 In late 744, in the turmoil following the death of the Umayyad caliph, Hisham, Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib assembled a small force in Tunis and declared himself emir of Ifriqiya.Although urged to quash the usurper, the Ifriqiyan governor Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi decided it was best to avoid bloodshed and consented to return to Damascus in February 745, rather than put up a fight.Nonetheless, on hearing of the governor's departure, Handhala ibn Safwan laid a curse on the usurper