WÃÂá¸Âiḥ al-á¹¢iqlabë (; died November 1011) was a Saqaliba general of the late Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba. He served as governor of the Middle March and as the ḥÃÂjib, effectively prime minister, of the caliphs Muḥammad II (1010) and HishÃÂm II (1010âÂÂ1011). He played a major role in the opening of the final fitna (civil war) of Córdoba.
WÃÂá¸Âiḥ, a Slav, was the governor of the Middle March with his capital at Medinaceli from at least the 990s. In 997, the leader of the MaghrÃÂwa Berber tribe in Africa, Zërë ibn ÿAá¹Âëya, renounced his allegiance to Córdoba. In response, al-Maná¹£à «r, the de facto ruler of the Caliphate, dispatched WÃÂá¸Âiḥ to Africa at the head of a large army in 998 to expand the Umayyad beachhead there, which at the time consisted only of Ceuta. He later sent his son, ÿAbd al-Malik, to assist WÃÂá¸Âiḥ. Together they defeated Zërë, captured Fez and established an Umayyad administration over all of Morocco, which lasted until the death of al-Maná¹£à «r in 1002.
After the forced abdication of Caliph HishÃÂm II in February 1009, WÃÂá¸Âiḥ supported the new caliph, Muḥammad II al-Mahdë. When Muḥammad alienated the Berbers in the army, many withdrew from the city of Córdoba north towards Calatrava, proclaiming as their caliph SulaymÃÂn ibn al-Ḥakam. They approached WÃÂá¸Âiḥ to lead them, but were rebuffed. Count Sancho GarcÃÂa of Castile, however, accepted their offer and the combined CastilianâÂÂBerber army marched on Córdoba. After interfering with but failing to stop their advance, WÃÂá¸Âiḥ retreated to Córdoba. In November 1009, the city fell. Muḥammad and WÃÂá¸Âiḥ escaped to Toledo, while the Berbers installed SulaymÃÂn as caliph.
Having failed to prevent the enthronement of SulaymÃÂn, WÃÂá¸Âiḥ sought to extricate himself from politics. He went to Tortosa and from there sent a letter to SulaymÃÂn, begging to be relieved of his post so he could go to Lorca and devote himself to God, probably in a ribÃÂá¹Â. He was refused, and began working for Muḥammad's restoration. He secured the allegiance of some of the á¹¢aqÃÂliba in the east. He negotiated an alliance with the Frankish counts Ramon Borrell of Barcelona and Ermengol I of Urgell. Each count received 200 dënÃÂrs and together they supplied 9,000 soldiers, to be paid two dënÃÂrs a day. The Frankish army joined with WÃÂá¸Âiḥ's at Toledo and together they marched towards Córdoba. The Berber army of SulaymÃÂn marched out to meet them. At ÿAqabat al-Baqar in May 1010, WÃÂá¸Âiḥ and the Franks won a major victory and advanced to the capital. WÃÂá¸Âiḥ was appointed ḥÃÂjib. On 21 June, however, the combined army was defeated at the battle of Marbella, after which the remaining Frankish contingent left for home.
Returning to Córdoba after his defeat, WÃÂá¸Âiḥ staged a coup d'état with the support of other officers who had once served al-Maná¹£à «r. He had Muḥammad, now extremely unpopular in the capital, arrested, tried and executed on 23 June 1010. He sent his head to the Berbers and had his body thrown into a sewer. HishÃÂm II was reinstated, and immediately re-appointed WÃÂá¸Âiḥ ḥÃÂjib. Unimpressed by the head of Muḥammad, SulaymÃÂn and the Berbers laid siege to the city. WÃÂá¸Âiḥ tried sending messengers to make terms with the besiegers, but they were intercepted. He was captured by his own allies while trying to flee Córdoba in November 1011 and killed.