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Maghariba (Abbasid troops)

May 04, 2024

The Maghariba (Arabic: المغاربة, romanized: al-Maghāribah, lit. 'Westerners/Maghrebis') were a regiment in the regular army of the Abbasid Caliphate. The unit was formed in the early ninth century A.D. and consisted of soldiers who were of North African origin. During their history, the Maghariba participated in several military campaigns and played a significant role in the politics of the central government.

Characteristics edit

The origin and composition of the Maghariba have been subject to debate. Historians have variously described the Maghariba as Berbers from North Africa, black slaves from East Africa, and Arab tribesmen from Egypt,[1] with the last being the most widely accepted theory.[2] According to the Muslim historian al-Mas'udi, the regiment was created by Caliph al-Mu'tasim (r. 833–842), who recruited troops from the Hawf districts of Egypt;[3] this likely occurred before al-Mu'tasim's caliphate, when he and al-Afshin were serving in Egypt on behalf of the caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833).[4]

After the succession of al-Mu'tasim to the caliphate in 833, the Maghariba formed a contingent of his new army, along with other units such as the Turks, the Faraghina, the Ushrusaniyya, and the shakiriyya.[5] Together with the rest of the army, they were granted their own section in al-Mu'tasim's new capital city of Samarra; their allotments were along the Gulf Street (shāri' al-khalīj) adjacent to the bank of the Tigris, and the Azlakh quarter was known as a Maghribi neighborhood.[6]

The Maghariba appear to have served as infantry,[7] and they were a mixture of free men and slaves.[8] They were likely fewer in number than the Turks, and they were certainly of inferior status. Their pay also appears to have been lower;[9] on the accession of al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861), the new caliph ordered that the Maghariba be given lower allotments than the rest of the army,[10] and in 870 al-Muhtadi (r. 869–870) arranged for the Maghariba to be paid one dirham a day, while the Turks and other units received two.[11]

History edit

 
The Maghariba served under al-Mu'tasim and several of his successors

The Maghariba participated in al-Mu'tasim's campaign against Amorium in 838, during which they were under the overall command of Itakh.[12] During the caliphates of al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) and al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861) they took part in a number of Bugha al-Kabir's campaigns. In 845 they served under Bugha during his punitive expedition against the disorderly Banu Sulaym in the vicinity of Medina.[13] In 848–49 they were sent by Bugha to help quell a revolt in Adharbayjan,[14] and in 852 they fought in his campaign to defeat Ishaq ibn Isma'il, the rebel governor of Tiflis.[15] In 855–56 several Maghariba were selected to provide escort for a prisoner exchange with the Byzantines.[16]

Following the assassination of al-Mutawakkil in December 861, the Maghariba played an important role during the events of the Anarchy at Samarra (861–870). On the day that al-Muntasir was given the oath of allegiance (bay'ah), the Maghariba were employed as riot troops against residents in the capital who opposed the new caliph.[17] After al-Muntasir's death in 862 they, together with the Turks and Ushrusaniyya, agreed to recognize al-Musta'in as caliph,[18] and they were again used to attack rioters who favored al-Musta'in's rival al-Mu'tazz.[19] In the following year, during a particularly severe riot in Samarra, the Maghariba looted the homes of several civilians;[20] a few months later, having become increasingly dissatisfied with the current regime, they organized in the capital to voice their agitation, but they ultimately decided to take no action and dispersed.[21]

When civil war broke out between al-Musta'in and al-Mu'tazz in 865, the Maghariba fought in support of the latter. Two thousand Maghariba under the command of Muhammad ibn Rashid al-Maghribi were part of the initial force sent from Samarra to besiege al-Musta'in in Baghdad, and over the course of the war they participated in several battles. Their involvement continued until the end of the war, from which al-Mu'tazz emerged victorious and al-Musta'in was forced to abdicate.[22]

