Mu'awiya I's Southern Campaigns (658-661)
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Mu'awiya I's Southern Campaigns were a series of raids and military expeditions of Umayyad forces onto Hijaz, Yemen and Iraq after the failure of the arbitration talks after the Battle of Siffin. The campaigns against the Caliphate of Ali continued until the Assassination of Ali.
Background
[edit]After the assassination of Uthman , the third caliph, disputes arose between the early Muslim community about the succession of uthman. Ali ibn Abi Talib was chosen to succeed Uthman which was refused by the governor of Syria Mu'awiya I contributing to the First Fitna. Hostilities resumed between Mu'awiya and Ali after the failure of arbitration talks, contemporarily Muawiya sent Amr Ibn al As to take control of Egypt in which he found success. Mu'awiya sent his lieutenant commanders and ordered raids against Ali's strongholds in Iraq and Arabia.
Campaigns In Arabia
[edit]Mu'awiya sent Yazid ibn Shajara, a pious Uthmanid, to acquire pledge of allegiance from the Quarysh tribe of Mecca in early 660's which proved to be a faliure. He was given an army of 3000 soldiers but were not informed about the objective of the expedition. Yazid refused to shed blood in the Islamic holy land although Mu'awiya stated that removing the governor of mecca ( whom he considers to be a participant in the killing of Uthman ) to be a pious act . [1][2] Later in that year, Mu'awiya appointed Busr ibn Abi Artat in his plans to subjugate the Hejaz and Yemen regions.
Dumat Al-Jandal Incident
[edit]Mu'awiya made an attempt to attain zakat from the neutral tribes of the region by dispatching Muslim ibn Uqba to collect the . However refusal of people led Muslim to lay a siege upon them, which was responded by Ali by sending Malik bin Ka'ab with 1000 cavalry to confront the Syrians . The battle was indecisive however the Syrians retreated the next day. [3][4]
Siege of Tayma
[edit]Muawiyah dispatched Abdullah bin Mas'ada to Medina and Mecca with 1,700 troops. Learning about this, Ali sent Al Musayyab with 2,000 troops to counter him. The two forces skirmishes and Ibn Mas'ada was nearly captured, but he evaded capture, escaping to the fortress at Tayma which was besieged for three days by Al Musayyab.The camels of Ibn Mas'ada's men were slaughtered by the tribesmen. Firewood was piled up at the fortress gates and set alight. Ibn Mas'ada's men pleaded for mercy on the basis of tribal affiliations and the fire was extinguished. When Musayyab pulled back his forces, Ibn Mas'ada and his forces escaped to Syria under the cover of nightfall. A pursuit plan was devised but Musayyab refused to pursue the escapees.For this act, Musayyab was demoted to alms collector, following a few days of imprisonment. [5][6][7][8]
Hejaz Campaign of Busr
[edit]Amr ibn al-As provided Busr ibn Abi Artat with 3000 Syrian troops for his expedition.The Qays nobility cautioned Mu'awiya of the possible vengeance that Busr might offer to them in response to the killings of Fihr and Kinana by Qaysi Banu Sulaym during the Conquest of Mecca, leading to Mu'awiya strip Busr of authority over Qaysi tribesman under his command.At Deir Murran , he dropped 400 troops out of his campaign and continued his expedition with 2600 soldiers.[9][10]
When Busr arrived in Medina which was his primary target as it was capital of the caliphate before Ali relocated it to Kufa , he faced no resistance while giving an speech in condemnation of the tradition elites who were Ansars. Abu Ayyub al-Ansari fled for Kufa.Busr halted at every watering places in his route and requested to use the camel of the locals when his soldiers were exhausted and to preserve the stamina of his war horses. He demolished the houses of the allies of Ali including Abu Ayyub and obtained the pledge of allegiance to Mu'awiya from the notables of the city and spared it's inhabitants.[11][12]
After medina, Busr headed towards Mecca, Qutham ibn Abbas the governor of the city fled with a large number of its inhabitants.Busr located a companion of Muhammad and the representative of Ali in the arbitration talks, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari and pardoned him. Busr,after his prayer at the Ka'ba took allegiance of Mu'awiya from the inhabitants except from Sa'id ibn al-As an distant kinsman of Mu'awiya.Qutham might have taken the control of Mecca after the exit of Busr from the city.[12][13]
Al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba one of the notables of the city had greeted Busr and persuaded him to not to offer assault to Banu Thaqif,the representatives of the city had informed Busr that he had no authority over the core clan of Qays,Busr spared the inhabitants, while dispatching troops to Tabala against sympathizers of Ali ibn Abi Talib but ultimately pardoning them. After leaving Taif, Busr entered the tribal territory of the Kinana, he came across Abd al-Rahman and Qutham, the young sons of Ubayd Allah ibn Abbas Yemeni governor and Ali's cousin. Busr executed both Abd al-Rahman and Qutham.[14][15][16]
