813–833).[1] He himself embarked on a similar career, and early in the reign of al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) he is mentioned as serving as governor of Barqah in North Africa. During his administration of that province he was faced with an uprising by a group of Berbers and tribal Arabs, which remained unsubdued until al-Wathiq dispatched the army commander Raja ibn Ayyub al-Hidari to pacify the region.[2]