After the war, the Maghariba continued returned to Samarra, which soon again suffered from disorder. In 866 a conflict broke out between the Maghariba and the Turkish soldiers, and during the ensuing violence two senior Maghariba commanders were killed by the Turks.[23] Two years later the Maghariba killed the Turkish general Bugha al-Sharabi and brought his head to the caliph.[24] In 869, however, the Maghariba united with the Turks and Faraghina to successfully depose al-Mu'tazz.[25] Under al-Mu'tazz's successor, al-Muhtadi, they participated in some of the initial campaigns against the Zanj rebels in southern Iraq.[26] In 870, during the revolt against al-Muhtadi, the Maghariba remained loyal to the caliph; they unsuccessfully defended him against the mutinous Turkish soldiers, and suffered high casualties as a result.[27]

The accession of al-Mu'tamid (r. 870–892) seems to have resulted in the decline of the Maghariba. Al-Mu'tamid's brother Abu Ahmad al-Muwaffaq, who became the commander-in-chief of the army, enjoyed strong relations with the Turkish commanders, and under him the Turks came to dominate the military, to the exclusion of the Maghariba and other units. After this point, the Maghariba are seldom mentioned in the sources.[28] A government budget drawn up in 892–93 lists "Maghariba" as forming a contingent of the bodyguards of the caliph al-Mu'tadid (r. 892–902),[29] but it is not specified as to whether this was the same unit as the Samarran Maghariba.[30]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Talbi, p. 1160; Saliba, p. 113 n. 317
  2. ^ Gordon, pp. 38–39; Kennedy, pp. 125-26; al-Bili, p. 47; Cooperson, p. 109
  3. ^ Al-Mas'udi, v. 7: p. 118. See also Ibn al-Athir, v. 6: p. 452
  4. ^ Gordon, p. 38
  5. ^ Kennedy, p. 118 ff.
  6. ^ Gordon, p. 185 n. 259; Northedge, p. 120; al-Ya'qubi, p. 263
  7. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 36: p. 104; al-Ya'qubi, p. 263
  8. ^ Gordon, p. 39; Kennedy, p. 126; Northedge, p. 171; al-Tabari, v. 34: pp. 63–64
  9. ^ Kennedy, p. 126
  10. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 34: p. 63
  11. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 36: p. 97
  12. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 33: p. 113; Ibn al-Athir, v. 6: p. 487; Kitab al-'Uyun, pp. 393–94
  13. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 34: p. 19
  14. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 34: p. 79
  15. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 34: pp. 122–23; Ibn al-Athir, v. 7: p. 67
  16. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 34: p. 139
  17. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 34: p. 203; Ibn al-Athir, v. 7: p. 105
  18. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 35: p. 1; Ibn al-Athir, v. 7: p. 117
  19. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 35: p. 4; Ibn al-Athir, v. 7: p. 118
  20. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 35: p. 11; Ibn al-Athir, v. 7: p. 123
  21. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 35: p. 4
  22. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 35: pp. 43 ff.; Ibn al-Athir, v. 7: pp. 145 ff.
  23. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 35: pp. 140–41; Ibn al-Athir, v. 7: pp. 173–74
  24. ^ Al-Mas'udi, v. 7: p. 396; al-Tabari, v. 35: pp. 153–54. In the latter source the killing is accredited to a single man named Walid al-Maghribi, after which the Maghariba took the corpse and burned it.
  25. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 35: p. 164; Ibn al-Athir, v. 7: p. 195. According to al-Mas'udi, v. 7: p. 397, al-Mu'tazz had attempted to favor the Maghariba and Faraghina at the expense of the Turks, which led to the latter overthrowing him.
  26. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 36: p. 55; Ibn al-Athir, v. 7: p. 212
  27. ^ Al-Tabari, v. 36: pp. 93–95, 97–98, 104; al-Mas'udi, v. 8: pp. 8–9; Ibn al-Athir, v. 7: pp. 229 ff.
  28. ^ Kennedy, p. 150
  29. ^ Busse, p. 16
  30. ^ Kennedy, p. 166 n. 70

