Najda ibn Amir al-Hanafi ( ar, نجدة بن عامر الحنفي, Najda ibn ʿĀmir al-Ḥanafī; ) was the head of a breakaway
Kharijite
The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the c ...
state in central and eastern
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
between 685 and his death at the hands of his own partisans. His emergence formed part of the
Second Muslim Civil War
The Second Fitna was a period of general political and military disorder and civil war in the Islamic community during the early Umayyad Caliphate., meaning trial or temptation) occurs in the Qur'an in the sense of test of faith of the believer ...
and the faction he led stood in opposition to the
Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
, which controlled Syria and Egypt, and the caliphate of
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ( ar, عبد الله ابن الزبير ابن العوام, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām; May 624 CE – October/November 692), was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the ...
, which controlled 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 ...
and Iraq.
Early life and career
Najda was born in circa 655 and belonged to the
Banu Hanifa
Banu Hanifa ( ar, بنو حنيفة) is an ancient Arab tribe inhabiting the area of al-Yamama in the central region of modern-day Saudi Arabia. The tribe belongs to the great Rabi'ah branch of North Arabian tribes, which also included Abdu ...
subtribe of the
Banu Bakr
The Banu Bakr bin Wa'il ( ar, بنو بكر بن وائل '), or simply Banu Bakr, were an Arabian tribe belonging to the large Rabi'ah branch of Adnanite tribes, which also included Abd al-Qays, Anazzah, Taghlib. The tribe is reputed to have en ...
, resident in the
Yamama (central
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
).
[.] As a young man, he already wielded considerable influence among the
Kharijites
The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the ...
of the Banu Hanifa in his home region.
In 680, he launched a rebellion in the Yamama against the
Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
, roughly coinciding with the Umayyads' suppression of
Husayn ibn Ali
Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...
's revolt during the
Battle of Karbala
The Battle of Karbala ( ar, مَعْرَكَة كَرْبَلَاء) was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliph Yazid I and a small army led by Husayn ...
.
[.] During the 683
Umayyad siege of Mecca, where the anti-Umayyad opposition leader
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ( ar, عبد الله ابن الزبير ابن العوام, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām; May 624 CE – October/November 692), was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the ...
was holed up, Najda and his horsemen came to Ibn al-Zubayr's aid.
Following the lifting of the siege, Ibn al-Zubayr declared himself caliph and Najda and other Kharijite leaders left for
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
.
There, under the leadership of the Kharijite leader
Nafi ibn al-Azraq
Nafi ibn al-Azraq ibn Qays al-Hanafi al-Bakri ( ar, نافع بن الأزرق بن قيس الحنفي البكري, Nāfiʿ ibn al-Azraḳ ibn Qays al-Ḥanafī al-Bakrī; died 685) was the leader of the Kharijite faction of the Azariqa during t ...
, they confronted the army of their erstwhile ally, Ibn al-Zubayr, who sought to capture the city in 684 after its Umayyad governor had been ousted.
The city and its Arab garrison ultimately recognized Ibn al-Zubayr's suzerainty and the Kharijites relocated to nearby
Ahwaz
Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is home ...
.
Leader of the Kharijites in Arabia
Political differences emerged between Najda and Nafi, leading the former to defect and return to the Yamama, where the Kharijites were led by Abu Talut Salim ibn Matar.
Abu Talut had seized Jawn al-Khadarim, a massive agricultural tract in the Yamama that was previously owned by the Banu Hanifa but seized by the Umayyad caliph
Mu'awiya I
Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
(), and distributed among his followers its lands and the 4,000 slaves Mu'awiya had sent to till the lands.
[.] In 685, Najda and his retinue intercepted at Jabala a Mecca-bound caravan from Basra and distributed the loot among his Kharijite partisans in Jawn al-Khadarim, whom he also advised to continue utilizing the slaves they captured to work the fields after they had been freed from this labor.
His actions and advice brought him distinction among the Kharijites of the Yamama and when he proposed to be their leader, he gained their unanimous support, including from Abu Talut, who stepped down.
Thenceforth, the Kharijite movement in Arabia at the time was named the
Najdat
The Najdat were the sub-sect of the Kharijite movement that followed Najda ibn 'Amir al-Hanafi, and in 682 launched a revolt against the Umayyad Caliphate in the historical provinces of Yamama and Bahrain, in central and eastern Arabia.
Among ...
after Najda.
Not long after he became leader, Najda launched a raid against the
Banu Ka'b
The Banu Ka'b ( ar, بنو كعب) are a nomadic Arab tribe which originated in the Najd region of the Arabian Peninsula, and inhabit Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Iran (Khuzestan). They often raided, then settled various areas of southern and c ...
, a branch of the
Banu Amir
The Banū ʿĀmir ibn Ṣaʿṣaʿa ( ar, بنو عامر بن صعصعة) was a large and ancient Arab tribe originating from central Arabia, that dominated Najd for centuries after the rise of Islam. The tribe is an Arab Adnanite tribe and its ...
, in
Bahrayn
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ad ...
(eastern Arabia) and landed a heavy blow to them at the Battle of Dhu'l-Majaz,
seizing the corn and dates that the Banu Ka'b had looted from a nearby market.
[.] Najda's victory signaled the start of a series of victories that would ultimately give him control over most of Arabia to the detriment of Ibn al-Zubayr, who proved incapable of confronting the Kharijites.
In 686, he returned to Bahrayn, this time attacking the
Banu Abd al-Qays tribe, which opposed the Kharijites.
With the assistance of the
Azd
The Azd ( ar, أَزْد), or ''Al-Azd'' ( ar, ٱلْأَزْد), are a tribe of Sabaean Arabs.
