TheQays–Yaman rivalry refers to the rivalry between the tribal factions ofQays–Mudar and theYaman. The history of the rivalry centers mainly within the armies and administrations of theUmayyad Caliphate in the 7th and 8th centuries, but persisted to varying degrees among the Arabs throughOttoman rule (1517–1918). Membership in either faction was rooted in thegenealogical origins of the tribes, real or perceived, which divided them into south Arabian descendants ofQahtan (the Yaman) or north Arabian descendants ofAdnan (Qays–Mudar).
The tribes which constituted the Yaman, most prominently theKalb,Ghassanids,Tanukh andJudham, were well-established throughout the Syria (the Levant) since the pre-Islamic period, while the Qaysi tribes, namely theSulaym,Banu Amir andGhatafan migrated to northernSyria andUpper Mesopotamia with the Muslim armies in the 7th century. The feud did not effectively take shape until after the reign of CaliphMu'awiya I (r. 661–680), who, along with his Sufyanid descendants, were tied to the Kalb, the leading tribe of Yaman, through marriage and military dependence. When thelast Sufyanid caliph died in 684, the Kalb and its allies resolved to ensure continued Umayyad rule to maintain their stately privileges, while the Qays backedAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr's bid for the caliphate. That year, the Kalb routed the Qays at theBattle of Marj Rahit, leading to years of revenge-driven, tit-for-tat raids known asayyam (days) because the battles were typically day-long affairs.
By 693, the raids had largely subsided as the Qays reconciled with the Umayyads under CaliphAbd al-Malik and were incorporated into the state. The Umayyads thereafter attempted to balance the powers and privileges of both factions, but the rivalry smoldered until theThird Muslim Civil War, in which the Yaman assassinated Caliphal-Walid II (r. 743–744) for his dependence on the Qays. Yamani opposition continued under CaliphMarwan II (r. 744–750), and they defected to theAbbasids as thelatter conquered the Umayyad realm in 750. The Yaman and Qays briefly joined forces against the Abbasids later that year, but were defeated. The Qays–Yaman rivalry diminished significantly under the Abbasids who, unlike the Umayyads, did not derive the bulk of their military support from either faction. Nonetheless, the feud persisted at the local level to varying degrees in the following centuries, which saw occasional outbreaks of Qaysi–Yamani violence.
During theOttoman period, the rivalry resurged inMount Lebanon andPalestine, and affiliation with either faction transcended ethnicity and religion and was made by families with little consideration to genuine tribal lineage. In Mount Lebanon, the feud was mostly fought out between differentDruze clans until theBattle of Ain Dara in 1711 led to the near complete exodus of Yamani Druze. Across Palestine, the rivalry encompassed Bedouin tribesmen, peasant clans and townspeople. Most actual fighting took place inNablus and its hinterland and the area aroundJerusalem. The feud gradually dissipated with the growth of Ottoman centralization in the mid-19th century.
The origins of the Qays–Yaman division were traditionally based on anArab tribe's northern or southernArabian roots, real or perceived; theQays were from northern Arabia, while the Yaman were from southern Arabia.[1] Genealogically, the northern tribes were traditionally said to descend fromIshmael while the southern tribes were said to descend fromQahtan. Historical Arab sources sometimes referred to the southern Arabs asQahtāniyya (Qahtanites), but more often called themahl al-Yaman (lit. 'the people ofYemen') oral-Yamāniyya (lit. 'Yemenites'). Northern Arabs were seldom referred to as 'Ishmaelites', possibly because that became a general term for all Arabs. Specifically, the northerners were described asAdnanites afterAdnan, a descendant of Ishmael, or called after Adnan's descendantNizar (Nizāriyya).[2] Most commonly, the northerners were called after Nizar's sonMudar (Muḍariyya) or one of Mudar's descendant,Qays (Qaysiyya). Not all the northern Arabs were labeled under 'Mudar' or 'Qays'; theRabi`ah, another branch of the Nizar whose traditional homeland waseastern Arabia, vacillated in alliance between Qays/Mudar and Yaman, and historical sources often referred to them as a third party to the Qays–Yaman feud.[2]
There is no mention of hostility between the two tribal groupings inpre-Islamic Arab tradition.[3] The Qays did not function as a tribal confederation before the advent of Islam, and in ancient Arab histories, the tribes that formed the confederation were mentioned individually rather than as a collective.[4] According to historianW. Montgomery Watt, it was during theUmayyad period (661–750) that the Arab tribes organized themselves along northern (Qaysi) and southern (Yamani) lines "so as to constitute something like a political party".[4] The rivalry between Yaman and Qays may have stemmed from competition over grazing rights inSyria following the conquest.[5] However, open conflict between them occurred only during theSecond Muslim Civil War (680–692).[6]
During the Umayyad andAbbasid eras, one of the bases of the Qays–Yaman division was geographical.[7]Syria was divided into five military-administrative districts (ajnad; sing.jund):Filastin centered aroundRamla;al-Urdunn centered aroundTiberias;Dimashq centered aroundDamascus;Hims centered aroundHims; andQinnasrin centered aroundChalcis.[citation needed]
