Uprising of Sahib al-Zanj

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Uprising of Sahib al-Zanj
Date255/869 to 270/883
PlaceSouthern Iraq and parts of Khuzistan, Iran
ResultFifteen years of Zanj rule
Belligerents
Army of Sahib al-Zanj
Abbasid army
Commanders
Sahib al-Zanj, Sulayman b. Jami'
Muwaffaq, brother of Khalifa


Uprising of Ṣaḥib al-Zanj (Arabic: ثورة صاحب الزنج) was the rebellion of slaves and the poor against the Abbasid caliphate from 255/869 to 270/883. The reason behind this revolt is said to have been social class differences.

The Zanj, black African slaves, had the main role in this revolt, and their leader was Ali b. Muhammad known as "Sahib al-Zanj." The Zanj were able to rule over vast regions of southern Iraq and Khuzestan. However, their rule ended after fifteen years and several years of war.

Although Sahib al-Zanj claimed to be an Alid, historians have rejected this claim.

Sahib al-Zanj

Main article: Sahib al-Zanj

Ali b. Muhammad b. Abd al-Rahim,[1] from the tribe of Abd al-Qays,[2] was born in a village called Warzanin, near the Iranian city of Ray.[3] This is why he was also called Warzanini,[4] but more famously he came to be known as Sahib al-Zanj (the Comrade of the Zanj) because he became the leader of the Zanj revolt.[5]

Sahib al-Zanj introduced himself as an Alid from the descendants of Imam al-Sajjad (a),[6] and some scholars have accepted this claim.[7] However, most scholars maintain that he was not an Alid[8] and that he made this claim only to gain supporters.[9]

Background

The Zanj were black slaves who were brought to Muslim lands from eastern Africa.[10] These black slaves worked on farmlands and had a more severe life condition compared to white slaves.[11] This prepared the ground for Sahib al-Zanj to gain the support of these slaves and start a revolt against the Abbasids.[12]

Sahib al-Zanj began his uprising in the month of Ramadan, 255/August-September 869.[13].[14] On Eid al-Fitr, more than 15,000 people pledged their allegiance to him.[15] The beginning of the revolt occurred during the caliphate of al-Muhtadi bi-Allah[16]. The commander of Sahib al-Zanj's troops was Sulayman b. Jami'.[17]

Aftermath

The Zanj revolt started in 255/868-9. The rebels managed to conquer Basra in 257/870-1 and made it the center of their revolt.[18] They also constructed ten towns around Basra.[19] The Zanj conquered Ahwaz in 261/874-5;[20] the people of Abadan also surrendered to them.[21]

In the early years of the Zanj revolt, the Abbasids were faced with several revolts and uprisings and thus they were not able to crush the Zanj.[22]

The number of casualties on both sides, according to some sources, was about 2,500,000,[23] but scholars have doubted the accuracy of this number.[24]

The Zanj rule lasted fifteen years[25] and subdued vast regions.[26] Eventually, al-Muwaffaq, the brother of the caliph al-Mu'tamid,[27] went into a battle with the Zanj in 267/880-1 and was able to defeat them in Safar,[28] 270/August-September 883 and kill Sahib al-Zanj.[29]

Nature of the Revolt

Scholars maintain that the Zanj revolt had a social and political nature[30] and was motivated by class differences between the slaves and the elite.[31]

Sahib al-Zanj claimed to be an Alid;[32] however, his claim is considered false by scholars.[33] According to a report quoted by Ibn Shahrashub, Imam Hasan al-Askari (a) did not consider Sahib al-Zanj a Shiite.[34] Allama al-Majlisi maintained that Sahib al-Zanj was far from Ahl al-Bayt (a) in his beliefs and deeds.[35] During his reign, Shi'a or Alid women were sold as slave girls.[36] Al-Sharif al-Radi reported that Imam Ali (a) foresaw the conquest of Basra by Sahib al-Zanj.[37]


Sahib al-Zanj is considered close to Kharijites in his beliefs and deeds. He would murder women, children, and others who did not deserve to be killed. He considered perpetrators of graves sins to be polytheist.[38]

This similarity to Kharijites made the Qaramita refuse to establish ties with Sahib al-Zanj, whereas their unity could be a serious threat to the caliphate.[39]

