Musa ibn Musa al-Qasawi: ruler of a semi-autonomous principality

Musa ibn Musa al-Qasawi, ruler of a semi-autonomous principality in the upper Ebro valley in northern Iberia, died 26 September 862. The early years of Musa are obscure, although he is presumed to have supported the Basques against the Franks in the Second Battle of Ronceveaux, a battle generally credited as giving birth to the nascent Kingdom of Pamplona. In 839, his son Furtun ibn Musa led a campaign that resulted in a rout of the 'king of the Gallaecians', 'Loderik' or 'Luzriq' and he leveled the defenses of Álava.

It is in 840/41 that we first hear of Musa ibn Musa himself. His rebellion came in response to attacks on the lands of his half-brother, Íñigo Arista, and the expulsion of kinsman Abd al-Jabbar al-Qasawi by the brothers Abd Allah and Amir ibn Kalayb, governors respectively of Zaragoza and Tudela. This led to a reprisal campaign under the leadership of the emir's son, Mutarrif, and general Abd al-Wahid ibn Yazid Iskandarani.

In 842, Musa was in charge of the vanguard of the emir's army marching against Cerdanya, but believing himself mistreated by the commanding general, Musa again rebelled and along with his nephew, García Íñiguez of Pamplona, defeated a Cordoban army. Musa ibn Musa and Íñigo again joined forces to ambush and capture one of Abd ar-Rahman's commanders in 843, al-Harit, but the consequence was a massive military response from Córdoba, led by the Emir in person, resulting in the defeat of the allies and the taking of slaves in the vicinity of Pamplona.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons