p. 1

[close]

p. 2

lightning over yemen

[close]

p. 3

[close]

p. 4

a h i s to ry of th e ot toman campaig n 156971 being a translation from the arabic of part iii of al-barq al-yamani fi al-fath al uthmani by qutb al-din al-nahrawali al-makki as published by hamad al-jasir riyadh 1967 translation with introduction and notes by clive k smith lightning ov eryemeni.b.tauris publishers london · new york

[close]

p. 5

published in 2002 by i.b.tauris co ltd 6 salem road london w2 4bu 175 fifth avenue new york ny 10010 www.ibtauris.com in the united states of america and in canada distributed by st martin s press 175 fifth avenue new york ny 10010 copyright © clive k smith 2002 the right of clive k smith to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the copyright designs and patents act 1988 all rights reserved except for brief quotations in a review this book or any part thereof may not be reproduced stored in or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher the library of ottoman studies volume 3 isbn 1 86064 836 3 a full cip record for this book is available from the british library a full cip record for this book is available from the library of congress library of congress catalog card available set in monotype ehrhardt and franklin gothic heavy by ewan smith london printed and bound in great britain by mpg books ltd bodmin

[close]

p. 6

contents illustrations acknowledgements glossary introduction viii ix xi 1 13 15 19 20 21 23 24 26 30 31 32 34 39 41 44 45 48 50 53 55 57 li gh tn i n g ov erye me n 1 sinan pasha s appointment to lead the expeditionary force to yemen and his passage to mecca 2 sinan s journey from mecca to yemen 3 sinan s arrival at and activity in jizan 4 sinan s journey from jizan to ta`izz 5 sinan s directions concerning the battle at al-aghbar near ta`izz against zaydi forces 6 the zaydi defeat at al-aghbar 7 the surrender of al-qahirah citadel to ta`izz 8 turkish preparations for the assault on aden 9 sinan s consultations concerning the journey northwards 10 `uthman pasha s refusal to attend sinan for consultations 11 `uthman pasha s dismissal and arrival at mecca 12 sinan pasha s deliberations over the choice of route to dhu jiblah 13 the conquest of aden 14 sinan s appointment of his nephew as governor in aden 15 the journey to masjid al-qa`ah on the maytam route 16 the journey to wadi maytam 17 the battle of maytam and the completion of the journey to dhu jiblah 18 the capture of the strongholds of al-ta`kar and bahranah 19 the da`i `abdullah s capture of the strongholds of khadid and al-hubaysh 20 sinan pasha s conquest of ibb and shamahi stronghold in ba`dan flight of the zaydi commanders muhammad b shams al-din and `ali b shuway`

[close]

p. 7

vi contents 61 63 64 65 67 69 70 72 74 75 76 78 80 82 84 88 92 95 97 21 rewards for the turkish troops and reflections on the yemeni budget and the zaydi leader mutahhar 22 sinan s dispositions concerning habb castle in ba`dan 23 sinan s journey over the samarah pass to yarim and dhamar 24 sinan s journey via dhira al-kalb to san`a 25 engagement with qatran and capture of khawlan stronghold 26 hasan pasha s raids into wadi al-sirr for plunder 27 sinan s journey to shibam its capture and the release of prisoners from al aridah 28 the transfer of sinan s base to the plain below kawkaban and thula and the departure of the da`i `abdullah to collect reinforcements 29 the da`i salah s raids into wadi bawn 30 skirmishes between turkish and zaydi forces 31 the massacre of janissaries and the dispatch of hasan pasha to retrieve the da`i `abdullah 32 sinan s reconnaissance of kawkaban and attacks by mutahhar 33 sinan s customary visits to kawkaban escarpment and the defeat of a zaydi attack on his camp 34 mutahhar s attack on sinan s camp with the death of his son al-hadi 35 sinan s capture of habb al arus stronghold and a further unsuccessful attack on his base by mutahhar 36 two unsuccessful attempts by sinan to capture the stronghold of bayt `izz and news of success in wadi khuban 37 the da`i `abdullah s campaign in al-haymah haraz and sari 38 the submission of mt tays district and hasan pasha s movements 39 hasan pasha s engagement with zaydi leaders in the ranges west of kawkaban and the da`i `abdullah s capture of mt siwwan 40 turkish success in climbing the mt dula escarpment and capturing two key forts thereon flight of muhammad b shams al-din and other zaydi leaders 41 hasan pasha s assignment to lay siege to kawkaban capture of shamat stronghold and the release of prisoners in kawkaban 42 move of the minister s camp next to kawkaban and the surrender and destruction of various strongholds 43 death of the zaydi general abu dawud in an engagement near thula 44 death of muhammad b shams al-din s twin brother and other zaydi leaders and the submission to the sultan s authority of an important sharif from the jawf 45 turkish criticism of mutahhar and his invitation to people in the jawf and sa`dah their failure to appear on the battle field 102 105 108 113 115 118