References edit

  • Al-Bili, 'Osman Sayyid Ahmad Isma'il. Prelude to the Generals: A Study of Some Aspects of the Reign of the Eighth 'Abbasid Caliph, Al-Mu'tasim Bi-Allah (218-227 AH/833-842 AD). Reading: Ithaca Press, 2001. ISBN 0-86372-277-6
  • Busse, Heribert. "Das Hofbudget des Chalifen al-Mu'tadid billah (279/892-289/902)." Der Islam 43 (1967): 11–36.
  • Cooperson, Michael. Al-Ma'mun. Oxford: Oneworld, 2005. ISBN 1-85168-386-0
  • Gordon, Matthew S. The Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of the Turkish Military of Samarra (A.H. 200-275/815-889 C.E.). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2001. ISBN 0-7914-4795-2
  • Ibn al-Athir, 'Izz al-Din. Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh. 6th ed. Beirut: Dar Sader, 1995.
  • Kennedy, Hugh (2001). The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-25093-5.
  • Kitab al-'Uyun wa'l-Hada'iq fi akhbar al-haqa'iq. Eds. M.J. de Goeje and P. de Jong. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1869.
  • Al-Mas'udi, Ali ibn al-Husain. Les Prairies D'Or. Ed. and Trans. Charles Barbier de Meynard and Abel Pavet de Courteille. 9 vols. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1861–1917.
  • Northedge, Alastair. The Historical Topography of Samarra. London: The British School of Archeology in Iraq, 2005. ISBN 0-903472-17-1.
  • Saliba, George, ed. (1985). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXV: The Crisis of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate: The Caliphates of al-Mustaʿīn and al-Muʿtazz, A.D. 862–869/A.H. 248–255. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-87395-883-7.
  • Talbi, M. (1986). "Maghariba". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume V: Khe–Mahi. Leiden: E. J. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-07819-2.
  • Al-Ya'qubi, Ahmad ibn Abu Ya'qub. Kitab al-Buldan. Ed. M.J. de Goeje. 2nd ed. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1892.

