The amir al-ʿarab (, also known as amir al-ʿurban, ; ) was the commander or leader of the Bedouin tribes in Syria under successive medieval Muslim states. The title was used as early as the 11th century to refer to Salih ibn Mirdas, but was formalized as a state institution by the Ayyubid Sultanate and strengthened by the latter's Mamluk successors. The office was preserved under the early Ottomans (16th–17th centuries), at least ceremonially, but its importance had declined by then. The jurisdiction of the amir al-ʿarab was generally limited to central and northern Syria, and its holder often held iqtaʿat (fiefs) in the Syrian steppe, which formed the imarat al-ʿarab (emirate of the Bedouins). The imarat al-ʿarab was created both to co-opt the often rebellious Bedouin tribes of Syria and to enlist their support as auxiliary troops. Under the Mamluks, some of the principal duties of the amir al-ʿarab were guarding the desert frontier against the Mongol Ilkhanate in Iraq and Anatolia, ensuring Bedouin loyalty to the state, gathering intelligence on enemy forces, protecting infrastructure, villages and travelers from raids and providing horses and camels to the sultan. In return, the amir al-ʿarab was given iqtaʿat, an annual salary, official titles and honorary robes.
Under the Ayyubids, numerous Arab emirs held the post at any given time and were granted iqtaʿat. However, with the onset of Mamluk rule in Syria in 1260, it became a hereditary office consolidated by members of the Al Fadl dynasty, direct descendants of the Tayyid clan of Banu Jarrah. The office remained in the household of the Al Fadl emir, Isa ibn Muhanna, with occasional interruption, well into the early Ottoman era, during which Isa's descendants took over leadership of the Mawali tribe. Under the Ottomans, the role of the amir al-ʿarab centered on the provision of camels to the state and protection of the Hajj pilgrim caravan in return for annual payments.
Administration The Ayyubids founded the imarat al-ʿarab (emirate of the Bedouins) as a formal state institution.Hiyari 1975, p. 512. However, due to the fractious nature of the Ayyubid political system, the appointed amir al-ʿarab (pl. umara al-ʿarab) was often unable to maintain authority over all of the Bedouin chieftains, who generally viewed the amir al-ʿarab as their equal rather than their superior.Bakhit 1993, p. 461. Under the Mamluks, the amir al-ʿarab was appointed by the sultan in Egypt and was considered a state official.Hiyari 1975, pp. 521–522. His iqtaʿ (fief; pl. iqtaʿat) grants were given to him in a diploma delivered by the sultan's chancery or picked up by the amir al-ʿarab himself if he was visiting the sultan's court in Cairo. In the Mamluk provinces of Damascus, Aleppo and the capital, Cairo, a department called the mihmandāriyya dealt with managing Bedouin affairs and receiving the amir al-ʿarab. The amir al-ʿarab and the other Bedouin emirs were classified as arbāb al-suyūf (men of the sword), i.e. part of the military hierarchy. The rank of an amir al-ʿarab was equal to an amir miʿa muqaddam alf (emir of one hundred [mounted troops], commander of one thousand) and nāẓir al-jaysh (head of the army) of the province of Damascus and the na'ib (governor) of Homs.Hiyari 1975, p. 523.
The early Ottomans preserved the imarat al-arab at least during the 16th century, during which the title was referred to as amir ʿarab-i Shām.Bakhit 1982, p. 201. However, the rights and role of the amir al-arab and his status in the Ottoman administration in Ottoman Syria are not well-defined in the contemporary sources, according to historian Muhammad Adnan Bakhit. The provincial records of Damascus Eyalet (Province of Damascus), whose jurisdiction extended throughout Syria until the mid-16th century, do not mention the emirate's function. Moreover, Bakhit asserts that it is unclear if the sultan's ratification was required for the Bedouin tribes or the provincial government to recognize the amir al-arab.
Incorporation into iqtaʿ system Most chieftains under the Ayyubids were incorporated into the iqtaʿ system and received customary payments from the Ayyubids. The Ayyubids' Mamluk successors paid closer attention to the Bedouin tribes of Syria as they considered the region to be an important frontier in the wars with the Crusaders in the coastal areas and the Mongol Ilkhanate in Anatolia and Iraq. The Mamluks relied on the Bedouin as auxiliary troops and were wary of their unstable, but much-needed, loyalty to the state, and referred to the iqtaʿat of the amir al-ʿarab as an "iqtaʿ iʿtidād (fief of reliance).Sato 1997, p. 96. This status officially precluded the Bedouin from the military service required of iqtaʿ-holders, indicating "a special relationship" between the state and the Bedouin, according to historian Tsugato Sato.Sato 1997, pp. 53–54. In practice, however, the Bedouin of Syria were often called on to participate as auxiliary troops in military expeditions or in emergency situations.Sato 1997, pp. 96–97.
The Bedouin iqtaʿat were small compared to those of the mamluk (manumitted slave soldier) emirs,Sato 1997, p. 103. though a number of sultans granted particularly generous iqtaʿat to the amir al-ʿarab. The distribution of iqtaʿat to the tribes was done, at least in part, to persuade them not plunder the unfortified towns and villages of the countryside as they were normally wont to do, and to induce them to cooperate with the state.Sato 1997, p. 54. The frequent rebellion of the tribes also motivated the Mamluks to incorporate them into the iqtaʿ system.Sato 1997, p. 99. The iqtaʿ of the amir al-ʿarab would often be confiscated in cases of rebellion against the sultan. In general, Salamiyah and Palmyra consistently served as iqtaʿat of the amir al-ʿarab, continuing into the early Ottoman era, when the iqtaʿ was supplanted by the timar. Besides Salamiyah and Palmyra, the Ottomans granted the amir al-ʿarab timar grants in the Hawran plain south of Damascus.
