Bawarij (Sindhi:باوارج;sg.Sindhi:برجا) werepirates fromIndia andSindh,[2] who were named for their distinctivebarja warships (which means "large vessels of war" inArabic)[3] who were active between 251 and 865 AD.[4] They lootedArabshipping bound for theIndian subcontinent andChina, but entirely converted toIslam during the rule of theSamma dynasty in Sindh (1335–1520).[5] They are mentioned byMa'sudi as frequenting the pirate den atSocotra and other scholars describes them as pirates and sailors of Sindh. Their frequent piracy and the incident in which they looted two treasure ships coming from Ceylon became thecasus belli for theUmayyad conquest of Sindh.[6]
Ibn Batuta describes their ships as having fifty rowers, and fiftymen-at-arms and wooden roofs to protect againstarrows andstones.Tabari describes them in an attack uponBasra in 866CE as having onepilot(istiyam), threefire-throwers(naffatun), abaker, acarpenter and thirty-ninerowers and fighters making up a complement of forty-five.[7] Theseships were unsuited for warlike maneuvers and lacked the sleekprows orramming capabilities of other contemporarynaval units, but were intended to provide forhand-to-hand battles for crew uponboarding.[5]
In the ninth century, Maritime raids into theArabian sea and theArabian gulf was a problem.[2] On March 27, 865 CE, ten bawarij deepwater ships sailed from al-Basrah. Each of these ten vessels was crewed by a ship's captain, three sailors who hurled fire onto enemy ships, a carpenter, a baker, and thirty-nine rowers and warriors. As a result, each vessel had a total crew of forty-five individuals. That night, the bawarij pirates arrived at the island facing the palace of Ibn Tahir, and later they reached the Shammasiyyah area.[8]
The bawarij pirates on the ships opened fire on theTurks, forcing them to move their camp from the low-lying area of al-Shammasiyyah to Abū Ja'far's garden near the bridge. It then became clear to theTurks that they had to retreat even higher, to a location above their previous camp, in order to escape the fire being thrown at them.[8]
Imam Ghassan had received a letter from Munir, anIbadhi missionary from Basra. In the letter, Munir laments the attacks in the Indian Ocean and theArabian Gulf carried out by the Bawarij pirates fromIndia. In particular, Munir also strongly laments the killing of fifty people by the Bawarijs during their attack.[2] Imam Ghassan moved to Sohar for 5 years in response to the problem caused by Bawarij pirates. In his stay in Sohar, he formed the first naval force of Oman in order to protect the coastal communities and ships of Oman against attacks fromIndian pirate raiders called al-bawārijs or Bawarijs.[2]
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