Fendi Al-Fayez
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Fendi bin Abbas bin Awad Al Fayez (; c. 1800–1879) was an
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
tribal leader and a sovereign
Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...
from the Al-Fayez family who was the paramount Sheikh of the Bani Sakher clan from the 1820s up until his death. He is widely regarded as the most influential figure in the Bani Sakher, dubbed the Old King east of the Jordan and one of the most powerful tribal figures in Arabia in the 19th century. Fendi's first documented tribal battle was as early as 1820 when he was just twenty years old. By the end of his reign he expanded his tribe's territory to cover the ancient Kingdom of Moab,
Ammon Ammon (; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; '; ) was an ancient Semitic languages, Semitic-speaking kingdom occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Wadi Mujib, Arnon and Jabbok, in present-d ...
, and the
Bashan Bashan (; ; or ''Basanitis'') is the ancient, biblical name used for the northernmost region of Transjordan during the Iron Age. It is situated in modern-day Jordan and Syria. Its western part, nowadays known as the Golan Heights, was occupied b ...
, including
Madaba Madaba (; Biblical Hebrew: ''Mēḏəḇāʾ''; ) is the capital city of Madaba Governorate in central Jordan, with a population of about 60,000. It is best known for its Byzantine art, Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, especially a large Byz ...
, Um Al Amad, Al Jeezah, Al Qastal, Jibāl al Lafīfah, parts of
Ajloun Ajloun (, ''‘Ajlūn''), also spelled Ajlun, is the capital town of the Ajloun Governorate, a hilly town in the north of Jordan, located 76 kilometers (around 47 miles) north west of Amman. It is noted for its impressive ruins of the 12th-centur ...
, Dhiban, and other areas in South
Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...
and in
Ma'an Ma'an () is a city in southern Jordan, southwest of the capital Amman. It serves as the capital of the Ma'an Governorate. Its population was approximately 41,055 in 2015. Civilizations with the name of Ma'an have existed at least since the Nab ...
. He would also collect
Jizya Jizya (), or jizyah, is a type of taxation levied on non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,Sabet, Amr (2006), ''The American Journal of Islamic Soc ...
in the Plains of Esdraelon and
Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...
and would stay there for vacation in his domain. In addition to his own vast lands, Fendi and his 4,500-strong army vassalized all of
Al Karak Al-Karak (), in English sources often simply Karak, is a city in Jordan known for its medieval castle, the Kerak Castle. The castle is one of the three largest castles in the region, the other two being in Syria. Al-Karak is the capital city of ...
and Al Tafilah directly and large parts of northern Palestine such as Al Galilee through Aqil AghaMacalister and Masterman, 1906, p
287
/ref> to become the most powerful independent ruler in the region since the Ottoman expansion of
Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...
in 1517.The Classical Age, 1453–1600
Retrieved on 16 September 2007
In addition to becoming a guardian of pilgrims, he was also dubbed The Old King by locals and explorers alike in reference to his long reign. Fendi had 14 sons: Satm, Sattam, Talal, Haza', S'fouq, Muhammad, Barjas, Nayef, Farhan, Jrooh, Hayel, Sahen, Saleh, and Jid'an. He was succeeded by his son Satm Al-Fayez, who was immediately faced with a schism in his family following Fendi's death. Satm's contested role would end with his death two years later, to be succeeded by Fendi's chosen heir and Satm's younger brother, Sattam. Fendi's descendants would continue to lead the Al-Fayez family and the Bani Sakher.


Early life and family

Fendi was likely born southeast of Umm ar-Rasas, which was the capital of the Bani Sakher emirate prior to Fendi's moving it to Al-Jizah. Al-Jizah, often called by its ancient Roman name of Ziza or Zizya, has been on the northern end of the Al-Fayez's dominion until the subjugation and overthrow of many of the southern Balqa troops early into the 1800s where everything as far as Jerash came into the Emirate that Fendi would inherit. His grandfather Awad was the paramount Sheikh of the Bani Sakher, who likely served in that role from the 1770s till the early 19th century. Awad's eldest son, Fendi, died young and had no sons. Awad was also the paramount Sheikh and was most likely the head of the Bani Sakher forces against the Napoleonic invasion of Palestine. His second eldest, Abbas named Fendi after his late elder brother. Abbas became the paramount Sheikh after Awad, with his younger brother Sulayman as his right hand man. Abbas's only son was Fendi which placed him in a unique position to inherit much more than his first and second cousins, later helping him in the centralization of the tribe.


