Alid revolt of 762–763

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Alid revolt of 762–763
DateSeptember 762 – February 763
Location
Hejaz and southern Iraq
Result
Abbasid
victory, death of the Alid leaders
Belligerents
Abbasid Caliphate Alids
Commanders and leaders
al-Mansur
Isa ibn Musa
Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya 
Ibrahim ibn Abdallah (DOW)

Battle of soulking Alid revolt of 762–763 or Revolt of Muhammad the Pure Soul was an uprising by the

Hasanid branch of the Alids against the newly established Abbasid Caliphate. The Hasanids, led by the brothers Muhammad (called "the Pure Soul") and Ibrahim, rejected the legitimacy of the Abbasid family's claim to power. Reacting to mounting persecution by the Abbasid regime, in 762 they launched a rebellion, with Muhammad rising in revolt at Medina in September and Ibrahim following in Basra
in November.

The Hasanid's lack of co-ordination and organization, as well as the lukewarm support of their followers, allowed the Abbasids under Caliph

Shi'a
groups as to the prosecution of the war and future political objectives. In the end, Ibrahim's army was decisively defeated at Bakhamra in January 763, with Ibrahim dying of his wounds shortly after.

The failure of the rebellion did not mark the end of Alid unrest, but it consolidated the power of the Abbasid dynasty.

Background

Following the death of

Hashimiyya, who launched the revolution that overthrew the Umayyad regime. The Abbasids claimed authority based on their membership in the extended Al Muhammad through Muhammad's uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib; unlike later Shi'a doctrine, membership of the Family was not strictly limited to the Alids at that time, but encompassed the entire Banu Hashim. The Abbasids were able to exploit the weakening of the Alid cause after Zayd's failure in 740, as well as the widespread anti-Umayyad sentiment and lack of pro-Alid agitation among the numerous Arab settlers of Khurasan, to gain their backing and secure the leadership of the anti-Umayyad movement for themselves. Nevertheless, in the first stages of their uprising, they were careful not to antagonize the Alids' supporters, and merely called for a "chosen one from the Family of Muhammad" (al-rida min Al Muhammad) to become the new Muslim leader.[3][4][5]

Following their takeover of the Caliphate, the Abbasids tried to ensure the Alids' acquiescence through honours and pensions. However, some Alids remained opposed to Abbasid rule, going into hiding and once again trying to rouse the discontented against the new regime.

Arabia. The first Abbasid caliph, al-Saffah (r. 750–754), was content to mostly ignore their activities, but his successor al-Mansur launched a manhunt against them. In 758, al-Mansur arrested their brother Abdallah when he refused to reveal their whereabouts, followed in early 762 by their cousins and nephews. The captive Alids were taken to Kufa, where they were so mistreated that many of them died.[8][13]

Muhammad's revolt in Medina

As al-Mansur's persecution intensified, pressure began to mount on the brothers to react. Kufa, the traditional Alid base, was kept under close surveillance by the Abbasid government, and the two brothers resolved to launch a simultaneous rebellion in Basra and Medina.[8][11][13] Although the Alids could count on a large network of sympathizers throughout the Caliphate, the action was rushed and lacked organization.[10][11]

On 25 September 762, Muhammad declared himself at Medina, catching the Abbasid governor, Riyah ibn Uthman, by surprise. The rebellion was bloodless and Muhammad quickly gained the support of the old Muslim families of Medina and

Fatimah, Muhammad's daughter, as well as his typically Shi'a ideals of rejecting the absolutist monarchical traditions of the Umayyads—now adopted by the Abbasids—in favour of returning to the simpler practices of early Islam. Al-Mansur countered by invoking the pre-Islamic tradition of inheritance, which gave priority to a man's male relatives over his daughters—implying that the Caliphate had passed to the Abbasid line by right.[7]

Isa ibn Musa, the Caliph's nephew, was sent against Medina with 4,000 men, but Muhammad refused to abandon the holy city and insisted on meeting the Abbasid attack there. In the meantime, he imitated the actions of Muhammad, like restoring the famous ditch around the city. Muhammad's supporters nevertheless began deserting him. When Isa appeared before the city, he waited a few days before the ditch and repeatedly offered amnesty. Then his troops laid a few doors over the ditch and entered Medina, where Muhammad and his remaining 300 supporters fell fighting on 6 December 762. Muhammad's corpse was beheaded and his head dispatched to the Caliph.[10]

Ibrahim's uprising in Basra

Due to Muhammad's rushed actions, Ibrahim failed to co-ordinate his uprising with his brother's, and only declared himself two weeks before Muhammad's death, on 23 November.

Zaydi branch on everything from political objectives and leadership to the tactics to be followed or the provisioning of their troops. Elsewhere, support for the uprising was cautious and most Alid supporters adopted a wait-and-see attitude, limiting themselves to verbal support or contributions of money.[14][15]

Al-Mansur in the meantime used his time more effectively: he mobilized troops in Syria and Iran and brought them to Iraq, and recalled Isa ibn Musa from Medina to lead them.[11][13] Finally, Ibrahim decided to march on Kufa, but on the way he abandoned this plan and turned back. Instead of returning to Basra, however, he encamped at Bakhamra, a location on the road between the two cities. There, on 21 January, Ibrahim with his troops, reduced by defections to some 15,000 men, confronted the Abbasid army under Isa ibn Musa. Isa's vanguard was at first beaten, but the battle ended in a crushing Abbasid victory. Ibrahim himself was severely wounded and escaped with a handful of supporters. He died of his wounds on 14 February 763, signalling the end of the rebellion.[11][13]

Aftermath

The failure and brutal suppression of Muhammad and Ibrahim's revolt was followed by a large-scale reprisal campaign against the Alids, many of whom were imprisoned or killed, until the death of al-Mansur brought about another period of attempts at conciliation under

Alavids in Tabaristan.[2][10]

References

  1. ^ Kennedy (2004), pp. 123–124
  2. ^ a b c d Lewis (1960), p. 402
  3. ^ Cobb (2010), pp. 261–263
  4. ^ El-Hibri (2010), pp. 269–271
  5. ^ Kennedy (2004), pp. 123–127
  6. ^ Kennedy (2004), p. 130
  7. ^ a b c El-Hibri (2010), p. 271
  8. ^ a b c Buhl (1993), p. 388
  9. ^ Veccia Vagleri (1971), pp. 983–984
  10. ^ a b c d e f Buhl (1993), p. 389
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kennedy (2004), p. 131
  12. ^ Veccia Vagleri (1971), p. 985
  13. ^ a b c d e f Veccia Vagleri (1971), p. 984
  14. ^ El-Hibri (2010), pp. 271–272
  15. ^ Veccia Vagleri (1971), pp. 984–985

Sources

  • Buhl, F. (1993). "Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh". In .
  • Cobb, Paul M. (2010). "The empire in Syria, 705–763". In .
  • Elad, Amikam (2015). The Rebellion of Muḥammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya in 145/762: Ṭālibīs and Early ʿAbbāsīs in Conflict. Leiden: BRILL. .
  • El-Hibri, Tayeb (2010). "The empire in Iraq, 763–861". In .
  • .
  • Lewis, B. (1960). "ʿAlids". In
    OCLC 495469456
    .
  • Veccia Vagleri, L. (1971). "Ibrāhīm b. ʿAbd Allāh". In
    OCLC 495469525
    .