Abd Allāh ibn ʿĀmr al-Hadrami (Arabic: عبد الله بن عمرو الحضرمي) was a 7th-century Arab administrator and a prominent Uthmanid and Umayyad partisan during the First Fitna. A maternal first cousin of the third Rashidun caliph Uthman ibn Affan, al-Hadrami served as the governor of Mecca during the final years of Uthman's caliphate. Following the assassination of Uthman in 656, his familial ties and political loyalties led him to become a major proponent of the Uthmaniyya, which sought vengeance for the slain caliph and opposed the accession of the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Abd Allah ibn Amr al-Hadrami عبد الله بن عمرو الحضرمي | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Mecca | |
| In office 655–656 | |
Caliph | Uthman |
| Preceded by | Ali ibn 'Adi ibn Rabi'a[1] |
| Succeeded by | Qutham ibn Abbas[2] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | |
| Died | c. 659 |
| Parent(s) | Amr ibn al-Hadrami Umm Talha bint Kurayz |
| Relatives | Arwa bint Kurayz (aunt) Abd Allah ibn Amir (cousin) Al-Ala ibn al-Hadrami (uncle) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Rashidun Caliphate (until 656) Umayyad Syria (from 656) |
| Battles/wars | |
He was a significant participant in the mobilization of the Meccan opposition to Ali and took part in the Battle of the Camel. However, he is most notable for being dispatched from Syria by Mu'awiya I to lead a pro-Umayyad rebellion in Basra. By rallying the Banu Tamim to Mu'awiya's cause and demanding retaliation for Uthman, he successfully challenged Ali's authority and forced the local governor, Ziyad ibn Abihi, to flee the provincial palace. The uprising was eventually suppressed by Alid reinforcements, and al-Hadrami was killed when his fortified residence was burned.
Family and early life
editAbd Allah ibn Amr was born in Yemen, a heritage reflected in his nisba, al-Hadrami. His family were long-standing confederates of the Banu Umayya.[3]
His father, Amr ibn al-Hadrami, was a prominent leader of the Quraysh during the early days of Islam. In 624, he led a Meccan trade caravan that became the target of the Raid on Nakhla, where he was killed by Waqid ibn Abdullah, making him the first casualty in the armed conflict between the Muslims of Medina and the Meccans.[4]
Through his mother, Umm Talha bint Kurayz, Abd Allah was a maternal first cousin of Caliph Uthman, as his mother was the sister of Uthman's mother, Arwa bint Kurayz.[5]
Political career
editGovernorship of Mecca
editDuring the final months of Uthman's caliphate, al-Hadrami was appointed as the governor of Mecca.[6] He remained in office through the time of Uthman's assassination in 656, after which the city became a focal point for the Uthmaniyya.[7]
Following his ascension to the caliphate, Ali issued a general dismissal of Uthman's provincial governors, whom he considered to be symbols of nepotism and corruption.[8][9] Ali's attempt to gain control of Mecca failed when the local population refused to swear allegiance to him; the city subsequently entered into open rebellion against Medina.[9] Fleeing governors from Yemen, including Ya'la ibn Umayya and Abd Allah ibn Abi Rabi'a, arrived in the city with wealth and resources which they used to equip the Uthmanid revolt led by Aisha.[9] Al-Hadrami was among the first to support Aisha's calls for vengeance against the regicides.[10]
Activity in Basra
editFollowing the appointment of Uthman ibn Hunayf as the governor of Basra by Ali, al-Hadrami remained in the city as a deputy for the former governor, Abd Allah ibn Amir. Ibn Hunayf subsequently arrested him without resistance to secure control of the provincial administration, ending al-Hadrami's initial tenure there.[3]
Pro-Umayyad revolt and death
edit
In 659, following the Umayyad annexation of Egypt, Mu'awiya I dispatched al-Hadrami from Syria back to Basra to foment a pro-Umayyad uprising. His mission was highly effective; Ziyad ibn Abihi reported to Ali that most of the people of Basra and the majority of the Banu Tamim had offered al-Hadrami their allegiance (bay'ah). This surge of support for Mu'awiya rendered Ziyad's position untenable, forcing him to flee the governor's palace with the provincial treasury to seek protection from the Banu Azd tribe.[11][12]
Ali initially attempted to resolve the situation by sending Aʿyan ibn Dabiʿah al-Mujashiʿ, but Aʿyan was assassinated shortly after arrival.[12] Ali then dispatched Jariya ibn Qudama, who restored Ziyad to the governor's palace and led a military crackdown on the rebels.[13]
Al-Hadrami and approximately seventy followers withdrew to the fortified house of Sabil al-Saʿdi. During the ensuing assault, Jariyah ordered the structure to be set on fire; al-Hadrami and most of his supporters were killed in the conflagration.[13][14] Notably, Mu'awiya I reportedly showed little reaction to the news, a detail historians highlight as evidence of the expendable nature of provincial allies during the civil war.[13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ Madelung 1997, p. 81.
- ↑ Madelung 1997, p. 202.
- 1 2 Madelung 1997, p. 151.
- ↑ Abdul-Rahman 2009, p. 185.
- ↑ al-Zubayrī 1953, p. 147.
- ↑ Madelung 1997, p. 116.
- ↑ Brockett 1997, p. 37.
- ↑ Donner 2010, p. 151.
- 1 2 3 Madelung 1997, p. 148.
- ↑ Brockett 1997, p. 36.
- ↑ Madelung 1997, p. 280.
- 1 2 Hawting 1996, p. 168.
- 1 2 3 Madelung 1997, p. 282.
- ↑ Wellhausen 1927, p. 100.
Bibliography
edit- Abdul-Rahman, Muhammad Saed (2009). Tafsir Ibn Kathir Juz' 2 (Part 2): Al-Baqarah 142 to Al-Baqarah 252 (2nd ed.). MSA Publication Limited. ISBN 978-1-8617-9676-9.
- Donner, F.M. (2010). Muhammad and the Believers: At the Origins of Islam. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-06414-0.
- Madelung, W. (1997). The Succession to Muḥammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-64696-3.
- al-Zubayrī, Muṣʻab ibn ʻAbd Allāh (1953). Kitāb Nasab Quraysh. Cairo: Dār al-Maʻārif lil-Ṭibāʻah wa-al-Nashr. OCLC 10267213.
- Wellhausen, Julius (1927). The Arab Kingdom and Its Fall. Translated by Margaret Graham Weir. Calcutta: University of Calcutta.
- Brockett, Adrian, ed. (1997). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XVI: The Community Divided: The Caliphate of ʿAlī I, A.D. 656–657/A.H. 35–36. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2391-2.
- Hawting, G. R., ed. (1996). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XVII: The First Civil War: From the Battle of Siffīn to the Death of ʿAlī, A.D. 656–661/A.H. 36–40. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2393-6.