Numayrid

The Numayrids () were an Arab dynasty based in Diyar Mudar (western Upper Mesopotamia). They were emirs (princes) of their namesake tribe, the Banu Numayr. The senior branch of the dynasty, founded by Waththab ibn Sabiq in 990, ruled the Euphrates cities of Harran, Saruj and Raqqa more or less continuously until the late 11th century. In the early part of Waththab's reign (r. 990–1019), the Numayrids also controlled Edessa until the Byzantines conquered it in the early 1030s. In 1062, the Numayrids lost Raqqa to their distant kinsmen and erstwhile allies, the Mirdasids, while by 1081, their capital Harran and nearby Saruj were conquered by the Turkish Seljuks and their Arab Uqaylid allies. Numayrid emirs continued to hold isolated fortresses in Upper Mesopotamia, such as Qal'at an-Najm and Sinn Ibn Utayr near Samosata (nomadic Arabs), most Numayrid emirs avoided settled life in the cities they controlled; rather, they ruled their emirates (principalities) from their tribal encampments in the countryside, while entrusting administration of the cities to their '' ghilmān'' (military slaves). An exception was Emir Mani' ibn Shabib (r. ca. 1044–1063), under whom the Numayrids reached their territorial peak. Mani' resided inside Harran, transforming its Sabian temple into an ornate, fortified palace. The Numayrids were Shia Muslims and initially recognized the religious sovereignty of the Sunni Muslim Abbasid Caliphate, at least nominally, but later switched allegiance to the Shia Fatimid Caliphate after the latter extended its influence into northern Syria in 1037. By 1060, they likely reverted to Abbasid suzerainty.

Territory

The Numayrids ruled the Diyar Mudar region in the western Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia), controlling the lands between Harran, Saruj and Raqqa more or less continuously between 990 and 1081.Rice 1952, p. 74. For much of this time, they were bordered to the south and west by the Aleppo-based Mirdasid Emirate, to the east by the Mosul-based Uqaylid Emirate, to the north by the Mayyafariqin-based Marwanid Emirate and to the northwest by the Byzantine Empire. The Numayrids, Mirdasids and Uqaylids were Arab dynasties and the Marwanids were Kurds. All were independent, petty dynasties that emerged in northern Syria and Upper Mesopotamia in the late 10th–early 11th centuries due to the inability of the great regional powers i.e. the Baghdad-based Abbasid Caliphate, the Cairo-based Fatimid Caliphate and the Byzantines, to control or annex these regions. At different times, the Numayrids paid allegiance and formed loose alliances with all three powers.Rice 1952, p. 75.

History

Origins

The Numayrid emirs belonged to the Banu Numayr tribe, the dynasty's namesake.Bosworth 1996, p. 93. The Banu Numayr were a branch of the Banu Amir ibn Sa'sa tribe and therefore of Qaysi, or north Arabian, lineage; the Arab tribes were generally divided into northern and southern Arabian lineages. The name "Numayr" is likely associated with ''nimr'', the Arabic word for "leopard".Della Vida 1995, p. 120. Unlike most of the children of Amir ibn Sa'sa who became progenitors of large branches of the tribe, Numayr had a different maternal lineage and did not enter into any tribal alliances. For much of their history, the Banu Numayr were an impoverished, nomadic group that mostly engaged in brigandage. They did not enter the historical record until the Umayyad period (661–750 CE) when they dominated the western hills of al-Yamama in central Arabia. As a consequence of their brigandage, the Banu Numayr were dispersed in an expedition by the Abbasid general Bugha al-Kabir in 846, but recuperated in later decades.

The 13th-century chronicler Ibn al-Adim holds that the Banu Numayr migrated to Upper Mesopotamia from al-Yamama in 921, while the historian Clifford Edmund Bosworth places their arrival at sometime between 940 and 955. This corresponded with the second major, post-Islamic migration of Arab tribes to Syria and Mesopotamia,Heidemann 2005, p. 104. this time in association with the Qarmatian movement.Bianquis 2002, p. 180. Like the Banu Numayr, many of the tribes that formed part of the Qarmatian army were also branches of the Banu Amir from Arabia, including the Banu Kilab, Banu Khafaja, Banu Uqayl and Banu Qushayr. These Bedouin groups largely uprooted the pre-established, sedentary Arab tribesmen of Upper Mesopotamia, rendered the roads unsafe for travel and severely damaged crop cultivation. According to the 10th-century chronicler Ibn Hawqal,

... the Banu Numayr ... expelled them easants and settled Bedouinfrom some of their lands, indeed most of them, while appropriating some places and regions ... They decide over their protection and protection money.Heidemann 2005, p. 93.

