The Battle of al-Uqhuwana (Arabic: يوم الأُقْحوَانة, romanized: Yawm al-Uqḥuwāna) was fought at a place east of Lake Tiberias in May 1029 between the Fatimid Caliphate under general Anushtakin al-Dizbari and a coalition of Syrian Bedouin tribes.
Salih was slain and the Mirdasids' quickly lost several strategic towns, while Hassan and the Tayy long retreated from their traditional stomping grounds.
According to the historian Suhayl Zakkar, Salih's protection negatively impacted his relationship with the Fatimids and provided "encouragement and an excuse" for him to oppose the central government.
[7] The pact stipulated the three tribes' division of Syria among themselves, with the Tayy to establish their realm in Palestine as far west as al-Arish on the borders of Egypt, the Kalb in Damascus and the Kilab in the region between Aleppo and Anah on the Euphrates.
As his Bedouin forces wrought much suffering to the inhabitants of Ramla, Hassan initially attempted to convince them of his loyalty to the Fatimid caliph, his dispute being solely with Anushtakin.
[11] Hassan's immediate goal was to secure the release of his administrative aides from their imprisonment in the coastal town of Ascalon, which he achieved through military pressure and fake letters attributed to Caliph al-Zahir.
[12] In the assessment of Thierry Bianquis, had Anushtakin received good troops from Cairo, he would have easily crushed the Tayy, whose reputation for battlefield prowess was poor.
[5] Receiving little to no support from Cairo, either financially or militarily, Anushtakin launched an operation briefly capturing Ramla, before being forced to retreat behind the walls of Ascalon.
[5] By then, the Bedouin uprising had subsided, with the Jarrahids dominating Palestine and the Mirdasids having conquered Aleppo, which became the center of an emirate extending from al-Rahba on the border with Iraq to Sidon on the Mediterranean coast.
In a cynical style, Hassan informed the caliph that he would collect the taxes in Palestine and spend it on his men, precluding the need for a Fatimid governor or troops, while Sinan had entered a similar arrangement with the people of Damascus and Salih was in control of Aleppo, thus "[relieving al-Zahir] of all anxiety concerning the whole of Syria".
According to Bianquis, in Syria, the Fatimid state preferred the smaller and weaker Bedouin principalities to a powerful commander with a large army in control of the region.
[20] Hassan and his Tayyi warriors deserted the field, either as a result of "treachery or cowardice", and their flight was the deciding factor in the Bedouins' subsequent defeat, according to Zakkar.
In quick succession, the Mirdasid-held towns of Sidon, Baalbek, Hisn Ibn Akkar, Homs, and Rafaniyya were abandoned by Salih's governors and restored to Fatimid rule.
[14] For his success against the Bedouins, Anushtakin received the additional titles of al-Amir al-Muzaffar ('the Victorious General'), Sayf al-Khilafa wa 'Uddat al-Imam ('Sword of the Caliphate and Treasure of the Imam'), Mustafa al-Mulk ('Choice of the Realm'), and Muntajab al-Dawla ('the Excellent One of the Dynasty').
[1][24] The Kilab's reputed supremacy in the field was shattered at al-Uqhuwana, and the death and mutilation of Salih was lamented by the Syrian Arab poet al-Ma'arri in verse.