May 04, 2024
maghariba, abbasid, troops, maghariba, arabic, المغاربة, romanized, maghāribah, westerners, maghrebis, were, regiment, regular, army, abbasid, caliphate, unit, formed, early, ninth, century, consisted, soldiers, were, north, african, origin, during, their, his. The Maghariba Arabic المغاربة romanized al Magharibah lit Westerners Maghrebis were a regiment in the regular army of the Abbasid Caliphate The unit was formed in the early ninth century A D and consisted of soldiers who were of North African origin During their history the Maghariba participated in several military campaigns and played a significant role in the politics of the central government Contents 1 Characteristics 2 History 3 Notes 4 ReferencesCharacteristics editThe origin and composition of the Maghariba have been subject to debate Historians have variously described the Maghariba as Berbers from North Africa black slaves from East Africa and Arab tribesmen from Egypt 1 with the last being the most widely accepted theory 2 According to the Muslim historian al Mas udi the regiment was created by Caliph al Mu tasim r 833 842 who recruited troops from the Hawf districts of Egypt 3 this likely occurred before al Mu tasim s caliphate when he and al Afshin were serving in Egypt on behalf of the caliph al Ma mun r 813 833 4 After the succession of al Mu tasim to the caliphate in 833 the Maghariba formed a contingent of his new army along with other units such as the Turks the Faraghina the Ushrusaniyya and the shakiriyya 5 Together with the rest of the army they were granted their own section in al Mu tasim s new capital city of Samarra their allotments were along the Gulf Street shari al khalij adjacent to the bank of the Tigris and the Azlakh quarter was known as a Maghribi neighborhood 6 The Maghariba appear to have served as infantry 7 and they were a mixture of free men and slaves 8 They were likely fewer in number than the Turks and they were certainly of inferior status Their pay also appears to have been lower 9 on the accession of al Mutawakkil r 847 861 the new caliph ordered that the Maghariba be given lower allotments than the rest of the army 10 and in 870 al Muhtadi r 869 870 arranged for the Maghariba to be paid one dirham a day while the Turks and other units received two 11 History edit nbsp The Maghariba served under al Mu tasim and several of his successors The Maghariba participated in al Mu tasim s campaign against Amorium in 838 during which they were under the overall command of Itakh 12 During the caliphates of al Wathiq r 842 847 and al Mutawakkil r 847 861 they took part in a number of Bugha al Kabir s campaigns In 845 they served under Bugha during his punitive expedition against the disorderly Banu Sulaym in the vicinity of Medina 13 In 848 49 they were sent by Bugha to help quell a revolt in Adharbayjan 14 and in 852 they fought in his campaign to defeat Ishaq ibn Isma il the rebel governor of Tiflis 15 In 855 56 several Maghariba were selected to provide escort for a prisoner exchange with the Byzantines 16 Following the assassination of al Mutawakkil in December 861 the Maghariba played an important role during the events of the Anarchy at Samarra 861 870 On the day that al Muntasir was given the oath of allegiance bay ah the Maghariba were employed as riot troops against residents in the capital who opposed the new caliph 17 After al Muntasir s death in 862 they together with the Turks and Ushrusaniyya agreed to recognize al Musta in as caliph 18 and they were again used to attack rioters who favored al Musta in s rival al Mu tazz 19 In the following year during a particularly severe riot in Samarra the Maghariba looted the homes of several civilians 20 a few months later having become increasingly dissatisfied with the current regime they organized in the capital to voice their agitation but they ultimately decided to take no action and dispersed 21 When civil war broke out between al Musta in and al Mu tazz in 865 the Maghariba fought in support of the latter Two thousand Maghariba under the command of Muhammad ibn Rashid al Maghribi were part of the initial force sent from Samarra to besiege al Musta in in Baghdad and over the course of the war they participated in several battles Their involvement continued until the end of the war from which al Mu tazz emerged victorious and al Musta in was forced to abdicate 22 After the war the Maghariba continued returned to Samarra which soon again suffered from disorder In 866 a conflict broke out between the Maghariba and the Turkish soldiers and during the ensuing violence two senior Maghariba