Rahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalhami
Rahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalahimah رحمة بن جابر بن عذبي الجلهمي أو الجلاهمة | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1760 |
Died | October 1826 |
Piratical career | |
Type | Captain |
Allegiance | Al Jalahma clan |
Years active | 19th century |
Rank | Captain |
Base of operations | Arabian Gulf |
Commands | Al-Manowar Al-Ghatroushah |
Rahmah ibn Jabir ibn Adhbi al-Jalhami (
As a pirate, he had a reputation for being ruthless and fearless. He wore an eyepatch after losing an eye in battle, which makes him the earliest documented pirate to have worn an eyepatch.[2] He was described by the British statesman Charles Belgrave as "one of the most vivid characters the Persian Gulf has produced, a daring freebooter without fear or mercy"[3] (ironically, his first name means "mercy" in Arabic).
He began life as a horse dealer, and used the money he had saved to buy his first ship and with ten companions began a career of buccaneering. He was so successful that he soon acquired a new craft, a 300-ton vessel, manned by 350 men.[4] He would later have as many as 2,000 followers, many of them black slaves. At one point his flagship was the "Al-Manowar" (derived from English).[5]
Name
His name, Rahmah ibn Jabir ibn Adhbi Al Jalhami, means Rahmah son of Jabir son of Adhbi of the Jalahimah. His name should be written "Al Jalhami" if transliterated from Arabic, as "Al Jalahimah" is the plural name for his tribe.
Description
Rahmah was described by James Silk Buckingham:
Rahmah ben-Jaber's figure presented a meagre trunk, with four lank members, all of them cut and hacked, and pierced with wounds of sabres, spears, and bullets, in every part, to the number perhaps of more than twenty different wounds. He had, besides, a face naturally ferocious and ugly, and now rendered still more so by several scars there, and by the loss of one eye.
When asked by one of the English gentlemen present, with a tone of encouragement and familiarity, whether he could not still dispatch an enemy with his boneless arm, he drew a crooked dagger, or
yambeah, from the girdle round his shirt, and placing his left hand, which was sound, to support the elbow of the right, which was the one that was wounded, he grasped the dagger firmly with his clenched fist, and drew it backward and forward, twirling it at the same time, and saying, that he desired nothing better than to have the cutting of as many throats as he could effectually open with this lame hand! Instead of being shocked at the utterance of such a brutal wish, and such a savage triumph at still possessing the power to murder unoffending victims, I know not how to describe my feeling of shame and sorrow, when a loud burst of laughter, instead of execration, escaped from nearly the whole assembly, when I ventured to express my dissent from the general feeling of admiration for such a man.[6]
Early life
He was born in Grane (present-day
His base in Khor Hassan, which would serve as his base of operation against the Al Khalifa, was surrounded by a protected bay which contributed to the area's defensive capabilities. He resided in a fort with mud walls and there were only a few huts in the vicinity.[11] As a result of no centralized authority existing in Qatar from the 18th to 19th centuries, Rahmah was able to establish dominion over much of the peninsula for a period after the Al Khalifa relocated to Bahrain.[12]
Alliance with Saudis
Rahmah's alliances with regional powers tended to be on the basis of shared opposition to the Al Khalifa: he formed an alliance with the
He influenced the Saudis to launch an invasion of Bahrain in 1809. That greatly strengthened his position in Qatar, rendering him the most powerful tribal leader in the peninsula.[13] Within a short duration, Rahmah had captured eighteen Utub vessels. However, in 1811, the combined forces of Said bin Sultan, Sultan of the Omani Empire and the Al Khalifa successfully drove out the Wahhabi from Qatar and Bahrain. Rahmah then transferred his headquarters from Khor Hassan to his fort in Dammam.[14]
Alliance with Omanis
In 1816, he allied himself with the rulers of
Subsequent campaigns
He assisted the British forces in the
In January 1820, he and his crew were in preparation to launch a naval invasion on Bahrain from Qatif's port but aborted their plans after being warned by the British. The following month, he travelled to Shiraz with three vessels to proffer his assistance to the prince of Shiraz in his planned expedition of Bahrain. His hostilities against Bahrain continued throughout 1821 and 1822; he and his crew went on to capture 7 Bahraini vessels and kill 20 men.[17] He settled in Bushehr from November 1822 until February 1824, whereupon he returned to his residence in Dammam. He went to Muscat at the beginning of 1825 and lent his assistance to Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Shakhbout in his expedition against the Qasimi tribe of Ras Al Khaimah. Near the end of that year, he commenced a series of predatory attacks on Qatif as punishment for the non-payment of the protection tax owed to him.[18] The British decided not to interfere with his actions if his attacks remained confined to the people of Qatif.[19]