Duties In return for iqtaʿat, annual customary payments, and honorary titles and robes, the amir al-ʿarab was expected to command his horsemen as auxiliaries in the wars against the Mongols, the Crusaders, their allies and rebellious Mamluk emirs. Another expectation of the amir al-ʿarab and the lower-ranking tribal chieftains was intelligence gathering regarding enemy movements near the frontier. Among the official duties of the amir al-ʿarab and the Syrian Bedouin tribes was the defense of the sultanate's boundaries, and maintenance and oversight of the roads, bridges and mountain passes of the desert and within their iqtaʿat.Bakhit 1993, p. 462. This also entailed the protection of merchant travelers and the annual Hajj pilgrim caravan, which traversed Bedouin territory to reach the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina in the Hejaz. Tribesmen also served as desert guides for the army and state officials. The amir al-ʿarab was further responsible for collecting zakat (dues) on the livestock of the Bedouin tribes.
During Sultan Baybar's reign (1260–1277), a barid (postal route) was created between Egypt and Syria, which enabled the sultan to remain constantly notified of developments in the provinces.Sato 1997, pp. 98–99. It served as a major centralizing factor in the Mamluk state, and each postal station required transport horses, which the tribes provided. According to Sato, the tribes' supply of horses and camels was "indispensable for the maintenance" of the barid. Noble horses and young camels were also provided by the amir al-ʿarab to the royal stables of the Mamluk sultans on an annual basis. Under the early Ottomans, the amir al-ʿarab was required to provision the sultan's stables with 1,050 young camels and 30 young horses, the collective annual value of which was 240,000 akçe. This formed part of the sultan's revenue from the Damascus Eyalet.
History
Origins The Syrian Desert, which extended from Balis to Ayla, had been inhabited by Bedouin (nomadic Arab) tribes since pre-Islamic times (before mid-7th century).Hiyari 1975, p. 510. Throughout the 250 years following the Muslim conquest of Syria in the 630s, the Bedouin were brought under the authority of the Rashidun (632–661), Umayyad (661–750) and early Abbasid (750–861) caliphates.Hiyari 1975, p. 511. However, during this period, certain Bedouin tribes also participated in Umayyad dynastic struggles, the Abbasid Revolution, the rebellious Kharijite and Alid movements and isolated revolts. Following the Abbasid decline beginning in 861, state authority in the Syrian Desert receded significantly, leaving the Bedouin tribes to fill the void.Salibi 1977, p. 43. The Hamdanid dynasty (890–1004), members of the Banu Taghlib tribe, represented the new-found strength of the Bedouin, and according to 14th-century historian Ibn Khaldun, they commanded the subservience of all Bedouin tribes in the Syrian steppe and Upper Mesopotamia. Other tribal dynasties that emerged in this region before or after the heyday of the Hamdanids included the Uqaylids (990–1096), Numayrids (990–1081), the Banu Asad and Banu Khafaja. By the late 10th century, the Jarrahids (970s–mid 11th century) of Banu Tayy and the Mirdasids (1024–1080) of Banu Kilab dominated southern and northern Syria, respectively, first in association with the Qarmatians, and then as nominal partners of the Fatimids, who ruled Syria between 977 and 1071.Salibi 1977, p. 91. As a result of the Turkic Seljuk invasion in the latter half of the 11th century, only the Banu Rabi'ah, a cadet branch of the Jarrahids, remained as an influential Arab force in the Syrian steppe by the end of the century.Hiyari 1975, pp. 511–512.
There is scant information about the management of the Syrian Bedouin by the ruling Muslim states between the early 11th and mid-13th centuries.Hiyari 1975, p. 520. Likewise, the origins of the title of amir al-ʿarab are unclear.Zakkar 1971, p. 104. A number of medieval Muslim chroniclers referred to Salih ibn Mirdas (d. 1029), the founder of the Mirdasid emirate in Aleppo, as amir ʿarab al-Sham, which translates from Arabic as "commander of the Bedouin of Syria". Salih's ally Hassan ibn Mufarrij, chieftain of the Jarrahids, was also referred to as amir al-ʿarab by medieval sources. According to historian Suhayl Zakkar, the "value" of the title "is not known but at least indicates the high position of its holder". Moreover, Zakkar asserts: It is not known whether Salih [ibn Mirdas] was the first holder of this title or whether, indeed, it had existed previously. The origin of it is obscure for whether it was created by the tribes of Syria after Islam or whether it existed in Arabia before the rise of Islam and was then carried to Syria after the Islamic conquest in the 7th century is not known.
Zakkar speculates that the amir al-ʿarab title could have been a "revival or continuation" of a pre-Islamic (mid-6th century) political tradition among the Bedouin of Syria whereby the supreme phylarch (chieftain) of the Ghassanids, Arab vassals of the Byzantine Empire, had formal authority over the other Bedouin tribes of Syria.Zakkar 1971, pp. 104–105. Furthermore, early Muslim chronicles often made references to sayyid ahl al-badiya (master of the desert dwellers) or sayyid Qays (master of the tribes of Qays), which Zakkar believes are possible "starting points which, in the course of time, developed to the title of Amir Arab al-Sham".
Ayyubid era