Isma'il ibn Yusuf ibn Ibrahim ibn Abdallah ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib was a

Hasanid The Ḥasanids ( ar, بنو حسن, Banū Ḥasan or , ) are the descendants of Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī, brother of Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī and grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. They are a branch of the Alids (the descendants of ʿAlī ibn Abī ...

Alid The Alids are those who claim descent from the '' rāshidūn'' caliph and Imam ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661)—cousin, son-in-law, and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad—through all his wives. The main branches are the (inc ...

who rose in revolt against the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

in the

Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...

in 865–866, during the Anarchy at Samarra. The uprising began in

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

in April 865, when Isma'il and his supporters forced the local Abbasid governor, Ja'far ibn al-Fadl ibn Isa ibn Musa, to flee the city. The resistance of the local garrison was overcome. Isma'il then proceeded to plunder the city, even removing the valuable objects from the Ka'aba and emptying the treasury of money and valuables, as well as extorting 200,000 gold dinars from the inhabitants. The motives for his rebellion are not clear, but may be connected to the renewed persecution of the Alids under the Abbasid caliphs from

al-Mutawakkil Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Muʿtaṣim bi-ʾllāh ( ar, جعفر بن محمد المعتصم بالله; March 822 – 11 December 861), better known by his regnal name Al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (, "He who relies on God") was t ...

's reign onward. After fifty days he left for

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

, but although the governor of the latter made no attempt to resist and went into hiding, Isma'il returned to Mecca and laid siege to it. As the siege dragged on, famine spread in Mecca, and a lot of its inhabitants died; after 57 days, the Alid left Mecca and made for

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

. There he repeated his exactions, confiscating wealth, merchandise, and food. In January 866, on the

Day of Arafah The Day of Arafah ( ar, يوم عرفة, Yawm 'Arafah) is an Islamic holiday that falls on the 9th day of Dhu al-Hijjah of the lunar Islamic Calendar. It is the second day of both the Hajj pilgrimage and the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha. At d ...

, he attacked the

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

pilgrims and their accompanying Abbasid military escort, sent by Caliph al-Mu'tazz. After killing some 1100 pilgrims, the rest fled into Mecca, and did not dare exit the city, while Isma'il returned to Jeddah unmolested. He died in March/April 866 of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

. Isma'il's brother Muhammad succeeded him, but in the event he was pushed by Abbasid forces into the Yamama region in central Arabia, where he founded the

Ukhaydhir dynasty The Banu 'l-Ukhaidhir ( ar, بنو الأخيضر), informally as Ukhaydhirites, was an Arab dynasty that ruled in Najd and al-Yamamah (central Arabia) from 867 to at least the mid-eleventh century. An Alid dynasty, they were descendants of Muhamm ...

References

Sources

* * * {{Hajj incidents, state=collapsed 866 deaths 9th-century Arab people 9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate Hasanids Hejaz under the Abbasid Caliphate Incidents during the Hajj 9th-century rebels Rebels from the Abbasid Caliphate