In 942, Banu Numayr tribesmen served as auxiliary troops for an Abbasid governor in Upper Mesopotamia. Six years later, they were employed in the same fashion by Sayf ad-Dawla (r. 945–967), the Hamdanid emir of Aleppo,Sinclair 1990, p. 203. against incursions by the Ikhshidid leader Abu al-Misk Kafur. Not long after, Sayf attempted to check the Bedouin tribes, whose growing strength came at the expense of the settled population. The Banu Numayr were driven out of Diyar Mudar and took refuge in Jabal Sinjar in Diyar Rabi'a to the east. Along with other Qaysi tribes, the Banu Numayr revolted against Sayf and the Hamdanid emir of Mosul, Nasir al-Dawla. The latter expelled them to the Syrian Desert, while in 955/56, Sayf gained their submission, after which he confined them to an area near the Khabur River in Diyar Mudar. By 957, Sayf launched another expedition against the Banu Numayr tribesmen, who proved to be unruly subjects.

Establishment in Harran

When Sayf died in 967, his Aleppo-based emirate (principality) entered a period of administrative decline. This hampered the Hamdanids' ability to effectively control the southeastern areas of Diyar Mudar, near the hostile Byzantine frontier, necessitating further reliance on the Banu Numayr. To that end, Sayf's successor, Sa'd ad-Dawla, assigned members of the tribe to governorships in cities such as Harran, to which he appointed an emir of the Banu Numayr, Wathhab ibn Sabiq. In 990, the latter rebelled against the Hamdanids and declared an independent emirate in Harran.Sinclair 1990, p. 204. This marked the establishment of the Numayrid dynasty.

Later in 990, Waththab took over the fortified town of Saruj to the west of Harran,Rice 1952, p. 77. and in 1007, he conquered Raqqa from its Hamdanid governor, Mansur ibn Lu'lu'. During his early reign, Waththab also annexed Edessa, north of Saruj, from the Hamdanids, and granted it to his cousin Utayr. The capture of Edessa put the Numayrids in a strategic position vis-a-vis the Byzantines, whose territory bordered Edessa from the north and west. Wathhab died in 1019/20 and was succeeded by his son Shabib.

Reign of Shabib

The Numayrids may have lost control of Harran sometime after Waththab's death.Heidemann 2005, p. 99–100. Furthermore, during Shabib's early reign, Edessa's inhabitants grew increasingly antagonistic toward Utayr, likely because he killed the city's popular deputy ruler. In 1030, Nasr ad-Dawla, the Marwanid emir of Mayyafariqin, intervened on behalf of Edessa's inhabitants, killed Utayr and captured the city. Accounts vary as to whether Nasr ad-Dawla or the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo, Salih ibn Mirdas, arbitrated the division of Edessa following Utayr's fall. In any case, a son of Utayr, known in sources only as "Ibn Utayr", was appointed governor of Edessa's main citadel, while Shibl ad-Dawla, a minor Numayrid emir, was given the city's lesser citadel. Thus, while Edessa remained in Numayrid hands, it was effectively outside of Shabib's control.

In 1030/31, negotiations were initiated between the Byzantines and Ibn Utayr or the latter's Marwanid patrons over transferring Edessa's main citadel to Byzantine control; at the time, Ibn Utayr was being challenged by Shibl ad-Dawla of the lesser citadel, prompting either Ibn Utayr or the Marwanids to sell the main citadel to the Byzantine emperor, Romanus III, for 20,000 gold dinars and several villages. After the purchase, Shibl's forces fled, the Muslim inhabitants were massacred and the city's mosques were burned down. Ibn Utayr, meanwhile, apparently relocated to a fortress named after him near Samosata

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