ÿAbd al-RaḥmÃÂn ibn Ḥabëb al-Fihrë (), called al-á¹¢iqlabë (), was an Abbasid-appointed governor of al-Andalus (Spain) in the 770s. He was sent from Ifrëqiya to oppose the Umayyad ruler ÿAbd al-RaḥmÃÂn I. He landed in and demanded the submission of SulaymÃÂn ibn YaqáºÂÃÂn al-Kalbë al-AÿrÃÂbë, commander of Barcelona. When this was refused, he marched against him and was defeated near Valencia. Shortly afterwards he was assassinated by a Berber. His was the last effort by the Abbasids to assert their rule in al-Andalus.
Ibn Ḥabëb was a member of the Fihrid family, which was prominent in Ifrëqiya. A Fihrid, Yà «suf ibn ÿAbd al-RaḥmÃÂn al-Fihrë, was the governor of al-Andalus deposed by ÿAbd al-RaḥmÃÂn I in 756. According to some modern historians, Ibn Ḥabëb was also related by marriage to Yà «suf, but this is not supported by any primary source. Ibn Ḥabëb's nickname, al-á¹¢iqlabë, literally means "the Slav", but according to Ibn ÿIdhÃÂrë it was given to him not on account of his origins but because of his tall height, fair complexion and blue eyes.
The region of Tudmër in southeastern Spain, which Ibn Ḥabëb made his base of operations, was originally an autonomous Christian tributary under Theodemir, who gave his name to the region. It was still under the rule of Theodemir's son Athanagild as late as 754. Ibn Ḥabëb's decision to target Barcelona when the centre of Umayyad power, Córdoba, lay closer to Tudmër is difficult to explain. Possibly Ibn Ḥabëb believed there was more support for the Abbasids among the Yemenis of the northeast and hoped by his challenge to Ibn al-AÿrÃÂbë to draw them to his following. The 11th-century Collection of Anecdotes on the Conquest of al-Andalus places Ibn Ḥabëb's arrival shortly after ÿAbd al-RaḥmÃÂn I had defeated a Yemeni rebellion in Seville, so perhaps he judged that his base of support near Córdoba had been too weakened for an immediate attack on the centre.
The Arabic sources are inconsistent in dating Ibn Ḥabëb's arrival in Spain. The Collection of Anecdotes placed it around 775, but Ibn al-Athër writing in the 13th century placed it in 778. Collating the Arabic and Latin sources, Roger Collins places it in the early 770s. Antonio Ubieto Arteta, accepts a date of 161 AH, which fell between 9 October 777 and 27 September 778. Pierre Guichard, basing his conclusion on Ibn al-Athër and al-ÿUdhrë, places Ibn Ḥabëb's arrival in 161 (777). Guichard believes he held out in Tudmër for several months before being forced to hide out in "the mountains of the land of Valencia" until his assassination in 163 (779).
According to the Collection of Anecdotes, the Berber who assassinated him, SḥaÿÃÂn, had ingratiated himself with Ibn Ḥabëb for just that purpose. Having killed him, he led the pro-Abbasid cavalry over to ÿAbd al-RaḥmÃÂn I.
Some modern historians have linked Ibn Ḥabëb to the embassy sent by SulaymÃÂn al-AÿrÃÂbë of Barcelona and Ḥusayn of Zaragoza to Charlemagne, king of the Franks, in 777. This search for an alliance abroad against ÿAbd al-RaḥmÃÂn I precipitated the Frankish campaign that ended in disaster at the battle of Roncevaux Pass. Ibn Ḥabëb's involvement, however, is chronologically impossible as well as incongruous with al-AÿrÃÂbë's cool reception to Ibn Ḥabëb's overtures.