He soon reshifted his focus to the Al Khalifa and went to war with them at the beginning of 1826. After a great number of casualties on his side, he fled to Bushehr where he sought material and military assistance from the British political resident.[19] Having failed to convince the British for aid, he set off to Dammam with a reinforcement of 35 Balochis from Bushehr and continued waging his war against the Al Khalifa.[20]
Death
Rahmah raided a ship belonging to the Al Khalifa rulers of Bahrain in October 1826. After his nephew, Shaikh Ahmed bin Salman Al Khalifa discovered the stolen goods, he decided to intercept Rahmah at sea and return the stolen items at once. In order to reach his uncle, he added the oars of the boat of the Chief of Al Binali tribe, Isa bin Turayf Al Binali, to his own boat to reach his opponent on time. Hours later and practically blind with cataracts, Rahmah inquired about an approaching boat. After being told its captain was Shaikh Ahmed bin Salman his nephew, he mocked his nephew's bravery saying "The son of Maryoom (Shaikh Ahmed's mother Maryam was Rahmah's sister) sails?" After being asked why Rahmah was surprised to see his nephew he said "How can he set sail if he has not approached fair maidens?" It was maritime custom to lead a ship after marriage as young men were not generally captains.
Shaikh Ahmed approached his uncle and attacked. After Rahmah sensed his end might near and heard his slave called "Tarar" was killed, he took his eight-year-old son Shaheen and went to the inner galley of his ship. He lit the gunpowder kegs with charcoal from his hookah, killing all of his men and the Al-Khalifa men that were raiding his ship.[21]
Legacy
Rahmah's legacy lasted long after his death; in the 1960s Charles Belgrave wrote of how old men in the coffee shops throughout the region would still talk of his exploits.[4]
See also
- Piracy in the Persian Gulf
- Al-Jalahma
References
- ^ a b James Silk Buckingham (1829). Travels in Assyria, Media, and Persia. Oxford University Press. p. 356.
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ignored (help) - ISBN 9781423614807.
- ^ Charles Belgrave, The Pirate Coast, G. Bell & Sons, 1966 p. 122
- ^ a b Charles Belgrave, p122
- ^ Charles Belgrave, p126
- ^ James Silk Buckingham (1829). Travels in Assyria, Media, and Persia. Oxford University Press. pp. 357–358.
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:|website=
ignored (help) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. - ISBN 978-88-8311-602-5.
- ISBN 978-1781250709.
- ^ Robert Hughes Thomas (1856). "Rahmah bin Jaubir, Chief of Khor Hassan; prepared by Mr Francis Warden, member of council at Bombay". qdl.qa. Bombay: Printed for Government at the Bombay Education Society's Press. p. 1. Retrieved 29 July 2015. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ISBN 9780704321496.
- ^ "The Scourge of the Pirate Coast". Qatar Visitor. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011.
- ISBN 978-0521466356.
- ^ ISBN 9780907151500.
- ISBN 9780907151500.
- ^ Charles Belgrave, p128
- ^ "'Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol I. Historical. Part IA & IB. J G Lorimer. 1915' [792] (947/1782)". qdl.qa. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ Robert Hughes Thomas (1856). "Rahmah bin Jaubir, Chief of Khor Hassan; prepared by Mr Francis Warden, member of council at Bombay". qdl.qa. Bombay: Printed for Government at the Bombay Education Society's Press. p. 5. Retrieved 29 July 2015. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Robert Hughes Thomas (1856). "Rahmah bin Jaubir, Chief of Khor Hassan; prepared by Mr Francis Warden, member of council at Bombay". qdl.qa. Bombay: Printed for Government at the Bombay Education Society's Press. p. 6. Retrieved 29 July 2015. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b Robert Hughes Thomas (1856). "Rahmah bin Jaubir, Chief of Khor Hassan; prepared by Mr Francis Warden, member of council at Bombay". qdl.qa. Bombay: Printed for Government at the Bombay Education Society's Press. p. 7. Retrieved 29 July 2015. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Robert Hughes Thomas (1856). "Rahmah bin Jaubir, Chief of Khor Hassan; prepared by Mr Francis Warden, member of council at Bombay". qdl.qa. Bombay: Printed for Government at the Bombay Education Society's Press. p. 8. Retrieved 29 July 2015. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Hughes Thomas (1856), p 528.