This post will be dedicated to giving a rough and short analysis of the Zanj Revolt's foundation as stipulated by its leaders and why this was a rebellion unlike the typical. Further, this is a topic that gives opposition to the position that history occurs due to massive factors or the march of history, whilst this may be true, it is also the case that the actions of individuals and groups make profound changes in the fabric of the space we refer to as history or reality.
To begin, the narrative of the Sahib al-Zanj, is steeped in a level of mystery in the sense of his origins. Al-Tabari, the most credible source that we currently posses claims that Ali ibn Muhammad as he called himself, was born in Rey to an Arab mother and father who were from Karbala. In his younger years, we find that he spent a time in the city of Baghdad as a poet wherein he gained some local following. However, for reasons not necessarily understood, he leaves the city of Baghdad and travels to Karbala and then to Arabia by land. Once in Karbala, we find Ali ibn Muhammad claiming to be from an Alid (from the lineage of Ali, Ahl ul-Bayt) lineage and seeking to ferment a revolt by way of convincing locals to join his cause. His cause as we see, and stated by al-Tabari, was to ferment a rebellion against the Abbasid state. The reasons for this, is unknown, however, reading between the lines, it seems clear to me that this Ali ibn Muhammad, had a power trip as you say, a delusional perception of himself as a descendant of Ali ibn Abi Talib and someone to whom power was bestowed by Allah to bring justice to the earth. However, it is also possibly the case that his position was to use these Shi'i monikers alongside the eventual overt Khawarij propaganda to gain power.
Regardless of his reasons, Ali ibn Muhammad claimed within the Ahsa region that he was not only a descendant of Ali ibn Abi Talib (using the Zaydiyya formulation of Ahl ul-Bayt, not the Twelver or Batinist), but an incarnation of various former revolutionaries. The first of which was claiming to be the Shumayt, or Muhammad ibn Jafar al-Sadiq a former revolutionary Alid who rebelled against the Abbasid in Makkah, where he was killed after a short battle with government forces. This was of course in an effort to garner the support of the remaining followers of this person, who remained a potent force in Arabia, and we can assume until the 1200s. The other and most important of whom, which he would use his entire life, was that of Yahya ibn Umar. This Yahya ibn Umar, was an Alid revolutionary leader from Karbala, who attempted a revolt against al-Musta'in, wherein his heroic stance was famed and he was betrayed like Husayn of the past and martyred by execution due to the betrayal of local Shi'i cleric Umar al-Faraj. After his death, famous tales of Yahya ibn Umar spread across Lower Iraq and Arabia, where he was touted as a hero of legend and a mirror of Husayn ibn Ali, a true Muslim. He too, was beloved by Shi'i and Khawarij/Shurha (we will refer to them as Shurha from now on), Shi'i as heroic lion who mimicked Husayn ibn Ali, a sign of the times and by the Shurha as an honorable warrior who was unjustly murdered for his sincere faith.
This culminates in a very mystical and highly religious overtone in the discourse of Sahib al-Zanj, in the sense that he is making very interesting claims regarding his nature. The ideal of one coming as an incarnate of dead individuals, is not found in the Zayddiyya tradition with which his use of Ahl ul-Bayt lineage originates. Thus, it may be plausible that he is appealing to many different Shi'i by way of using Zaydite terms and conventions of lineage naming, whilst using concepts unique to the Ghulat (exaggerators) of the Batiniyyah and Twelver sects existing in Arabia at the time, likely, especially those who would become the Qarmatians 7 years after the death of Ali ibn Muhammad.
To increase the level of mysticism; the period of time that we can refer to as the Bahrayni period of his life is covered in attempts to persuade local Arab tribes to join his cause with mixed results. The first of these attempts gained much success among local Arab tribes, however, this success came with resentment from the local leaders of the area, who before Ali ibn Muhamamd had even arrived, pushed out most Abbasid presence. This culminated in a pitched battle between the two enemies with the local Arabs gaining a victory against Ali ibn Muhammad, forcing him out of the Ahsa region for the time.
The power of Ali ibn Muhammad at this time was very apparent despite his loss in battle. It is mentioned, that his followers saw him as a prophet and truly as Yahya ibn Umar reincarnated. The essence of this devotion, would be seen when after the failure, Ali ibn Muhammad suffered a dream wherein he claimed to be given a message by Allah. This message was that he must travel to Basra and ferment a rebellion there and in his dream after these words, the sky of his dream crackled with lightning and thunder surrounded him. This would become a common theme in his life, a vivid dream which he describes to his army and gives sweeping prophetic utterances that would be followed to the letter by his army. Regardless, after this dream, his cohort of allies, all from Arab extract in the Nejd and Ahsa, joined him in the journey to Basra.