commanders were killed by the Turks 23 Two years later the Maghariba killed the Turkish general Bugha al Sharabi and brought his head to the caliph 24 In 869 however the Maghariba united with the Turks and Faraghina to successfully depose al Mu tazz 25 Under al Mu tazz s successor al Muhtadi they participated in some of the initial campaigns against the Zanj rebels in southern Iraq 26 In 870 during the revolt against al Muhtadi the Maghariba remained loyal to the caliph they unsuccessfully defended him against the mutinous Turkish soldiers and suffered high casualties as a result 27 The accession of al Mu tamid r 870 892 seems to have resulted in the decline of the Maghariba Al Mu tamid s brother Abu Ahmad al Muwaffaq who became the commander in chief of the army enjoyed strong relations with the Turkish commanders and under him the Turks came to dominate the military to the exclusion of the Maghariba and other units After this point the Maghariba are seldom mentioned in the sources 28 A government budget drawn up in 892 93 lists Maghariba as forming a contingent of the bodyguards of the caliph al Mu tadid r 892 902 29 but it is not specified as to whether this was the same unit as the Samarran Maghariba 30 Notes edit Talbi p 1160 Saliba p 113 n 317 Gordon pp 38 39 Kennedy pp 125 26 al Bili p 47 Cooperson p 109 Al Mas udi v 7 p 118 See also Ibn al Athir v 6 p 452 Gordon p 38 Kennedy p 118 ff Gordon p 185 n 259 Northedge p 120 al Ya qubi p 263 Al Tabari v 36 p 104 al Ya qubi p 263 Gordon p 39 Kennedy p 126 Northedge p 171 al Tabari v 34 pp 63 64 Kennedy p 126 Al Tabari v 34 p 63 Al Tabari v 36 p 97 Al Tabari v 33 p 113 Ibn al Athir v 6 p 487 Kitab al Uyun pp 393 94 Al Tabari v 34 p 19 Al Tabari v 34 p 79 Al Tabari v 34 pp 122 23 Ibn al Athir v 7 p 67 Al Tabari v 34 p 139 Al Tabari v 34 p 203 Ibn al Athir v 7 p 105 Al Tabari v 35 p 1 Ibn al Athir v 7 p 117 Al Tabari v 35 p 4 Ibn al Athir v 7 p 118 Al Tabari v 35 p 11 Ibn al Athir v 7 p 123 Al Tabari v 35 p 4 Al Tabari v 35 pp 43 ff Ibn al Athir v 7 pp 145 ff Al Tabari v 35 pp 140 41 Ibn al Athir v 7 pp 173 74 Al Mas udi v 7 p 396 al Tabari v 35 pp 153 54 In the latter source the killing is accredited to a single man named Walid al Maghribi after which the Maghariba took the corpse and burned it Al Tabari v 35 p 164 Ibn al Athir v 7 p 195 According to al Mas udi v 7 p 397 al Mu tazz had attempted to favor the Maghariba and Faraghina at the expense of the Turks which led to the latter overthrowing him Al Tabari v 36 p 55 Ibn al Athir v 7 p 212 Al Tabari v 36 pp 93 95 97 98 104 al Mas udi v 8 pp 8 9 Ibn al Athir v 7 pp 229 ff Kennedy p 150 Busse p 16 Kennedy p 166 n 70References editAl Bili Osman Sayyid Ahmad Isma il Prelude to the Generals A Study of Some Aspects of the Reign of the Eighth Abbasid Caliph Al Mu tasim Bi Allah 218 227 AH 833 842 AD Reading Ithaca Press 2001 ISBN 0 86372 277 6 Busse Heribert Das Hofbudget des Chalifen al Mu tadid billah 279 892 289 902 Der Islam 43 1967 11 36 Cooperson Michael Al Ma mun Oxford Oneworld 2005 ISBN 1 85168 386 0 Gordon Matthew S The Breaking of a Thousand Swords A History of the Turkish Military of Samarra A H 200 275 815 889 C E Albany NY State University of New York Press 2001 ISBN 0 7914 4795 2 Ibn al Athir Izz al Din Al Kamil fi al Tarikh 6th ed Beirut Dar Sader 1995 Kennedy Hugh 2001 The Armies of the Caliphs Military and Society in the Early Islamic State London and New York Routledge ISBN 0 415 25093 5 Kitab al Uyun wa l Hada iq fi akhbar al haqa iq Eds M J de Goeje and P de Jong Leiden E J Brill 1869 Al Mas udi Ali ibn al Husain Les Prairies D Or Ed and Trans Charles Barbier de Meynard and Abel Pavet de Courteille 9 vols Paris Imprimerie Nationale 1861 1917 Northedge Alastair The Historical Topography of Samarra London The British School of Archeology in Iraq 2005 ISBN 0 903472 17 1 Saliba George ed 1985 The History of al Ṭabari Volume XXXV The Crisis of the ʿAbbasid Caliphate The Caliphates of al Mustaʿin and al Muʿtazz A D 862 869 A H 248 255 SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies Albany New York State University of New York Press ISBN 978 0 87395 883 7 Talbi M 1986 Maghariba In Bosworth C E van Donzel E Lewis B amp Pellat Ch eds The Encyclopaedia of Islam Second Edition Volume V Khe Mahi Leiden E J Brill ISBN 978 90 04 07819 2 Al Ya qubi Ahmad ibn Abu Ya qub Kitab al Buldan Ed M J de Goeje 2nd ed Leiden E J Brill 1892 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Maghariba Abbasid troops amp oldid 1186509445, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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