Campaigns in Iraq
[edit]Invasion of Basra
[edit]After the death of Muhammad bin Abu bakr, Muawiyah dispatched Abdullah bin amir Al hadhrami with 2000 to Basra to exhort it's people especially Banu Tamim to the ummayad camp. The then governor of the city, Abdullah ibn Abbas had gone to Kufa, leaving Ziyad Ibn Abih as his deputy who informed Ali about the worsening situation of the city, Ziyad was forced to flee the city and took refuge with the tribe of Azd. Ali dispatched Banu Tamim of kufa under the command of Ayan Ibn Dahi'ah Al Mujashi to counter Al Hadhrami, but Al Mujashi was killed soon after arriving at Basra. So Ali sent Jariyah Ibn Qudamah Al Sadi with a relieving force of fifty men from bani Tamim but the tribesmen indulged into fighting amongst themselves. So Jariyah called on the deputy Ziyad and the Azd tribe, who came and skirmished with Al hadhrami forcing him to retreat and encamp at Sabil Al Sadi's house. The house was set alight, most of the encamped men were killed and those who escaped were killed by the besieging force. [17][18][19]
Skrimish of Al Samawa
[edit]Mu'awiya sent Zuhayr bin Makhul, to collect alms taxes from the tribe of Kalb who were neutral in the conflict but had a marriage alliance with Mu'awiya.In response Ali sent 3 men naming Jafar, Al julas and Urwa . They met Zuhayr and fought him, Jafar was killed by Zuhayr, Al julas fled to Kufa and Urwa was criticised by Ali by what he called the cowardness of Urwa and whipped him, Urwa defected to Mu'awiya which was met by Ali destroying his house in retaliation. The minor skrimish bought minor success for the Umayyads. [3]
Al Dahhak's Invasion
[edit]Al Dahhak bin Qiyas raided Al-Qutqutana killing Ibn Umays. Ali asked the Kufans to rise up against the Syrian invaders. Hujr bin Ali Al Kindi rose up first following which 4,000 more people volunteered and set out to confront the attackers. They clashed with Al Dahhak's forces in Palmyra forcing Al dahhak to retreat following which raids continued for two more days. In the same year, Mu'awiya himself marched up to the Tigris river but later retreated. [3][20][21]
Raid of Ayn al Tamr
[edit]Mu'awiya dispatched Al Nu'man bin Bashir with 2000 troops to raid Ayn Al Tamr garrison,which was stationed by Malik bin Ka'ab Al Arabi and his men. Ali asked the Kufans to respond to their assault but their slow response prompted Ali to encourage the Kufans to retaliate, in a sermon, following which Adi bin Hathim went to Ali offering his 1,000 troops at his disposal. Adi along with his thousand troops, under orders from Ali, went to al-Nukhayla and then from there, raided Syrian territory while moving along the Euphrates river. [22][23][24]
Raids of Hit and Al Anbar
[edit]Mu'awiya sent Sufyan ibn Awf to Hit, with 6,000 men and with orders to continue to Al Anbar and Al Mada'in. In Hit, there was no confrontation but in Anbar, they attacked an Alid garrison of 500 men, scattering about 400, however, one hundred soldiers remained. Cavalry and infantry attacks killed the garrison commander, Ashras bin Hassan Al bakri with 30 men. The garrison was looted. Ali sent Sa'id ibn Qays al-Hamdani to confront him, Sa'id went as far as Anat to pursue the raiders but was not able to engage them.[20][25]
Battle of Kirkeesya
[edit]Mu'awiya wanted to overthrow Shabath ibn Rib'i , the governor of Kumayl ibn Ziyad , had marched to the outskirts of Kirkeesya to meet some people who, he had heard, had decided to attack Hit . He said, Beat them first before they attack me, for it is said: 'Beat them with a shout and they will flee.' So he left one man in Hit and marched with all his companions. When Sufiyan army approached them, those who remained in Hit, fifty men, fled. Ali became angry and wrote to him, "For a man to neglect what he has been entrusted with and to undertake what is sufficient is weakness, but your abandoning your work and skipping it to Kirkeesya is a mistake, ignorance, and a false opinion." Mu'awiya launched continuous attacks on Kafarqos. Then Kumail received a letter from Shabib ibn Amir al-Azdi from Nasibin, informing him that a spy had informed him that Muawiyah had sent Abd al-Rahman ibn Qubath ibn Ashim toward al-Jazira, and that it was not known whether he was heading to Hit or the Euphrates region. Kumail consulted his companions and said, “If Ibn Qubath wants us, we will meet him, and if he wants our brothers in Nasibin, we will intercept him.” So he set out with 400 horsemen, leaving his 600 men in Hit, and began to cut off news from the enemy.Then Kamil appointed Abdullah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi as his successor over Hit, and he went to Shabib in Nasibin. Shabib set out with 600 horsemen, and they gathered a 1000 horsemen and marched towards Abd al-Rahman ibn Qabath, who was at that time in Kirkeesya with a large army from the people of Syria. Kumayl ibn Ziyad and Shabib al-Azdi, overtook the cavalry of the people of the Levant. The Umayyad army was led by Abd al-Rahman ibn Qubath and Ma'n