An odd part of the rebellion from an early part, was the ability of Ali ibn Muhammad using Yahya ibn Umar, a beloved figure by both Shi'i and Shurha. From the earliest parts of the rebellion, there was individuals of both groups in his circle. Most of whom seemed to be Shi'i from Ahsa, such as al-Jami, one of the two main marshals of the Zanj army. however, al-Muhallabi, the primary military officer during the war against the Abbasid and governor of Zanj Basra, was a devoted Shurha. When the city of Basra was captured by the Zanj, al-Muhallabi, the main captor and now governor of the city, was famed for omitting the name Uthman and Ali as caliphs of the Rashidun. The idea that a devoted Shurha who held that Ali ibn Abi Talib was a kuffar, coudl follow a leader who claimed to be an incarnation of an Alid revolutionary, is quite amazing and also speaks to the surely incredible political skill the Sahib al-Zanj possessed. This distinction in the Zanj army seemed to give it much power in early battles and in garnering support, but did much to harm their position in holding cities, such as al-Muhallabi who was ejected from the city of Basra after his army split into two camps and battled with on another due to this issue of religion, weakening the Zanj army to be defeated by an Abbasid resurgence in the city.
After his arrival in Iraq, we find that Ali ibn Muhammad is automatically at work. From the very moment he arrives, he distributes five of his comrades into the city of Basra to go to the mosques and spread dissent, while Ali ibn Muhammad moves toward the rural areas with al-Muhallabi and Sulayman ibn al-Jami to find a position to make as a HQ. These individuals whom are part of this cadre of his, grow slowly at first, with each of his new members sent into local villages and to Arab Bedouin areas to spread word. As we find, shortly after his incursion into the Sawad region, he finds an abandoned fortress from either the Sassanid or Umayyad period, called al-Qurayshi. This disabled fortress is where he then sets up a camp and a pseudo court. There, he sends his aides out to the road and ask those travelling to come see him.
The most important and insightful of these early travelers discovered on the road, was a slave (al-Tabari uses the term Ghilman, thus it is not impossible to assume this is a Persian or Turk, though it is also possible that al-Tabari misspoke) named Rayhan ibn Salih, who was given the job by his master of transporting orders and goods to the slaves who were working in the fields cutting the topsoil. His shipment he was carrying, included dates that were the food for the slaves and various provisions and orders for them. Upon being grabbed by Ali's henchmen, he is given a series of questions, which Rayhan answers. These questions are recorded as, questions on the occupation of the slaves, his occupation as a slave, what are the orders that the slave master is giving, does he know any fo the workings of Basran politics and would he join their ranks. This offer was recorded, that he would be payed handsomely and made a commander. Rayhan agreed and was given orders by Ali ibn Muhammad; these orders included a novel concept that Rayhan continue to serve his master passively, whilst enlisting new members from slaves in the mines and fields. Thus, due to his position as a high ranking slave, Rayhan was sent to each of these locations, wherein he went to speak with the slaves and distribute the propaganda of Ali ibn Muhammad's band and direct them the way to go to reach al-Qurayshi fortress and also instruct them, that for every person they persuade to join the revolt, they will receive money and will become a commander of those they enlist, leading to a chaining effect of recruitment.
While Rayhan was spreading propaganda among the slaves, and new recruits came to al-Qurayshi castle, the cadre had begun its own form of propaganda by erecting a flag from its castle and a flag to carry. This flag was white with green letters on one side and red on the other. The green side held the Quranic surah, "Allah has purchased the souls of the believers, and their property, for they have attained paradise by fighting in the way of Allah," the other side transcribed in red, included an account of his name and his ancestry back to Ali ibn Abi Talib (supposed). Each of these are represented later in coins from the Zanj period which carried these double sided messages, both appealing to different demographics. The one in green, was the surah that the Shurha proclaimed in their rebellion against Ali ibn Abi Talib and their namesake (Shurha means those who purchase or the purchased ones, in reference to this sura), while the red message appeals to the Shi'i who notice the lineage to their Imam Ali.
As the rebellion develops, Ali would begin using his new recruits of former slave backgrounds, to infiltrate into slave populations and villages and spread their ideology. Rapidly, the landlords of the Sawad realized that among their slaves was spreading a contagion of rebellion and sedition. Before they could address the issue, Ali ibn Muhammad had already assembled a force of these freed individuals and Arabs, who he lead across the Sawad fields and salt flats attacking landlords and recruiting the local slaves, some of whom he'd put in his army, the others he sent out as spies, sleepers and propagandists/recruiters. Within a very short span of time, Ali ibn Muhammad due to ingenious thinking, had gathered an army and created a coherent ideology that would appeal to a diverse network of people. From this early period, we see more Zanj expansion under Ali ibn Muhammad that we reach past the early stage characterized by the setting up of the rebellion and prior to his ability to field entire armies.