Appearance

Fendi's appearance has been described by multiple authors and guests from Europe who entertained him. Fendi is described as an intimidating man with "an iron-beard, strongly marked features, fine and prominent nose, large liquid black eyes, and a rather surly expression of countenance". He carried with him his scimitar and pistol, both engraved with silver. Fendi also had on him a "Damascus blade that he kept with care, also a coat of mail, which probably dated from early Saracenic times," i.e. they could have originated from as early as the 8th century AD.


Bani Sakher under Fendi

It's widely regarded that under Fendi, Bani Sakher experienced the fastest growth in terms of population, land, and wealth. In 1810 the Beni Sakher were able to defend against a joint attack from Sulayman Pasha of Damascus, Sheikh Hamoud Al-Saleh of the Adwan, and the Ruwala. It's unlikely that Fendi was present in this battle, however it marked the beginning of a long history of victories that led to the Beni Sakher expansion of the 19th century Fendi was a large contributor to. In the 1810s, John L. Burckhardt reported that the Beni Sakher's forces amounted to around 500 men. In 1863, Henry B. Tristram saw the Beni Sakher camped in the Ghor region, his description puts them at many times the figure that Burchkardt explained around 35 years prior. Tristram wrote: In 1877 this was estimated again to be at 4,500. Fendi would also focus heavily on trade, he reportedly was arranging the sale of camels for the haj, and was earning £1,500 a year from selling or hiring camels. In addition to ruling the majority of modern-day Jordan and Palestine, Fendi was also described as the chief sheikh of the Bashan Arabs in Syria, testifying to his influence in south Syria as well and contesting with the Ottoman's rule of Arab lands.


Guardian of the Pilgrims

Under Fendi, the Bani Sakher tribe became the guardians of the Muslim pilgrims to Mecca. Fendi would muster 700 camel-men to protect the pilgrims from
Hauran The Hauran (; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, to the northeast by the al-Safa field, to the east and south by the Harrat ...
till 6 days south of Al-Kerak. On Camel this journey would've covered around 260 km (~162 miles), and covers the distance from the Mount Hauran till beyond the borders of modern-day Jordan, finally reaching Halat Ammar in modern-day
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
. Fendi would be responsible for ensuring the pilgrim's safety from the early 1860s till 1869, then again from 1872 till his death. This honor is a result of Fendi's good relationship with the Ottoman State, Reshid Pasha contracted with Fendi to protect and provide for the pilgrims throughout this distance. This has added to the Fendi and his family's wealth alongside their camel trading business. The family would continue to be a guardian of the pilgrims up until the opening of the Hijaz Railway in the late 1910s.


Death

On his way back from Nablus, Fendi fell ill, and died inside the territory of the Adwan tribe. Although the Bani Sakhr and the Adwan were enemies at the time, Arabian customs of respect where uphold by his adversaries and Fendi Al-Fayez was buried in Abila, at the junction of Wady Rameh and Wady el Kefrein. After Fendi died, his eight sons were conflicted on who will rule after him. His eight sons have split the family and tribe, with one, consisting of mostly the older brothers allied with the Adwan, and the other under Satm allied with the Anazeh and the Ottomans. The tribe eventually reunited in under 1881 after Satm's death in a skirmish with the Adwan.
Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...
Sattam, who Fendi has already given him much of his responsibilities prior to his death became the Sheikh of the Bani Sakhr.


Tomb

His tomb was modeled after Roman Sarcophagi which how Arab Bedouins honor famous heroes, and its dimensions are 3 m (10 ft) tall by 3m long by 2m (6'6 ft) wide. The tribe mark of the Fayez family is shown on the west end of the tomb. The tomb was made so that Fendi was lying on his right side, and facing Mecca. The tomb area is enclosed by a quadrangular with rounded corners, It measured 5.2 m (17 ft) by 4.6m (15 feet), and the wall is around half a meter (1'6 ft) tall. On the sides of the tomb, a crutch headed sticks that have an exact resemblance of one of the scepters of
Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...
, a sword, coffee cups, and other symbols can be seen on the tomb walls.


See also

* Sattam Al-Fayez *
Mithqal Al Fayez Mithqal bin Sattam bin Fendi Al-Fayez (Arabic language, Arabic: مثقال الفايز , ( – April 14, 1967) was a Jordanian political and tribal figure whose work helped the establishment of Jordan, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Mithqal was ...
* Akef Al-Fayez * Faisal Al Fayez * Bani Sakher * Al-Fayez


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fendi Al-Fayez
Fendi Fendi Srl () is an Culture of Italy, Italian luxury goods, luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925 by fashion designers Edoardo Fendi and ...
Bedouin tribal chiefs Politicians from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century politicians 1800s births 1879 deaths Warriors Businesspeople from the Ottoman Empire