Nasr al-Din

Awbak ibn Ashfaga was an austere Islamic jurist of the Zawaya scholarly tribes of the Trarza. In 1644, taking the title *Imam Nasr al-Din* (Defender of the Faith), he launched a widespread social and religious revolution against the predatory cattle raiding and extortions of the militarized Hassan warriors (Banu Maqil).

He established an egalitarian commonwealth based on strict Quranic taxation, universal schooling, and agricultural protection for ordinary villagers along the Senegal River valley. He fell heroically in combat at the Battle of Hassi Trit in 1674, becoming a legendary folk hero of Mauritanian justice.