I will cease for this post and answer any questions. This will be a series hopefully, where I discuss in minor detail, the Zanj rebellion in stages and various events therein, speculating upon how the Zanj could develop in a scenario wherein they are not defeated in 883 after nearly 15 years of war.
To begin, the narrative of the Sahib al-Zanj, is steeped in a level of mystery in the sense of his origins. Al-Tabari, the most credible source that we currently posses claims that Ali ibn Muhammad as he called himself, was born in Rey to an Arab mother and father who were from Karbala. In his younger years, we find that he spent a time in the city of Baghdad as a poet wherein he gained some local following. However, for reasons not necessarily understood, he leaves the city of Baghdad and travels to Karbala and then to Arabia by land. Once in Karbala, we find Ali ibn Muhammad claiming to be from an Alid (from the lineage of Ali, Ahl ul-Bayt) lineage and seeking to ferment a revolt by way of convincing locals to join his cause. His cause as we see, and stated by al-Tabari, was to ferment a rebellion against the Abbasid state. The reasons for this, is unknown, however, reading between the lines, it seems clear to me that this Ali ibn Muhammad, had a power trip as you say, a delusional perception of himself as a descendant of Ali ibn Abi Talib and someone to whom power was bestowed by Allah to bring justice to the earth. However, it is also possibly the case that his position was to use these Shi'i monikers alongside the eventual overt Khawarij propaganda to gain power.
Regardless of his reasons, Ali ibn Muhammad claimed within the Ahsa region that he was not only a descendant of Ali ibn Abi Talib (using the Zaydiyya formulation of Ahl ul-Bayt, not the Twelver or Batinist), but an incarnation of various former revolutionaries. The first of which was claiming to be the Shumayt, or Muhammad ibn Jafar al-Sadiq a former revolutionary Alid who rebelled against the Abbasid in Makkah, where he was killed after a short battle with government forces. This was of course in an effort to garner the support of the remaining followers of this person, who remained a potent force in Arabia, and we can assume until the 1200s. The other and most important of whom, which he would use his entire life, was that of Yahya ibn Umar. This Yahya ibn Umar, was an Alid revolutionary leader from Karbala, who attempted a revolt against al-Musta'in, wherein his heroic stance was famed and he was betrayed like Husayn of the past and martyred by execution due to the betrayal of local Shi'i cleric Umar al-Faraj. After his death, famous tales of Yahya ibn Umar spread across Lower Iraq and Arabia, where he was touted as a hero of legend and a mirror of Husayn ibn Ali, a true Muslim. He too, was beloved by Shi'i and Khawarij/Shurha (we will refer to them as Shurha from now on), Shi'i as heroic lion who mimicked Husayn ibn Ali, a sign of the times and by the Shurha as an honorable warrior who was unjustly murdered for his sincere faith.
This culminates in a very mystical and highly religious overtone in the discourse of Sahib al-Zanj, in the sense that he is making very interesting claims regarding his nature. The ideal of one coming as an incarnate of dead individuals, is not found in the Zayddiyya tradition with which his use of Ahl ul-Bayt lineage originates. Thus, it may be plausible that he is appealing to many different Shi'i by way of using Zaydite terms and conventions of lineage naming, whilst using concepts unique to the Ghulat (exaggerators) of the Batiniyyah and Twelver sects existing in Arabia at the time, likely, especially those who would become the Qarmatians 7 years after the death of Ali ibn Muhammad.
To increase the level of mysticism; the period of time that we can refer to as the Bahrayni period of his life is covered in attempts to persuade local Arab tribes to join his cause with mixed results. The first of these attempts gained much success among local Arab tribes, however, this success came with resentment from the local leaders of the area, who before Ali ibn Muhamamd had even arrived, pushed out most Abbasid presence. This culminated in a pitched battle between the two enemies with the local Arabs gaining a victory against Ali ibn Muhammad, forcing him out of the Ahsa region for the time.
The power of Ali ibn Muhammad at this time was very apparent despite his loss in battle. It is mentioned, that his followers saw him as a prophet and truly as Yahya ibn Umar reincarnated. The essence of this devotion, would be seen when after the failure, Ali ibn Muhammad suffered a dream wherein he claimed to be given a message by Allah. This message was that he must travel to Basra and ferment a rebellion there and in his dream after these words, the sky of his dream crackled with lightning and thunder surrounded him. This would become a common theme in his life, a vivid dream which he describes to his army and gives sweeping prophetic utterances that would be followed to the letter by his army. Regardless, after this dream, his cohort of allies, all from Arab extract in the Nejd and Ahsa, joined him in the journey to Basra.