Notes

  1. ↑ Abū al-Fadāʾ, al-Mukhtaṣar fī akhbār al-bashar, vol. 2, p. 46.
  2. ↑ Ibn Khaldūn, Tārīkh ibn Khaldūn, vol. 3, p. 377.
  3. ↑ Masʿūdī, Murūj al-dhahab, vol. 4, p. 108.
  4. ↑ Ziriklī, al-Aʿlām, vol. 4, p. 424.
  5. ↑ Rūḥānī, Nihḍat-i ṣāḥib al-Zanj, p. 83.
  6. ↑ Ibn Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 7, p. 205.
  7. ↑ Ibn ʿAnba, ʿUmdat al-ṭālib, p. 268.
  8. ↑ ʿAlībeygī, Ṣāḥib al-Zanj; Chālishī dīgār dar barābar-i dastgāh-i khalāfat-i ʿAbbāsī, p. 78.
  9. ↑ Ibn Khaldūn, Tārīkh ibn Khaldūn, vol. 3, p. 377.
  10. ↑ Rūḥānī, Nihḍat-i ṣāḥib al-Zanj, p. 83.
  11. ↑ Jaʿfarīyān, Az ṭulūʿ-i Ṭāhirīyān tā ghurūb-i Khwārazmshāhīyān, p. 58.
  12. ↑ ʿAlībeygī, Ṣāḥib al-Zanj; Chālishī dīgār dar barābar-i dastgāh-i khalāfat-i ʿAbbāsī, p. 76.
  13. ↑ Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Muntaẓam, vol. 12, p. 235.
  14. ↑ Abū al-Fadāʾ, al-mukhtaṣar fī akhbār al-bashar, vol. 2, p. 46.
  15. ↑ Jaʿfarīyān, Az ṭulūʿ-i Ṭāhirīyān tā ghurūb-i Khwārazmshāhīyān, p. 59.
  16. ↑ Masʿūdī, Murūj al-dhahab, vol. 4, p. 108.
  17. ↑ Ibn Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 7, p. 205.
  18. ↑ Jaʿfarīyān, Az ṭulūʿ-i Ṭāhirīyān tā ghurūb-i Khwārazmshāhīyān, p. 59.
  19. ↑ Ibn al-ʿImrānī, al-Inbāʾ fī tārīkh al-khulafāʾ, vol. 1, p. 137.
  20. ↑ Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 11, p. 32.
  21. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, vol. 9, p. 472.
  22. ↑ ʿAlībeygī, Ṣāḥib al-Zanj; Chālishī dīgār dar barābar-i dastgāh-i khalāfat-i ʿAbbāsī, p. 85.
  23. ↑ Ibn Ṭaqṭaqī, al-Fakhrī, p. 246.
  24. ↑ Zarrīnkūb, Tārīkh-i Iran baʿd az Islām, p. 476.
  25. ↑ Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Muntaẓam, vol. 12, p. 235.
  26. ↑ Ibn al-ʿImrānī, al-Inbāʾ fī tārīkh al-khulafāʾ, vol. 1, p. 138.
  27. ↑ Ziriklī, al-Aʿlām, vol. 1, p. 140.
  28. ↑ Ibn Khaldūn, Tārīkh ibn Khaldūn, vol. 3, p. 410.
  29. ↑ Jaʿfarīyān, Az ṭulūʿ-i Ṭāhirīyān tā ghurūb-i Khwārazmshāhīyān, p. 50.
  30. ↑ Jaʿfarīyān, Az ṭulūʿ-i Ṭāhirīyān tā ghurūb-i Khwārazmshāhīyān, p. 59.
  31. ↑ Jaʿfarīyān, Az ṭulūʿ-i Ṭāhirīyān tā ghurūb-i Khwārazmshāhīyān, p. 60.
  32. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 63, p. 197.
  33. ↑ Jaʿfarīyān, Az ṭulūʿ-i Ṭāhirīyān tā ghurūb-i Khwārazmshāhīyān, p. 59.
  34. ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. 4, p. 429.
  35. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 63, p. 197.
  36. ↑ Maqdīsh, Nuzhat al-anẓār, vol. 1, p. 260.
  37. ↑ Sayyid Raḍī, Nahj al-balāgha, p. 185.
  38. ↑ Masʿūdī, Murūj al-dhahab, vol. 4, p. 108.
  39. ↑ Zarrīnkūb, Tārīkh-i Iran baʿd az Islām, p. 478.

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