Banū Kinda in Hadjar in the second half of the 6th century

 
PIIS086919080003959-1-1
DOI10.31857/S086919080003959-1
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Occupation: Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
Affiliation: Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
Address: Russian Federation, Moscow
Journal nameVostok. Afro-Aziatskie obshchestva: istoriia i sovremennost
EditionIssue 1
Pages55-65
Abstract

 This study deals with a particular aspect of the history of the Banū Kinda tribal confederation, namely, with its domination over Hadjar (North-Eastern Arabia). The Kindite rulers of Hadjar were descendants of Muʻāwiya al-Djawn (‘the Black’), son of Ḥudjr, founder of the Kindite royal house and vassal of the kings of Himyar and Saba (Yemen). Muʻāwiya and his son al-Ḥārith ruled over Yamama, whereas al-Ḥārith Ibn ʻAmr al-Ḥarrāb (‘the War-Wager’), the famous king and warrior, who belonged to a different branch of the Kindite royal family, moved to the north-east and became a vassal of the Sasanids. In the 520–530-es the Sasanids and their Lakhmid vassals persecuted al-Ḥārith Ibn ʻAmr and his subjects, which made it necessary for al-Ḥārith Ibn Muʻāwiya to move from Yamama to the region of Mecca. Afterwards Muʻāwiya, son of al-Ḥārith Ibn Muʻāwiya, became a vassal of Abraha, the Ethiopian ruler of Yemen, resuming the old Kindite practice of serving rulers of Yemen. In 553–554 Abraha got possession of the Arabs from the Hadjar region and appointed Muʻāwiya his governor over it. Muʻāwiya built al-Mushaḳḳar, the principal fortress of Hadjar. Lakhmid king ʻAmr III (554–569) in the beginning of his reign drove the Kindites out of Hadjar, but after his death they recovered it. Muʻāwiya ruled over Hadjar in the time of al-Nuʻmān III’s reign in al-Ḥīra (579–601). Before the end of the 6th century Banū Kinda left Hadjar, which may have been due to Muʻāwiya’s death, and migrated to South Arabia.

Keywordspre-Islamic Arabia, Hadjar, Banū Kinda, Lakhmids, Sasanids
Received20.03.2019
Publication date21.03.2019
Number of characters37558
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1 The history of the Banū Kinda tribal confederation is a subject which by all means is worth efforts to study. In the 5th century Banū Kinda, then vassals of the kings of the united state of Himyar and Saba, undertook a number of large-scale campaigns in Arabia. King Ḥudjr of Banū Kinda, nicknamed ‘Eater of Bitter Plants’ (Ākil al-murār), resided in al-Ghamr (placed by Muslim geographers on the way from Baghdad to Mecca, not far from the latter), which for a time became the Kindite capital. Ḥudjr’s grandson al-Ḥārith the War-Wager (al-Ḥarrāb) advanced further to the north, and Banū Kinda arrived at the frontiers of Byzantium and the Sasanid state. Banū Kinda failed in their attacks upon Byzantium but were more successful in the East. They dealt a strong blow to the Lakhmids, Arab rulers of al-Ḥīra, who governed Arab tribes on the Sasanids’ behalf. In the early 510-es al-Ḥārith the War-Wager seized al-Ḥīra. Lakhmid king al-Mundhir III (512/13–554)1 was compelled to flee. Some time later, evidently through the efforts of Sasanid king Kavad I (488–498/99, 501–531), a settlement was achieved. Al-Ḥārith became a vassal of Kavad, leaving his former masters, kings of Himyar and Saba, and went with those Banū Kinda who were subject to him to stay in the Sasanid possessionsbeyond Euphrates. Al-Mundhir, who did not cease to be a vassal of the Sasanids, returned to al-Ḥīra. Al-Ḥārith was expected to help the Sasanids extend their dominion over the tribes of Arabia, yet he did very little in that respect. The Sasanids must have been disappointed. In the late 520-es and the early 530-es the Lakhmids began, with the Sasanids’ help, an offensive against al-Ḥārith. The latter fled to Byzantium and apparently died before long. Al-Ḥārith’s elder sons, whom he had appointed his governors over Arab tribes, perished at about the same time. Imruʼ-l-Ḳays, a famous poet and grandson of al-Ḥārith, went to Byzantium to apply for help against Banū Asad Ibn Khuzayma who had killed his father Ḥudjr. Yet he, if the legends which have come to us are to be trusted, fell victim of courtly intrigues and died of a decease caused by a poison-soaked garment which the emperor sent him2. 1. Dates of Lakhmid kings’ reigns are examined in detail in my History of the Lakhmid state [Mishin, 2017, p. 27–42].

