Muhanna ibn Isa

Muhanna ibn 'Isa
Emir of Palmyra
Reign 1284–1293
1295–1312
1317–1320
1330–1335
Predecessor Isa ibn Muhanna
Successor Musa ibn Muhanna
Died 1335
Near al-Salamiyah
Issue Musa
Suleiman
Ahmad
Fayad
Hayar
Malik
Full name
Hussam al-Din Muhanna ibn 'Isa
House Al Fadl

Hussam al-Din Muhanna ibn 'Isa (also known as Muhanna II; d. 1335)[1] was the Emir of Palmyra as a vassal of the Mamluks and the leader of a prominent Bedouin tribe in the Syrian Desert in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was described by historian Amalia Levanoni as "the eldest and most senior amir" of the related Al Fadl and Al Muhanna Bedouin tribes during his era.[2]

Origin

The Al Fadl tribe's ancestor Muhanna ibn Isa ibn Mati' ibn Haditha ibn Godayya ibn Fadl ibn Rabi'a al-Ta'i or "Muhanna I" was the head of the tribe, itself a branch of the larger Arab tribe of Tayy. Muhanna I was sometimes referred to as the "king of Arabs" by the Mamluk government; his son 'Isa became the first emir of Palmyra as a reward for supporting the Mamluk sultan Qalawun in the 1281 Battle of Homs.[3] Two of 'Isa's sons, Muhanna II and Fadl, each established a branch of the greater Al Fadl tribe, known as the Al Muhanna and Al Fadl branches, respectively.

Reign

The castle of Palmyra; the city's center of power

Muhanna succeeded his father 'Isa as lord of Palmyra in 1284,[3] after receiving the appointment from sultan Qalawun.[1] In 1293, Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil had Muhanna arrested and sent to Egypt, but he was restored two years later by Sultan al-Adil Kitbugha.[1] In 1312, Muhanna sent his son Musa to Öljaitü of the Mongol Ilkhanate and defected to the latter. This prompted Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad to dismiss Muhanna from his principality; Muhanna's brother Fadl was appointed as lord of Palmyra.[1]

Muhanna arrived at the Ilkhan's court in 1316, but then decided to go back to Palmyra where he was contacted by the sultan who summoned him to Cairo, the seat of the Mamluks.[4] Muhanna avoided meeting the sultan, and sent his brothers and sons instead. He was able to gain the forgiveness of the sultan who subsequently restored him to his position in 1317.[4]

Al-Nasir sought to keep the Al Fadl tribe loyal to his authority and prevent their defection to the Ilkhanate, as well as to ensure that they did not disrupt peaceful travel on the roads. To accomplish this, al-Nasir adopted an unprecedented policy among Mamluk sultans of distributing fiefs (iqta'at) and grants to the Bedouin, namely the Al Fadl tribe. Moreover, al-Nasir granted Al Fadl members' requests for possession of lucrative fiefs belonging to the Mamluk emirs of Aleppo, Hama or Damascus (the Mamluk emirs were typically compensated with other fiefs).[5] Muhanna criticized al-Nasir for the extravagant distribution of fiefs to members of his tribe because he believed that it amounted to excesses that would ruin the character of the Bedouin tribes and ultimately weaken the Muslim armies.[2] He also asserted to al-Nasir that "even if he [sic] wished to change this situation ... you will no longer be able to do so" since the tribesmen would not willingly forfeit their new properties.[2]

Muhanna later reestablished contact with the Ilkhanate, causing the sultan to banish him with his whole tribe from Palmyra in 1320.[4] The clan was exiled to the Syrian Desert and, after ten years, Muhanna contacted the Ayyubid emir al-Afdal Muhammad of Hama, requesting that he intercede with the sultan on Muhanna's behalf;[4] al-Nasir ultimately forgave Muhanna, reinstating him in 1330. Thereafter, Muhanna remained loyal to the sultanate until his death near al-Salamiyah in 1335, at around age 80.[6]

Legacy

By 1352, the sons of Muhanna ibn Isa and their offspring amounted to 110 men, each starting their own clan, using the title of emir (prince) and possessing fiefs.[7] According to Levanoni, Muhanna's warning to al-Nasir about the effects of distributing and subsequently seizing fiefs "came true only a short time" after Muhanna's death, when Musa ibn Muhanna threatened to start a Bedouin revolt and defect to the Ilkhanate if al-Nasir did not return the Al Fadl tribe's fiefs.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 خير الدين الزركلي (1926). الأعلام 7. p. 316. GGKEY:S54F8LYLBUT.
  2. 1 2 3 Levanoni 1995, p. 177.
  3. 1 2 محمد عدنان قيطاز (1998). "مهنّا (أسرة)". الموسوعة العربية (in Arabic) 19. هيئة الموسوعة العربية. p. 788.
  4. 1 2 3 4 خير الدين الزركلي (1926). الأعلام 7. p. 317. GGKEY:S54F8LYLBUT.
  5. ↑ Levanoni 1995, pp. 176–177.
  6. ↑ Ibn Khaldūn (1867) [1375]. Kitāb al-ʻibar wa-dīwān al-mubtadaʾ wa-al-khabar f̣ī ayyām al-ʻArab wa-al-ʻAjam ẉa-al-Barbar wa-man ʻāṣarahum min dhawī al-sulṭān al-al-akbar wa-huwa tarīkh waḥīd ʻaṣrih (in Arabic) 5. ʻAbd al-Maṭbaʻah al-Miṣrīyah bi-Būlāq. p. 105.
  7. 1 2 Levanoni 1995, p. 178.

Bibliography

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