An odd part of the rebellion from an early part, was the ability of Ali ibn Muhammad using Yahya ibn Umar, a beloved figure by both Shi'i and Shurha. From the earliest parts of the rebellion, there was individuals of both groups in his circle. Most of whom seemed to be Shi'i from Ahsa, such as al-Jami, one of the two main marshals of the Zanj army. however, al-Muhallabi, the primary military officer during the war against the Abbasid and governor of Zanj Basra, was a devoted Shurha. When the city of Basra was captured by the Zanj, al-Muhallabi, the main captor and now governor of the city, was famed for omitting the name Uthman and Ali as caliphs of the Rashidun. The idea that a devoted Shurha who held that Ali ibn Abi Talib was a kuffar, coudl follow a leader who claimed to be an incarnation of an Alid revolutionary, is quite amazing and also speaks to the surely incredible political skill the Sahib al-Zanj possessed. This distinction in the Zanj army seemed to give it much power in early battles and in garnering support, but did much to harm their position in holding cities, such as al-Muhallabi who was ejected from the city of Basra after his army split into two camps and battled with on another due to this issue of religion, weakening the Zanj army to be defeated by an Abbasid resurgence in the city.
After his arrival in Iraq, we find that Ali ibn Muhammad is automatically at work. From the very moment he arrives, he distributes five of his comrades into the city of Basra to go to the mosques and spread dissent, while Ali ibn Muhammad moves toward the rural areas with al-Muhallabi and Sulayman ibn al-Jami to find a position to make as a HQ. These individuals whom are part of this cadre of his, grow slowly at first, with each of his new members sent into local villages and to Arab Bedouin areas to spread word. As we find, shortly after his incursion into the Sawad region, he finds an abandoned fortress from either the Sassanid or Umayyad period, called al-Qurayshi. This disabled fortress is where he then sets up a camp and a pseudo court. There, he sends his aides out to the road and ask those travelling to come see him.
The most important and insightful of these early travelers discovered on the road, was a slave (al-Tabari uses the term Ghilman, thus it is not impossible to assume this is a Persian or Turk, though it is also possible that al-Tabari misspoke) named Rayhan ibn Salih, who was given the job by his master of transporting orders and goods to the slaves who were working in the fields cutting the topsoil. His shipment he was carrying, included dates that were the food for the slaves and various provisions and orders for them. Upon being grabbed by Ali's henchmen, he is given a series of questions, which Rayhan answers. These questions are recorded as, questions on the occupation of the slaves, his occupation as a slave, what are the orders that the slave master is giving, does he know any fo the workings of Basran politics and would he join their ranks. This offer was recorded, that he would be payed handsomely and made a commander. Rayhan agreed and was given orders by Ali ibn Muhammad; these orders included a novel concept that Rayhan continue to serve his master passively, whilst enlisting new members from slaves in the mines and fields. Thus, due to his position as a high ranking slave, Rayhan was sent to each of these locations, wherein he went to speak with the slaves and distribute the propaganda of Ali ibn Muhammad's band and direct them the way to go to reach al-Qurayshi fortress and also instruct them, that for every person they persuade to join the revolt, they will receive money and will become a commander of those they enlist, leading to a chaining effect of recruitment.
While Rayhan was spreading propaganda among the slaves, and new recruits came to al-Qurayshi castle, the cadre had begun its own form of propaganda by erecting a flag from its castle and a flag to carry. This flag was white with green letters on one side and red on the other. The green side held the Quranic surah, "Allah has purchased the souls of the believers, and their property, for they have attained paradise by fighting in the way of Allah," the other side transcribed in red, included an account of his name and his ancestry back to Ali ibn Abi Talib (supposed). Each of these are represented later in coins from the Zanj period which carried these double sided messages, both appealing to different demographics. The one in green, was the surah that the Shurha proclaimed in their rebellion against Ali ibn Abi Talib and their namesake (Shurha means those who purchase or the purchased ones, in reference to this sura), while the red message appeals to the Shi'i who notice the lineage to their Imam Ali.
As the rebellion develops, Ali would begin using his new recruits of former slave backgrounds, to infiltrate into slave populations and villages and spread their ideology. Rapidly, the landlords of the Sawad realized that among their slaves was spreading a contagion of rebellion and sedition. Before they could address the issue, Ali ibn Muhammad had already assembled a force of these freed individuals and Arabs, who he lead across the Sawad fields and salt flats attacking landlords and recruiting the local slaves, some of whom he'd put in his army, the others he sent out as spies, sleepers and propagandists/recruiters. Within a very short span of time, Ali ibn Muhammad due to ingenious thinking, had gathered an army and created a coherent ideology that would appeal to a diverse network of people. From this early period, we see more Zanj expansion under Ali ibn Muhammad that we reach past the early stage characterized by the setting up of the rebellion and prior to his ability to field entire armies.
I will cease for this post and answer any questions. This will be a series hopefully, where I discuss in minor detail, the Zanj rebellion in stages and various events therein, speculating upon how the Zanj could develop in a scenario wherein they are not defeated in 883 after nearly 15 years of war.