[close]

p. 8

contents 46 a comparison of numbers of turkish and zaydi forces in the field two unsuccessful zaydi attacks 47 battle near hadur al-shaykh resulting in zaydi defeat but with loss of senior officers on both sides 48 mutahhar s successful call to renewed rebellion after advice from the prophet muhammad in a dream the story of pre-islamic tasm and jadis 49 widespread rebellion from tribesmen near san`a southwards to ta`izz in which qatran and `ali b nushayr were prominent 50 near outbreak of revolt in san`a 51 crisis over turkish military funds turkish military numbers deaths of qatran and `ali b nushayr in engagement at mt al-lawz 52 change of governors in ta`izz deterioration of situation in dhamar and catastrophic losses in turkish besieging force at habb castle at the hands of `ali b sharaf al-din following the widespread renewed rebellion 53 sinan pasha s attention to the widespread disorder through dispatch of key turkish officers to aden ta`izz and samarah appalling condition of egyptian reinforcements in zabid dispatched from cairo defeat of large zaydi force at samarah 54 the rebuilding of shamat stronghold for strategic reasons and the murder of its turkish commander 55 attempts to cross the ditch/chasm protecting kawkaban deliberations and correspondence leading to the request for peace terms over the siege of kawkaban from muhammad b shams al-din and the arrival of the zaydi delegation at sinan s camp details of the terms agreed 56 mutahhar s request for peace terms and sinan s agreement to them 57 sinan pasha s return to san`a the arrival in zabid of the new governorgeneral behram pasha inconclusive fighting between the latter and the zaydi in the area of naqil ahmar 58 the assistance given to behram pasha and the defeat of the zaydi and collection of hostages 59 behram pasha s concentration on the siege of `ali b sharaf al-din at habb castle sinan s move to dhamar and `ali b sharaf al-din s death at habb sinan s settlement with mutahhar 60 sinan pasha s transfer of the government of yemen to behram pasha sinan s journey to mecca his reception there and his performance of the pilgrimage before leaving for medina and cairo notes bibliography index vii 122 126 130 135 139 141 146 151 155 157 167 171 174 176 181 193 219 222

[close]

p. 9

illustrati ons maps 1 route followed by sinan pasha during the campaign against mutahhar b sharaf al-din 2 leading commanders and forts at time of the battle before jabal alaghbar 3 commanders forts and features relevant to the siege of kawkaban fort plans 5 7 8 1 the stronghold of al-ta`kar 2 the stronghold of al arus 3 the stronghold of hadur al-shaykh 49 85 127

[close]

p. 10

acknowledgements § a project of this nature could not have been undertaken without considerable help and i am heavily indebted to a number of people professor rex smith has encouraged me from the beginning and latterly has read through both translation and notes and made a number of helpful amendments and suggestions professor osman sid ahmed isma`il al billi whom i was fortunate to get to know in the sudan in the early 1980s when he was minister of education has undertaken the laborious task of studying the first draft of the translation and made a large number of corrections and suggestions and i am also heavily indebted to mohamed nasir al-mahruqi from oman who over a long period of time while engaged on his phd research has helped me in the understanding of the arabic for the first draft and i am most grateful to john evans oda survey adviser in yemen from 1981 to 1989 for his painstaking and imaginative creation of the three maps which illustrate the campaign many others have generously given their time and help in a variety of ways for which i am deeply grateful peter barber and staff of the british library peter colvin and staff of the school of oriental and african studies library pierre yves crozet russell fox of the ordnance survey southampton nicholas hall of the royal armouries at fort nelson karen hearn of tate britain charles newton of the victoria and albert museum dr eric olijdam carl phillips alexandra porter who computerised the fort plans thom richardson of the royal armouries at leeds dr muhammad thunayyan dr `abdullah al-udhari and ken walton i must also express my debt to the late sa`udi arabian scholar hamad aljasir whose published text of al-baraq i have used to the publisher john murray for suggesting i contact iradj bagherzade of i.b.tauris who then with great patience translated his initial interest in the project into a practical proposition and to his editor turi munthe for his help and encouragement along the way.