ibn Yazid al-Salami , and their number was estimated 2400 men. When the two armies met,then the two armies clashed and fought fiercely, ending with the defeat of the Syrian army and the killing of a large number of them, while four of Shabib's companions were killed, and two men from Kumayl's army were killed: Abdullah ibn Qays al-Qabisi and Mudrik ibn Bishr al-Ghanawi. After the Syrian army was dispersed, Kumayl ordered that no one who fled should be pursued and no one who was wounded should be finished off. Kumayl said to his companions: “Do not pursue them, for we have dealt a great deal of harm to them, and if we pursue them, perhaps they will return to us, and we do not know how things will turn out.” Then he wrote to Ali ibn Abi Talib about the conquest, so Ali prayed for him and praised him highly.[26][27][28][29][30]
Campaigns in Yemen
[edit]Mu'awiya imposed sanctions on Busr for his further expeditional activities in Hejaz but did not put such terms on Yemen. Ka'b ibn Abda Dhi'l-Habaka al-Nahdi was killed by Busr for his previous criticism of Uthman. When he entered Najran , he ordered the killing of Balharith and Muhammad, Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Madan,who was the leader of an embassy and the his brother and son, Yazid and Malik respectively. However casualties in the conflict by Busr, called Ali to criticise his governors in Yemen for not taking formidable action against the local uthmanids in Yemen and sent reinforcements to Yemen.[31][32][33][34]
Conflict with the Hamdans
[edit]Busr first attacked the Arhab clan of the Hamdan tribe and killed a lot of supporters of Ali which includes Abu Karib who was a Hamdan chief. The Hamdan people took their positions above the mountains of Shibam and resisted Busr, who then bypassed the mountain and withdrew, however upon the return of the people to the villages, Busr attacked them and it was the first ever incidence of Muslims holding captive Muslim women.[35]
Siege of Sana
[edit]Ali's governors Ubaydallah ibn Abbas and Sa'id fled to Kufa although Sa'id's resistance to Busr's advances in Yemen. Ubaydallah's deputy in Sana offered resistance to Busr's invasion however was killed by Busr along with much of its inhabitants. From Ma'rib, a delegation of the town offered to submit to Mu'awiya, they were spared to spread the news of the massacre to Ma'rib.[36]
Siege of Jayshan
[edit]Busr launched an offensive against Jayshan, where the support for ali was strong.Many of the partisans of Ali were killed and were forced to withdraw to their forts, convincing to retreat to Sana.[35]
Hadhramaut expedition
[edit]Wa'il bin Hujr invited Busr to Hadhramaut stating that half of the city was Uthmanid.Busr accepted the offer and was rejoiced by gifts however upon Wa'il's query of Busr's intention with the civilian population of the city, Busr replied with his intentions of massacring quarter of the city. Wa'il suggested him to attack Abdallah bin Thawaba , a lord of Hadhramaut and Wa'il's rival. Busr executed Thawaba soon after.[35]
Busr ended his expedition of Hadhramaut upon the news of the Alid relief army by Jariya ibn Qudama and Wahab bin Masud of 4000 troops. Busr retreated to Hejaz without confronting the relief army as well as the other reason of his early end to his campaign was muawiya's preference of the campaign being limited with facing minimum Syria casualties. Upon his retreat, Busr did not punish the Banu Tamim who seized parts of his loot.[37]
Encounter with Banu Hanifa
[edit]Busr entered Al-Yamama and decided to punish the chieftain of the Hanifa for his neutrality in the civil war, however spared his tribesmen but killed Mujja'a ibn Murara who was the chieftain and took captive his son who was later freed by Mu'awiya and made the chief of the Hanifa tribe.[38]
Atrocities
[edit]During the entire campaign, numerous atrocities took place from both sides.
Massacres of Uthmanids
[edit]After the invasion of Busr in Yemen, Jariya quickly approached Yemen with reinforcements, however the Uthmanids in Yemen started to flee upon their arrival and were ultimately persecuted and killed by the Alid partisans.[39][40]
Massacres of Alids
[edit]According to Shia sources, Busr's campaign was full of atrocities and crimes against the Alid partisans as well the civilian population in Hejaz and Yemen, his campaign was marked by first ever mistreatment of Muslim women by Muslims and as well as large scale massacres of civilians throughout Yemen. Busr executed several Alid figures in Hejaz as well as punished tribes for either their support for Ali or their neutrality. In Taif, Busr committed a mass execution . [12]
Shia sources state the number to be around 30,000 however some scholars calls it exgerration however does not dispute the massacres. Along with the Partisans of Ali, Busr also committed atrocities against the civilian population including children of the Kinani tribe. Ali had cursed Busr for his actions in the region. [41][42][43][44][45][46]
Aftermath
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