Mardaites

The Mardaites (Greek: Μαρδαΐται) or al-Jarajima (Syriac: ܡܪ̈ܕܝܐ‎; Arabic: الجراجمة‎ / ALA-LC: al-Jarājimah), or Marada, inhabited the highland regions of the Amanus Mountains. The Mardaites were early Christians following either the Miaphysite or the Monothelite sects and bear a possible, but not confirmed, relation to the Maronites.[1] Little is known about their ethnicity, it has been speculated that they might have been Western Iranian or Armenian, yet other sources claim them to have been native to the Levant or possibly even from the Arabian peninsula.[1] Their other Arabic name "Gargumaye"/"Jarajima" suggests that some were natives of the town Jurjum in Cilicia, however the words also exist in Arabic and translates to "Sick" or "Insane" as is the case with the word "Mareed", pointing towards a possible alternative origin. They were joined later by various escaped slaves and peasants during their insurgency and were said to have claimed territory from "The Holy City" to the "Black Mountain".[2]

History

According to some historians, after the conquest of the Levant by the Arab Caliphate, the Mardaites gained a semi-independent status around the Amanus Mountains within the Byzantine-Arab border region. They initially agreed to serve as mercenaries for the Arabs and to guard the Amanian Gate, but their loyalty was intermittent and they often sided with the Byzantines as their agenda varied.[2]

According to Greek and Syriac historians, their territory stretched from the Amanus to the "holy city", the latter often being identified with the holy city of Jerusalem, although more likely to refer to Kyrrhos, also called Hagioupolis, the capital of Cyrrhestica, in upper Syria.[3]

Their numbers were swelled by thousands of runaway slaves, making them an ethnically diverse group. In light of this, it is claimed that they forced the Umayyad Mu'awiya to pay tribute to the Byzantine emperor Constantine Pogonatus, or possibly to them instead.[3] Emperor Justinian II sent the Mardaites again to raid Syria in 688/9; this time they were joined by native peasants and slaves and were able to advance as far as Lebanon. The Umayyads were compelled to sign another treaty by which they paid the Byzantines half the tribute of Cyprus, Armenia and Caucasian Iberia; in return Justinian relocated around 12,000 Mardaites to the southern coast of Asia Minor, as well as parts of Greece such as Epirus and the Peloponnese, as part of his measures to restore population and manpower to areas depleted by earlier conflicts.[2][4] There they were conscripted as rowers and marines in the Byzantine navy for several centuries.[5] Others however remained behind and continued raiding Muslim-held territories until their chief stronghold fell to Umayyad prince-general Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik in 708. Maslama(h) then resettled them throughout Syria, and although he allowed them to retain their faith, he conscripted them into his army.[1]

Modern usage

Some Maronites claim that the modern Maronites are of Mardaite ancestry, and oral tradition is said to indicate this. However, documented evidence is sporadic at best as the Maronites sources are recent due to their lack of a thorough recorded history beyond the 16th Century, leaving the matter open for debate among historians. That being said, Maronite oral tradition does mirror much of the history of the Mardaites. However, it is possible that the similarities are superficial and the groups are similar, but unrelated. [6]

This term was adopted by the Marada Brigade during the Lebanese Civil War, in view of their "Phoenicianist" view on the Lebanese people.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Kazhdan, Alexander (Ed.) (1991), Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, p. 1297, ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6
  2. 1 2 3 Canard, M. "Djaradjima". In P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Encyclpoaedia of Islam 2 (2 ed.). BRILL. p. 457.
  3. 1 2 Woods, David. "Corruption and Mistranslation: The Common Syriac Source on the Origin of the Mardaites". Retrieved April 6, 2013.
  4. ↑ Ostrogorsky, George; Hussey (trans.), Joan (1957), History of the Byzantine state, New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, pp. 116–18, ISBN 0-8135-0599-2
  5. ↑ Treadgold, Warren T. (1998), Byzantium and Its Army, 284–1081, Stanford University Press, p. 72, ISBN 0-8047-3163-2
  6. ↑ Moosa, Matti (2005). The Maronites in history. Gorgias Press LLC. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-59333-182-5. Retrieved 6 April 2013.

References

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