Ghālib ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Nāṣirī (c. 900 – 10 July 981), called al-Ṣiḳlabī, was a military commander in the ʿUmayyad caliphate of Córdoba, serving the caliphs ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III al-Nāṣir, al-Ḥakam II and Hishām II on both land and sea. For his military prowess, he was granted the honorific Dhu ʾl-Sayfayn (Lord of the Two Swords).
Ghālib's rise coincides with the retirement of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III from active military command following his defeat at the Battle of Simancas in 939. In the 940s, Ghālib consolidated ʿUmayyad control over Toledo and Medinaceli. In the 950s, he led a series of razzias into Christian territory to the north, bringing back booty and prisoners. In 955, he led a punitive naval expedition against the Fāṭimid Caliphate.
Under al-Ḥakam II, who withdrew into the palace, Ghālib became the public face of the caliphate. His departure on campaign and his return to Córdoba were celebrated with pomp and he was regarded by contemporaries as a hero. He continued to lead campaigns north into Christian territory throughout the 960s and 970s. He also led the defence against the Vikings in 971–72. His most important feat, however, was to bring the Idrīsid dynasty in North Africa back under ʿUmayyad control in 973.
In his final year, Ghālib became embroiled in a civil war with his own son-in-law, Ibn Abī ʿĀmir (Almanzor). Forced to ally with his former Christian enemies, Ghālib was defeated and killed in a pitched battle. His death marks the culmination of the rise of Ibn Abī ʿĀmir to a position of supremacy within the caliphate.
Origins
Ghālib was originally a Ṣiḳlabī, a slave of eastern European, probably Slavic, origin from a Christian family. He was owned, and later freed, by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III, becoming a mawlā (freedman) and, as per custom, taking his former owner's name as his patronymic surname, becoming ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Nāṣirī.
Although many slaves destined for the palace or for provincial administration were castrated, Ghālib was not.
Middle March
In 946, Ghālib was placed in charge of the Middle March. In this capacity, according to al-Maḳḳarī, a late source, he rebuilt the castle of Medinaceli (Madīnat Sālim) and used it as a base to harass the Christian kingdom of León. In 953, he attacked the Leonese county of Castile, bringing back many prisoners and much booty, but the border remained unchanged.
In 954, a Sicilian fleet under the orders of the Fāṭimid caliph al-Muʿizz sacked the ʿUmayyad city of Almería. The next year (955), Ghālib led a punitive naval raid on the coast of Fāṭimid Ifrīḳiya (Africa). This expedition failed, but in 956 a second expedition with seventy ships captured and razed Marsā al-Kharaz and plundered Ṭabarḳa and Sūsa.
In 960, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III restored the deposed Sancho I to the Leonese throne in exchange for ten border fortresses. This condition had not been fulfilled when the caliph died in October 961. Sancho's rival, Ordoño IV, had fled to the Count Fernán González of Castile, who, in obedience to the treaty between his sovereign, now Sancho, and the caliphate, sent him as a prisoner to Ghālib at Medinaceli, who passed him along to Córdoba. There he was interviewed by the new caliph, al-Ḥakam II, in April 962 and agreed to uphold Sancho's deal if the caliph would restore him to the throne. Before this new agreement could be put into effect, Sancho I renewed his promise to hand over the ten fortresses. Following the death of Ordoño IV shortly after, Sancho reneged. He then allied with the Kingdom of Navarre and the County of Barcelona to attack the caliphate. Al-Ḥakam II then personally led an army to the border in the summer of 963, seizing the fortresses of Gormaz and Atienza while Ghālib and Yaḥyā ibn Muḥammad al-Tujībī, the governor of Zaragoza, led a two-pronged attack on Navarre. Ghālib captured Calahorra from the Navarrese and al-Tujībī defeated their king, García Sánchez I, in battle.