entrench itself , and dispatch the cavalry out only to harry . Habib strongly urged Kulthum to fight only " foot against foot , cavalry against cavalry " . But Balj ibn Bishr persuaded his uncle that the Berber rabble could be easily and defeated , and they should set out against it at once . Listening to his nephew , Kulthum ibn Iyad dismissed the Ifriqiyan advice , and the forces were arrayed . Balj was given command of the elite Syrian cavalry while Kulthum remained with the Syrian infantry . Habib ibn Abi Obeida and his Ifriqiyan troops were placed under Umayyad client officers . Certain his superb cavalry could easily handle the ragged Berber foot , Balj ibn Bishr was the first to set out . But the Berbers turned out to be excellent slingers and skirmishers . They swiftly ambushed and dehorsed many of the Syrians ( sometimes by the simple device of throwing a bag full of pebbles at the horses ' s heads ) . To prevent the Arab infantry from stepping up to give their dehorsed comrades support , the Berbers unleashed a stampede of wild mares ( maddened by water bags and leather straps tied to their tails ) straight across the Arab ranks , sowing much confusion . By these rudimentary means , the Arab forces were soon deprived of much of their cavalry , their principal advantage . Regathering the remnant of his cavalry , Balj furiously charged the Berber lines directly . But rather than hold ground , the Berber forces stepped aside to open up a corridor and let the Syrian cavalry through , then closed it again , separating the Arab cavalry away from the Arab foot . While the rearguard held a line to prevent the cavalry returning , the bulk of the Berber army , using its numbers to its advantage , fell upon the Arab infantry . The Ifriqiyan column was the first to be hit . Specially targeted , the chief Ifriqiyan commanders , including Habib ibn Abi Obeida , were quickly slain . Seeing their officers down and not particularly caring to remain with the Syrians , the Ifriqiyan ranks broke up and fell into retreat . Now alone , the Syrian infantry , Kulthum at their head , held ground for a while longer , but Berber numbers soon overwhelmed them . The Arabs were routed . Of the original Arab troops , it is said a third were killed , a third captured and a third escaped . Another account estimates losses at 18 , 000 Syrians and some 20 , 000 Ifriqiyans . Among the dead were the governor Kulthum ibn Iyad al - Qasi and the Ifriqiyan commander Habib ibn Abi Obeida al - Fihri . Aftermath . The remaining Ifriqiyan forces took flight in a scattered manner back towards Kairouan . The remaining Syrian troops ( some 10 , 000 ) , now under the leadership of Kulthum ' s nephew , the cavalry commander Balj ibn Bishr , scrambled up towards the coast , with the Berbers in pursuit . The Syrians barricaded themselves to Ceuta and requested passage across the water to Spain . The wary Andalusian ruler Abd al - Malik ibn Qatan al - Fihri refused at first , but eventually relented and allowed them to cross in early 742 , an event that would have destabilizing repercussions in al - Andalus . No more is heard the Zenata Berber leader Khalid ibn Hamid al - Zanati who delivered the two great victories over the Arab armies . He disappears from the chronicles soon after this battle . The Berber Revolt will continue under other commanders . News of the Berber victory over the Arabs encouraged wider Berber rebellions throughout North Africa and Spain , and even greater Berber armies were assembled by two other commanders , Oqasha ibn Ayub al - Fezari and Abd al - Wahid ibn Yazid al - Hawwari , against Kairouan itself . But the rapid reaction of Egyptian governor Handhala ibn Safwan al - Kalbi prevented them from taking the city . The Berber armies in Ifriqiya were destroyed by Handhala in 742 in two massively bloody battles at El - Qarn and El - Asnam . Nonetheless the Battle of Bagdoura proved decisive . It permanently broke the Arab hold on the Far Maghreb ( Morocco and western Algeria ) . These regions devolved to local Berber rulers and would never be recovered by the eastern Caliphate . It was the first great territorial loss of the Islamic Caliphate , the first Muslim provinces to break away and chart an independent course .