Naqib al-Ashraf Revolt
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The Naqib al-Ashraf revolt (also known as the Naqib al-Ashraf uprising) was a popular uprising in
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
against the Ottoman authorities between May 1703 and October 1705.Manna, ed. Mattar 2000 p. 341.Manna, ed. Mansur, p. 87. It was led by the city's ''
naqib al-ashraf Naqib al-ashraf () (plural: ''nuqaba'' or ''niqabat'') was a governmental post in various Muslim empires denoting the head or supervisor of the descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.Damurdashi, ed. Muhammad, p. 43. The descendants of Muhammad ...
'' (local head of the order of
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
's descendants), Muhammad ibn Mustafa al-Husayni al-Wafa'i, and the rebels consisted of townspeople, peasants from nearby villages, local Bedouins, and religious notables (''
ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
''). For over two years the rebels engaged in virtual self-rule in the city. However, divisions emerged within rebel ranks, and following an Ottoman siege, the rebel camp led by al-Husayni fled the city and were later captured and executed.


Background

In the mid-17th century, the
Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The name ...
(Ottoman imperial government) launched a centralization effort in the empire's provinces guided by the policies of the Köprülü
Grand Viziers Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...
.Ze'evi 1996, pp. 59-60. In Palestine, these policies manifested in the gradual elimination of local hereditary dynasties, namely the Ridwans, Farrukhs and Turabays. These families traditionally provided the
governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
s for the ''
sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...
s'' (districts) of
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, Gaza,
Lajjun Lajjun ( ar, اللجّون, ''al-Lajjūn'') was a large Palestinian Arab village in Mandatory Palestine, located northwest of Jenin and south of the remains of the biblical city of Megiddo. The Israeli kibbutz of Megiddo, Israel was built o ...
and Nablus. They generally maintained close alliances with the notables of Palestine's major towns and with the Bedouin tribes. Towards the end of the 17th century, the local governors had been replaced by Ottoman officials who discontinued the local relationships their predecessors had cultivated. Under the new governors, the exploitation of the local population by Janissaries, ''
timariot Timariot (or ''tımar'' holder; ''tımarlı'' in Turkish) was the name given to a Sipahi cavalryman in the Ottoman army. In return for service, each timariot received a parcel of revenue called a timar, a fief, which were usually recently conque ...
s'' (
fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
holders) and '' subashis'' continued unabated. The governors could not bring order to the Jerusalem Sanjak, with the main roads from Jerusalem to Jaffa and from Nablus to Hebron facing frequent assaults by Bedouin tribesmen and instability remaining rampant in the countryside and major towns such as Hebron.Manna 1994, p. 53. Many peasants left their villages to avoid heavy taxation by the governors or exploitation by junior officials. The dignitaries of Jerusalem often served as mediators of disputes in the district in place of government officials. The dignitaries' loss of privileges previously enjoyed under the local governors brought them closer with the lower, dispossessed classes due to their shared frustrations with the changing order. Moreover, acts by the Janissaries, namely the desecration of mosques and religious sites, including the
Haram al-Sharif The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...
(Temple Mount) in Jerusalem, further incensed the population. In 1701 Mehmed Pasha Kurd Bayram was appointed governor of the Jerusalem, Gaza and Nablus ''sanjaks''. During his term, he launched repeated punitive expeditions against the peasantry and Bedouin tribesmen for rebelling against his authority, refusing to pay his increased taxes (Mehmed Pasha doubled the tax rate after entering into office) or, in the specific case of the Bedouin, for taking over local highways and imposing tolls on travelers. The campaigns were often brutal. In 1702, his campaign against the Bedouin and peasants in the Gaza and Jerusalem ''sanjaks'' resulted in 200 deaths among the Bedouin and peasants. In early 1703, he besieged the fortress town of
Bayt Jibrin Bayt Jibrin or Beit Jibrin ( ar, بيت جبرين; he, בית גוברין, translit=Beit Gubrin) was a Palestinian village located northwest of the city of Hebron. The village had a total land area of 56,185 dunams or , of which wer ...
where rebels from the vicinity had barricaded themselves. Several villages were destroyed before Mehmed Pasha gained control of the town.Manna 1994, p. 54. Following the siege, the ''
ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
'' of Jerusalem requested that Mehmed Pasha ease his stringent taxation policies and militarism, but their requests were ignored.