In ancient times, the Sabaeans inhabited Ma'rib, capital city of the Kingdom of Saba' in modern-day Yemen. Their lands were irrigated by the Ma ...
tribe, he slew or captured many Abd al-Qays tribesmen in
Qatif
Qatif or Al-Qatif ( ar, ٱلْقَطِيف ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, and from the Persian Gulf in the ...
, where he headquartered himself afterward.
Najda's increasing strength and control of Bahrayn and the Yamama threatened the contiguity of Ibn al-Zubayr's caliphate by blocking the routes between his headquarters in Mecca and his key province of Basra. Ibn al-Zubayr's son, the governor of Basra, Hamza, attempted to rollback Najda's gains in Bahrayn by dispatching against the Kharijites a 14,000-strong army led by Abd Allah ibn Umayr al-Laythi. However, Najda and his men ambushed and scattered the Zubayrid force in 686.
[.]
After his victory against the Zubayrid army, Najda dispatched his lieutenant Atiyya ibn al-Aswad al-Hanafi to capture
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
from its chieftains Abbad ibn Abd Allah al-Julandi and his sons Sa'id and Sulayman.
Atiyya succeeded, held the region for a few months then left it to his deputy, a certain Abu'l-Qasim, but the latter was soon after killed by Sa'id and Sulayman, who with local support recaptured Oman.
Ties between Najda and Atiyya became frayed, possibly as a result of the former's unequal distribution of pay and communications with the Umayyad caliph,
Abd al-Malik, who controlled
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
.
By 687, Najda had conquered northern Bahrayn, forcing the
Banu Tamim
Banū Tamīm ( ar, بَنُو تَمِيم) is an Arab tribe that originated in Najd in the Arabian Peninsula. It is mainly present in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, and has a strong presence in Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia ...
of
Kazima to pay tribute.
[.] In the ensuing months, he entered
Sana'a
Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...
in
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
and sent his deputy Abu Fudayk to
Hadhramawt
Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Sau ...
; both places gave their allegiance to Najda and paid him tribute.
By dint of these territorial gains, Najda became more powerful in Arabia than Ibn al-Zubayr, whose power in the peninsula was thereafter confined to 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 ...
(western Arabia).
Najda's growing influence prompted Abd al-Malik, who was preoccupied with domestic and external crises, to appeal for Najda's support and recognition of his caliphate. Abd al-Malik offered the Kharijite leader the formal governorship of the Yamama and a pardon for the bloodshed and financial losses he caused in Arabia if he would recognize Abd al-Malik as caliph.
Najda rejected the offer, but maintained friendly relations with the Umayyad caliph.
Abd al-Malik achieved his goal, according to historian Abd al-Ameer Dixon, who held that by approaching Najda, Abd al-Malik sought either win him over and temporarily utilize him against Ibn al-Zubayr or, should be unsuccessful in this regard, to at least drive a wedge between Najda and his partisans.
Najda led his partisans to 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 ...
pilgrimage in Mecca in June 687, attending alongside the partisans of Ibn al-Zubayr and Abd al-Malik.
[.] According to Dixon, this demonstrated Ibn al-Zubayr powerlessness to prevent Najda from entering his capital city and that "Najda was equal in power" at the time to both Abd al-Malik and Ibn al-Zubayr.
At the conclusion of the Hajj, Najda attempted to head north to capture Medina, but abandoned the campaign out of religious concerns; Medina's pro-Zubayrid defenders had made preparations to resist such an attack and their leader,
Abdallah ibn Umar, was held in high regard by the Kharijites.
Instead, Najda approached
Ta'if
Taif ( ar, , translit=aṭ-Ṭāʾif, lit=The circulated or encircled, ) is a city and governorate in the Makkan Region of Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat M ...
, near Mecca, where its leader 'Amir ibn Urwa ibn Mas'ud al-Thaqafi gave Najda his allegiance.
Najda relocated to nearby
Tabala, assigned al-Haruq al-Hanafi governor of Ta'if, Sarat and Tabala (all in the Hejaz), and charged Sa'd al-Talayi' to collect tribute from the
Banu Hilal
The Banu Hilal ( ar, بنو هلال, translit=Banū Hilāl) was a confederation of Arabian tribes from the Hejaz and Najd regions of the Arabian Peninsula that emigrated to North Africa in the 11th century. Masters of the vast plateaux of th ...
tribe of
Najran
Najran ( ar, نجران '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. It is the capital of Najran Province. Designated as a new town, Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom; its population has risen fr ...
, before returning to his headquarters in Bahrayn. Upon his return to Bahrayn, he ordered that food provisions destined for Mecca and Medina be blocked to pressure Ibn al-Zubayr; he rescinded the order following appeals by pious individuals, notably
Abd Allah ibn Abbas
ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās ( ar, عَبْد ٱللَّٰه ٱبْن عَبَّاس; c. 619 – 687 CE), also known as Ibn ʿAbbās, was one of the cousins of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is considered to be the greatest mufassir of the Qur'an ...
. At the peak of Najda's power, divisions among his Kharijite partisans ultimately led to his downfall. Domestic opposition regarding Najda's friendly ties to Abd al-Malik, unequal distribution of military pay and favorable treatment to his associates despite their religious offenses culminated with Abu Fudayk killing Najda in Bahrayn in 691/92.
[.]
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Najda ibn 'Amir
655 births
692 deaths
7th-century Arabs
People of the Second Fitna
Rebellions against the Umayyad Caliphate
Muslim rulers
Islamic religious leaders
Kharijites