2. Here again I would suggest to address my History of the Lakhmid state [Mishin, 2017, p. 108–162].
2 Ḥudjr the Eater of Bitter Plants, al-Ḥārith the War-Wager and Imruʼ-l-Ḳays invariably enjoy the status of protagonists in Arabic stories and legends concerning Banū Kinda in preIslamic times. They overshadow all other Kindite rulers and statesmen, of whom only scattered references have reached us3. And yet, those references, although sometimes lacking precision or details, allow for re-constructing the history of another Kindite state formation which was a contemporary of al-Ḥārith’s tribal state but lasted longer for several decades. 3. It is approximately the same in works by 20th and 21st century scholars. They usually do not examine the rule of the descendants of Muʻāwiya the Black in Hadjar and do not go beyond mentioning the latter as a brother of ʻAmr, sonof Ḥudjr, who ruled in Yamama [ʻAlī, 1993, 3, p. 327; Farrūkh, 1964, p. 87; al-Kindī, 2000, p. 81; Olinder, 1927, p. 47; al-Shaykh, 1993, p. 168].
3 Ḥudjr the Eater of Bitter Plants left two heirs among whom his possessions were divided. ʻAmr, father of al-Ḥārith the War-Wager, ruled over the territories in which his father had resided, i.e., first of all, the region of al-Ghamr. Muʻāwiya al-Djawn, the other son, received Yamama [Abū al-Faradj al-Iṣfahānī, 1905, 8, p. 61; Ibn al-Athīr, 1987, p. 399; Muḥammad Ibn Ḥabīb, 1942, p. 369]. Of the latter, as well as of his rule, little is known. He was a brother of ʻAmr by both father and mother and was nicknamed al-Djawn (‘the Black’) for the darkness of his skin [Abū al-Faradj al-Iṣfahānī, 1905, 10, p. 33; al-Kalbī, 1988, p. 168]. I supposed once, on the basis of historical context, that it is to Muʻāwiya al-Djawn that Ibn ʻAbd Rabbih (860– 940) actually refers stating that a certain al-Djawn Ibn Yazīd was the first to conclude an alliance between Banū Kinda and the tribal confederation of Banū Bakr Ibn Wāʼil [Mishin, 2017, p. 121].
4 Following that, the story of Muʻāwiya the Black and his descendants cannot be followed for a while. They re-appear in the sources in quite different circumstances. The extant evidence on them is as follows.
5 The stories of the Banū ʻAbs tribe which belonged to the Ghaṭafān tribal confederation tell that at a certain stage they went to the region of Hadjar. Their goal was to find new dwelling places according to some accounts or merely to buy food according to others. Upon their arrival they entered into treaties with local rulers. In most accounts the Banū ʻAbs’ counterpart is the tribe of Banū Saʻd Ibn Zayd Manāt of the Banū Tamīm confederation. Yet Ibn al-Athīr (1160–1233) states that the Banū ʻAbs dealt with the ruler of Hadjar called Muʻāwiya Ibn alḤārith al-Kindī. However, the latter soon changed his mind and decided to attack them. This scenario occurs in other accounts as well, although in a slightly different form: it is said that Banū Saʻd addressed Muʻāwiya Ibn al-Djawn, the king of Hadjar (and, according to one story, of Banū Saʻd as well) and proposed to jointly destroy Banū Kinda and share the booty. The king agreed and set off with his troops, planning to suddenly attack early in the morning, which was then a usual element of Arabic military tactics. Yet Banū ʻAbs had been warned of his approach and left their camp. Muʻāwiya and Banū Saʻd pursued them and in the morning reached them near the wadi4 of al-Farūḳ, in half a day of march from the place where a largely known market was held. The Banū ʻAbs stood there in readiness. According to most accounts Banū ʻAbs won the battle, although the sources tell us that they did not stay at that place and retreated [ʻAntara, 1964, p. 223, 227; al-Bakrī, 1983, p. 1024; Ibn ʻAbd Rabbih, 1965, p. 158; Ibn al-Athīr, 1987, p. 460; al-Maydānī, 1955, p. 117; al-Mufaḍḍal Ibn Salama, 1974, p. 229; Yāḳūt, 1977, 4, p. 258; al-Yazīdī, 1998, p. 585]. 4. Al-Farūḳ is also said to have been a mountain situated beyond the borders of the region of Hadjar, towards Najd.

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