[citation needed] After defeating the Berber rebel armies in al-Andalus in the Spring of 742, relations between the Andalusian governor and the Syrian commanders quickly broke down.
Although the Syrians crushed the Andalusians at the Battle of Aqua Portora outside of Cordoba in August, 742, their commander Balj ibn Bishr died the next day from battlefield wounds.
As his lieutenant and designated successor, Thalaba ibn Salama al-Amili was immediately acclaimed by the Syrian troops as their head, and consequently governor of al-Andalus.
[2] But one early morning, when the besiegers were preparing for a much-anticipated festival, Thalaba launched an unexpected sally out of Mérida, and quickly overwhelmed the siege camp, taking as much as ten thousand prisoners, including many women and children.
Being of the same Arab tribal stock as the Andalusians but with a background in the noble circles of Damascus, Abu al-Khattar was expected to play an even-handed role in the Syrian–Andalusian dispute.