Battle of El Jem


The Battle of El Jem was a military engagement fought between the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate and the Berbers of Kingdom of the Aurès. The battle took place near Amphitheatre of El Jem, Tunisia, in 703. The battle resulted in a major victory for the Umayyads and the end of organized Berber resistance to the caliphate.

Background

During the late 7th century, forces of the Arab-dominated Umayyad Caliphate conducted a decades-long conquest of the Maghreb, then under the nominal control of the Byzantine Empire. One major obstacle to the invasion was Dihya, the Berber queen of Aurés who had fought against the Muslim advance into Maghreb. In 698, she won a victory against the Umayyads at the Battle of Meskiana, temporarily halting Hassan ibn al-Nu'man's campaign to conquer Maghreb.
After the battle, Hassan fled to Cyrenaica, and settled there at the orders of Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, he remained there for 5 years, until in 703, the supplying with 40,000 soldiers and so much money had come, and citizens from Ifriqiya had resorted asking for help and protection from Dihya's scorched earth campaign, and after re-assurance from Khalid ibn Yazid, the muslim captive and informer in Dihya's captivity, and her son by adoption, Hassan decided to move.

Battle

Before entering, Hassan sent Hilal ibn Tharwan al-Liwati to raid. Whe he entered Ifriqiya, he was obeyed and supported by the locals who hated Dihya, and Gabes, Gafsa, and all Djerid pledged alligance to him.
When she heard of his arrival, Dihya gathered many Berber tribes to resist the new invasion, she fortified herself in Amphitheatre of El Jem. In the night, Dihya saw a vision that she will be killed, so she sent her two sons with her adoptive son Khalid ibn Ziyad, to the Islamic camp, were they converted to Islam and were kept in the camp, while Khalid took leadership of the cavalry. in Ramadan/September-October 703, the battle started, it was described as "fierce", Dihya went out with her hair loose to fight, The fighting became so intense that people thought it was annihilation, but it ended with, a victory for the Muslim Umayyads, the fled of Dihya, and the end of organized Berber resistance to the Islamic invasion.

Aftermath

Dihya fled the battle, she was chased by Hassan until he cought her and killed her in Bir al-Kahina, in Aurès. Other sources claime she was killed in Tabarka.
After the battle, the Berbers who fought with Dihya asked for safety, so Hassan granted them safety on the condition that they give the Muslims 12,000 soldiers from their tribes to fight and conquer the country and prove their loyalty to the Caliphate. This was done, and Hassan divided the Berber forces between Dihya’s two sons, each giving 6,000 soldiers. They then set out to lead the conquests and fight the Christian Romans and Non-Muslim Berbers. Islam spread among the Berbers. And after this great victory, Hassan returned to Kairouan.