Abd al-Malik ibn Katan al-Fihri

Abd al-Malik ibn Katan al-Fihri (Arabic: عبد الملك بن قطن الفهري‎) was an Arab governor of Al-Andalus during two periods from 732 to 734 and from 740 to 742. Abd al-Malik was a very wealthy member of a noble Arab family. Spurred by critics who decried his lack of military victories, he led an expedition north to Pamplona, where a Frankish or Aquitanian party had taken over after the Battle of Poitiers. Despite his failure to capture the Basque fortress, he left troops to invest it, and decided to continue his way north across the Pyrenees, where he engaged the Basques in skirmishes and was eventually overcome, but managed to escape back to Al-Andalus.

Abd al-Malik ibn Katan al-Fihri

Abd al-Malik ibn Katan al-Fihri (Arabic: عبد الملك بن قطن الفهري‎) was an Arab governor of Al-Andalus during two periods from 732 to 734 and from 740 to 742. Abd al-Malik was a very wealthy member of a noble Arab family. Spurred by critics who decried his lack of military victories, he led an expedition north to Pamplona, where a Frankish or Aquitanian party had taken over after the Battle of Poitiers. Despite his failure to capture the Basque fortress, he left troops to invest it, and decided to continue his way north across the Pyrenees, where he engaged the Basques in skirmishes and was eventually overcome, but managed to escape back to Al-Andalus.