[close]

p. 11

x ac k n ow ledgements finally there are two vital acknowledgements i should express to alistair duncan for part sponsorship of the work through the altajir world of islam trust and to my wife ann for allowing me the space to feed the miniobsession that has consumed me over the last three years note on illustrations jacket illustration a janissary hand-coloured woodcut by jost amman and the first image of the colour plate-section reproduced by courtesy of the victoria and albert museum london all other internal illustrations are photographs taken by the author except the following numbers 1­14 of the black and white plate-section number 2 of the colour plate-section and the illustrations at the beginning and the end of the translation which are reproduced by courtesy of the british library london.

[close]

p. 12

glossary agha ahamis `aqil `arabat ashraf `ashura atharah bulukyat burj chavus da`i darbuzan da`wah devshirme dirham diwan dizdar faqih hadith hamal hawd `id al-adha ihram iwan jawish jawishiyyah jihad regimental commander those whose mothers come from the prophet s tribe of quraysh headman s `arabah wagons descendants of the prophet voluntary fast day on 10 muharram for sunni muslims and day of mourning for shi`ites favour cavalry attached to the janissaries pl abraj tower or constellation turkish for jawishiyyah the elite corps of pursuivants pl du`ah missionary or propagandist here used of the isma`ili the plural can be used to include members of the sect and is not restricted to its leaders culverin gun mission here used of the isma`ili periodic levy of christian children for official and military ottoman service pl darahim silver coin office or council captain of the guard or constable expert in fiqh or jurisprudence tradition concerning the prophet muhammad kid the prophet s pool for drinking on judgment day feast of the sacrifice ritual pilgrimage clothing recessed area or arch-like enclosure a member of the elite corps of pursuivants the elite corps of pursuivants holy war

[close]

p. 13

xii kashif kawrkajiyyah kawthar kedkhuda kharaj khunkyar khutbah lala levend madhhab al-madhhab al khamis madrasah maghrib mahmal muhallaq mühimme mutafarriqah naft nahiyah naqarah naqil qada qa id qantar qarawul qasabah rakub rand rumah rumi al-saba saj sanjak sa`y seraser shaflut shayb shih glossa ry pl kushshaf tax collector galleys river in paradise steward or senior officer land tax sovereign khan or ruler sermon delivered in the mosque on fridays or important occasions tutor or nurse privateer or mercenary sailor one of the four schools of orthodox islam the fifth school of orthodox islam referring to the zaydi teaching mosque evening ceremonial camel-borne islamic litter for the pilgrimage a unit of currency or bale important document an elite military corps used here as form of greek fire pl nawahi administrative sub-district persian term for drum pass administrative district high-ranking officer a varying weight of 100 ratl or pounds see note 27 to chapters 39­44 fort or stronghold mounted section sweet bay victor s laurel s rami shooters of arrows or of shot turk from anatolia the eastern wind rhymed prose standard or flag hence district and district governor ritual course during pilgrimage involving running silk tissue popular with ottomans in sixteenth century pl shafalit mountain tribesman enrolled with turks probably new luxury material called shahbenek wormwood

[close]

p. 14

g lossa ry simak sinan sirdar sultani tahallul tashriq tawaf tays tughra `umrah `uthmani `uzlah waqfah zand zarbaf zurdakhanah shoulders spear head commander-in-chief unit of currency equivalent to venetian ducat sign or indication of completing the pilgrimage three days of celebration after `id al-adha circumambulation of ka`ba at mecca billy goat sultanic monogram incorporating signature and other symbols lesser pilgrimage unit of currency administrative district smaller than nahiyah the religious stand at mt `arafat device for kindling fire gold velvet weaponry or armoury xiii the culinary delights mentioned in chapter 60 are not included in the glossary.

[close]

p. 15

to osman and rex without whom this translation would not have emerged published with the kind assistance of the altajir world of islam trust

[close]