Revolt

In May 1703, during Friday prayer at the
al-Aqsa Mosque Al-Aqsa Mosque (, ), also known as Jami' Al-Aqsa () or as the Qibli Mosque ( ar, المصلى القبلي, translit=al-Muṣallā al-Qiblī, label=none), and also is a congregational mosque located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is situate ...
, and while Mehmed Pasha was leading a punitive expedition around Nablus, a rebellion against the government was announced. The '' mutasallim'' appointed by Mehmed Pasha and the small number of troops who had been left to govern the city were apprehended by the Jerusalemite rebels with key assistance from the local ''
sipahi ''Sipahi'' ( ota, سپاهی, translit=sipâhi, label=Persian, ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuks, and later the Ottoman Empire, including the land grant-holding (''timar'') provincial '' timarli sipahi'', which constituted ...
'' and Janissary units. The rebels also freed the inmates of the city's prison. Once word of the ''ulama''s call for revolt spread, the urban Jerusalemites were joined by peasants from the villages in the countryside. The rebels prepared Jerusalem's defenses to counter an assault by Mehmed Pasha and his troops. The rebels appointed Muhammad ibn Mustafa al-Wafa'i al-Husayni, the city's ''
naqib al-ashraf Naqib al-ashraf () (plural: ''nuqaba'' or ''niqabat'') was a governmental post in various Muslim empires denoting the head or supervisor of the descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.Damurdashi, ed. Muhammad, p. 43. The descendants of Muhammad ...
'' (head of the order of the
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
's descendants), as their leader and the sheikh (chief) of Jerusalem, hence the modern name of the revolt. The sheikhs of the various city quarters were appointed to assist Muhammad ibn Mustafa to administer Jerusalem's governmental and economic affairs. With the rebels in firm control of the city, popular support from its inhabitants, and the establishment of a governing administration, the people of Jerusalem effectively began an over two-year-long period of self-rule in Jerusalem. The central government's preoccupation with more pressing matters in the capital during the Edirne revolt forced it to tolerate the state of affairs in Jerusalem. Mehmed Pasha and Arslan Mehmed Pasha, the governor of the
Damascus Eyalet ota, ایالت شام , conventional_long_name = Damascus Eyalet , common_name = Damascus Eyalet , subdivision = Eyalet , nation = the Ottoman Empire , year_start = 1516 , year_end ...
(to whose jurisdiction Jerusalem belonged) and his successors, attempted to retake the city from the rebels during the siege that ensued. However, the rebels utilized Jerusalem's sacredness to Muslims to prevent serious bombardment of the city by Ottoman forces, while opening fire against the latter upon their approach. In 1704, upon hearing that Sultan Ahmed III was dispatching a large army to take control of Jerusalem, a loyalist camp emerged that was content with Mehmed Pasha's dismissal and putting an to the revolt.Manna, p. 56. However, Muhammad ibn Mustafa did not trust imperial overtures and demanded stronger guarantees before ending the revolt. The population was split between the two camps, and the rivalry turned violent when Muhammad ibn Mustafa waged an armed campaign against the loyalists. The clashes peaked with a major battle in the narrow alleyways around the Bab al-Huta gate in the northern part of the city. The battle ended with dozens of fatalities and mass defections from Muhammad ibn Mustafa's camp. The loyalist camp was barricaded in the
citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. I ...
with the ''
qadi A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a '' sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and mino ...
'', awaiting the intervention of the imperial army. Clashes between the rival camps began anew in late 1705, around the time that the imperial army was departing from Damascus. The imperial army met generally ineffective resistance in the hinterland of Nablus, where peasant irregulars harried them along the way to Jerusalem. Once the Ottomans reached Jerusalem's environs in October, Muhammad ibn Mustafa decided to escape from the city with dozens of his followers through the
Damascus Gate The Damascus Gate is one of the main Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. It is located in the wall on the city's northwest side and connects to a highway leading out to Nablus, which in the Hebrew Bible was called Shechem or Sichem, and from th ...
and the Moroccan Gate on 28 October, during the evening. Muhammad ibn Mustafa was captured by the Ottoman authorities, sent to
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
, and was executed there in 1707.


Aftermath and legacy

The flight of the ''naqib al-ashraf'' brought an end to the al-Wafa'iya al-Husayni family's influence in Jerusalem and paved the way for the al-Ghudayya clan, an ''ashraf'' family with a lower profile than the al-Wafi'a al-Husayni, to assume the post of ''naqib al-ashraf''. A branch of the Ghudayyas became known as the
al-Husayni Husayni ( ar, الحسيني also spelled Husseini) is the name of a prominent Palestinian Arab clan formerly based in Jerusalem, which claims descent from Husayn ibn Ali (the son of Ali). The Husaynis follow the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam ...
family in the mid-18th century, and played a highly influentially role in Jerusalem's affairs during the remaining decades of Ottoman rule and whose members were leaders of the Palestinian national movement in the post-
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
period. Along with al-Wafa'iya al-Husayni, several other ''ulama'' and ''ashraf'' families lost the Ottomans' favor, although some later regained local administrative clout in later decades. Following the city's capitulation, thousands of Ottoman troops were garrisoned in Jerusalem under the command of a new governor. The large military presence led to a decline in Jerusalem's economy. According to
Ilan Pappe Ilan may refer to: Organization * ILAN, Israeli umbrella organization for the treatment of disabled children Given name * Ilan (name), a Hebrew/Israeli name * Ilan Bakhar, a retired Israeli footballer * Ilan Araújo Dall'Igna, a Brazilian footbal ...
, the Naqib al-Ashraf Revolt was "unique in the history of the district of Jerusalem in that it allied peasants and Bedouins with dignitaries and notables. Historian Adel Manna called it the "First popular uprising in Palestine", while also noting that the revolt was geographically limited to Jerusalem and its immediate environs.Manna, ed. Mansur and Fawaz, p. 87.


References


Bibliography

* * * *{{cite book, last1=Ze'evi, first1=Dror, title=Ab Ottoman Century: The District of Jerusalem in the 1600s, date=1996, publisher=State University of New York Press, isbn=9781438424750, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-zHZrYQU4icC&pg=PA75 18th-century rebellions Conflicts in 1703 Conflicts in 1704 Conflicts in 1705 Military history of Jerusalem Ottoman Palestine Rebellions in Ottoman Syria 1700s in Asia 18th century in Ottoman Syria