Anbasa ibn Suhaim al-Kalbī

ʿAnbasa ibn Suhaim al-Kalbī ( Arabic عنبسة بن سحيم الكلبي, DMG ʿAnbasa b. Suḥaim al-Kalbī ) was the Muslim governor of Al-Andalus from 721 to 726 .

Appointed in August 721 to succeed Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah al-Gafiqi , Anbasa sent some military expeditions to the south of France (Septimania) during the next three years, but he was unable to take Carcassonne or Nîmes because of his soldiers were more preoccupied with looting the simple unfortified villages rather than besieging the heavily fortified and well-defended cities.

Immediately after his appointment, Anbasa doubled taxes on Christians and confiscated Jewish property. These measures caused widespread displeasure with the new ruler and there were occasional minor riots. In 722, Pelayo , a Visigoth nobleman, refused to publicly pay taxes and dues to the Muslim rulers. He withdrew to the mountains of Asturias , and gathered more allies around him. A Muslim force was sent out to look for Pelayo and his men. This was attacked from ambush at the Battle of Covadonga and destroyed with great loss of life.

The victory over the unloved occupiers quickly made the rounds in Hispania. He also gave rumors that victory was won with the help of God. This caused more and more dissatisfied Christians and Jews to move to the mountains and join Pelayo. Duke Pedro, who ruled Cantabria as a vassal of the Muslims, also joined the rebels in 722. The following year there was an uprising among the Basques, and in 724 Aragón also joined the rebels. In retrospect, these events are considered to be the beginning of the Reconquista , the 770 year long struggle against the Muslim invaders with the aim of liberating Hispania.

With the death of the caliph Yazid II and the successor of his brother, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik , a dynastic struggle arose among the Muslims. Finally, in 725, Anbasa declared the independence of the occupied territories of Spain from the rest of the Umayyad caliphate. He started new campaigns in Septimania and conquered the cities of Narbonne , Carcassonne and Nîmes . Thousands of people fled to the kingdom of the Franks .

In 726, Anbasa returned to attack the Franks, but he died fighting. His successor as governor was Odhrah ibn Abd Allah al-Fihri , who was replaced after a few months by Yahya ibn Sallama al-Kalbi . Yahya recognized the illegality of Anbasa's policies, particularly with regard to the collection of taxes and the illegitimate confiscation of property. He lowered tax rates back to 722 levels and returned illegally confiscated property to its rightful owners.

predecessor	Office	successor
Abd ar-Rahman	Governor of Al-Andalus 721–726	Udhra ibn Abd Allah al-Fihri