Shimr Ibn Thil-Jawshan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Abū al-Sābigha Shamir ibn Dhī al-Jawshan (), often known as Shamir or Shimar, was an Arab military commander from
Kufa Kufa ( ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...
who killed
Husayn ibn Ali Husayn ibn Ali (; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680 Common Era, CE) was a social, political and religious leader in early medieval Arabia. The grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and an Alids, Alid (the son of Ali ibn Abu Talib ibn Abd a ...
, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in 680.


Life

Shimr was a son of Shurahbil (or Aws) Dhi al-Jawshan ibn Qurt al-A'war ibn Amr, a companion of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
, who settled in Kufa after the Muslim conquest of Iraq. He was from the Mu'awiya al-Dibab clan of the Banu Kilab, branch of the Qaysid tribe of the Hawazinite Banu Amir. Shimr was an ally of Caliph Ali () and fought against Mu'awiya, the governor of
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
and future founder of the
Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...
, at the Battle of Siffin, where he received a head wound. He later defected to the Umayyads. When Ziyad ibn Abihi arrested the pro-Alid Hujr ibn Adi on the charge of treason in 671, Shimr was among those who testified against Hujr. In 680,
Husayn ibn Ali Husayn ibn Ali (; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680 Common Era, CE) was a social, political and religious leader in early medieval Arabia. The grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and an Alids, Alid (the son of Ali ibn Abu Talib ibn Abd a ...
, a grandson of Muhammad and son of caliph Ali, sent his cousin Muslim ibn Aqil to Kufa in response to calls from the pro-Alids to overthrow the Umayyads. Shimr, along with various other tribal notables, aided the governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad in quelling the rebellion. Shortly afterwards, Husayn arrived in Iraq and was intercepted in the desert of Karbala outside of Kufa. After Ibn Ziyad consented to a peace proposal from Husayn, Shimr reportedly opposed the proposal and convinced Ibn Ziyad to subdue Husayn with force. Shimr was subsequently sent to Karbala with orders to either force Husayn into submission or to kill him in case of refusal. A day before the battle, Shimr offered
safe conduct Safe conduct, safe passage, or letters of transit, is the situation in time of international conflict or war where one state, a party to such conflict, issues to a person (usually, an enemy state's subject) a pass or document to allow the enemy ...
to three paternal brothers of Husayn, including
Abbas ibn Ali Al-Abbas ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (, 15 May 647 10 October 680 CE), also known by the kunya Abu al-Fadl (), was a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Rashid caliph in Sunni Islam and the first Imam in Shia Islam. His mother was Fatima bint ...
, whose mother,
Umm al-Banin Fāṭima bint Ḥuzām (), better known as ʾUmm al-Banīn (), was a wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Rashidun caliph () and the first Shia Imam. She belonged to the Banu Kilab, a tribe within the Qays confederation. Umm al-Banin marr ...
, was from the tribe of Shimr. The offer was declined because Husayn was not offered any safe conduct. On the battle day (10 October), Shimr commanded the left wing of the Umayyad army. Upon the orders of the commander of the army, Umar ibn Sa'd, Shimr set on fire the tents of Husayn's companions, and was intent on burning Husayn's personal tent before being prevented by his own comrades. After a day of conflict, Husayn suffered many casualties, but the Umayyad soldiers hesitated to kill Husayn. Shimr encouraged them to kill him: "Shame on you! Why are you waiting for the man? Kill him, may your mothers be deprived of you!" Shimr then led the final assault. Some accounts name him as the one who ultimately killed and decapitated Husayn, while other accounts name Sinan ibn Anas. He then attempted to kill Husayn's surviving son Zayn al-Abidin, but was prevented by Ibn Sa'd. Afterwards, Shimr led the escort carrying the heads of the dead to Kufa. Later he accompanied the prisoners to Syria. He is reported to have regretted his actions later in his life. During the rule of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, who had seized Kufa in October 685, Shimr was among the agitators who attempted to topple Mukhtar. After the rebellion was defeated, Shimr escaped to Sadama, a place between Kufa and
Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...
. Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr ruled Basra at the time and Shimr wrote him a letter requesting assistance. The letter was intercepted by Mukhtar's soldiers led by Abu Amra Kaysan. With his location thus exposed, Shimr was found and killed. Other variants suggest that he was wounded and sent to Mukhtar, who then killed him.


Descendants

After Shimr was killed his sons left Kufa for the
Jazira Jazira, al-Jazira, Jazeera, al-Jazeera, etc. are all transcriptions of Arabic language, Arabic meaning "the island" or "the peninsula". The term may refer to: Business *Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait Locations * Al-Jazir ...
. Shimr's grandson al-Sumayl ibn Hatim was a commander in the Umayyad army of Balj ibn Bishr sent against the Berber Revolt in North Africa in 742 and became a leader of the Kalb troops settled in
al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
thereafter.


Depiction

Shimr is depicted usually wearing red with a long feathered cap in the passion plays during the Shia mourning remembrance of Ashura.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * *{{EI2, last=Vaglieri, first=L. Veccia, title=(Al)-Ḥusayn b. 'Alï b. Abï Ṭālib, volume=3, pages=607–615 7th-century Arab people Banu Kilab Battle of Karbala