Traditionally, it is held that the Yamani tribes inhabited the southernajnad of Syria, namely Filastin and al-Urdunn, "but the reality was more complex", according to historianPaul M. Cobb.[citation needed] Al-Urdunn was dominated by the Yaman, particularly the Ash'ar tribe, but Filastin was an abode for Yamani and Qaysi tribes,[note 1] who viewed the district as particularly profitable.[9] By the end of the Umayyad era, however, Yaman apparently was the predominant faction in Filastin.[9] The tribes of Dimashq, which included the regions ofGhutah,Hawran andTransjordan and was even more profitable than Filastin, were predominantly Yamani, though a significant Qaysi minority existed.[citation needed] The Yaman also dominated Hims, including thePalmyrene steppe, while the Qays dominated Qinnasrin, along withUpper Mesopotamia (known by Arabs asal-Jazirah) and theByzantine frontier as far asArmenia.[7]
Some of the Yamani tribes, including theKalb,Tanukh, andJudham, had settled in Syria prior to the 7th-centuryMuslim conquest.[7] Well-established in their regions, many of the Yamani tribes formed alliances with theByzantine Empire, which controlled the region prior to the Muslim conquest, and embracedChristianity;[10] some sections of certain Yamani tribes remained Christian following the Muslim conquest.[11] Many of the Qays tribes, particularly theKilab,Sulaym andUqayl, were moved to Upper Mesopotamia from Arabia by the Umayyadcaliph,Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680).[7] At the same time, a number of Yamani tribes in Mu'awiya's army, such as the Kindah and theHadhrami, joined other established Yamani tribes around Homs.[12]
Meanwhile, the Qays/Mudar–Yaman conflict inIraq, specificallyBasra, was rooted in the mass migration of southernAzd tribesmen fromOman to Basra just prior to the Second Muslim Civil War.[13][14] Before then, Basra was dominated by northern tribesmen from the Mudar faction, led by theTamim tribe, and the Rabi'ah faction.[14] The Azd became allies with Rabi'ah, despite the latter's northern roots.[14] With this, the "parties had been formed for future conflict", according to historianG. R. Hawting.[14] Moreover, because the Arab troops ofKhurasan came from the Basra garrison, the Qays/Mudar–Yaman conflict carried over into that vast eastern province of thecaliphate.[14] The migration of Qaysi tribes to northern Syria and Upper Mesopotamia and of the Yamani Azd to Basra upset the tribal balance of power in these regions, which significantly influenced the Qays/Mudar–Yaman feud.[15]
It is likely the Qays and Yaman factions firmly took shape after Mu'awiya I's reign;[16] previously, differences between Qaysi and Yamani tribes were "fairly harmless", according to historianHugh N. Kennedy.[7] Mu'awiya's reliance on Kalb troops and his sonYazid's mother being Kalbi caused unease among Qays chieftains.[16] Meanwhile, political disarray spread throughout the caliphate in the wake of Caliph Yazid's death in 683 and his successorMu'awiya II several weeks later.[17] There were no obvious successors among the ruling Sufyanid branch of the Umayyad dynasty, which the Kalb were determined to preserve so as to maintain the administrative and military privileges they acquired under them.[18] Thus, the Kalb's chieftain,Hassan ibn Malik ibn Bahdal, assembled the representatives of the Yamani tribes of Syria for ashura (council) inJabiyah wherein they chose an Umayyad outsider,Marwan (r. 684–685), to be the next caliph;[19] Marwan made significant political concessions to the Kalb, which drove the Qays, led by the governor of Damascus,al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri, to backAbdullah ibn Zubayr's claim to the caliphate.[7]
Marwan and the Kalb set up camp at Marj Rahit, overlooking al-Dahhak's Damascus headquarters, and were soon joined by the Yamani Ghassanids and Kindah.[20] Other Yamani tribes that joined Marwan were theTayy, al-Qayn and Tanukh.[21] As the Qays under al-Dahhak marched toward Marwan's camp, a Ghassanid scion, Yazid ibn Abi al-Nims, led a revolt in Damascus that drove al-Dahhak's men out of the city.[22] The two factions then fought at theBattle of Marj Rahit, which lasted twenty days, beginning on 18 August 684.[7] The far more numerous Qays were routed and many of them were killed as they retreated,[7] including al-Dahhak and eighty other Qaysi notables.[7][22] The survivors among the Qays, led byZufar ibn al-Harith al-Kilabi of'Amir, fled north to theEuphrates town ofal-Qarqisiyah, while Marwan was made caliph in Damascus.[7]
The Battle of Marj Rahit firmly divided the Arab tribes of Syria into Yaman or Qays.[7] According to Kennedy, the "Qays had many dead to avenge and the feud was to continue for generations",[11] while Marwan "would be entirely dependent on the ... Yamani tribes who had elected him".[7] Indeed, the Yaman helped Marwan assert his rule inEgypt and smoothly managed the accession of his son,Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705), following Marwan's death in 685.[11] The Yamani leaders, Ibn Bahdal of Kalb andRawh ibn Zinba of Judham, were Abd al-Malik's main supporters, other than his kinsmen.[11] All the while, the Qays in Upper Mesopotamia and northern Syria under Zufar's leadership remained steadfastly behind Ibn Zubayr, and stymied the expansion of Umayyad authority to Zubayrid-heldIraq.[23]
Following Marj Rahit, the Qays initiated a series of raids and counter-raids against the Yaman,[24] particularly the latter's leading faction, the Kalb.[25] Because each confrontation was typically a day-long, the raids were referred to by medieval Arab sources asayyām (days; sing.yawm), with eachyawm named after the place where the attack occurred.[citation needed] The sources of theayyām battles were contemporary Arab poems and stories that were preserved in theKitab al-Aghani,Kitab al-Hamasah and the histories ofal-Mada'ini (d. ca. 843) andIbn al-Athir (d. 1233).[25] HistorianJulius Wellhausen asserts that "the accounts are mostly quite reliable, though partly without connection and chronology".[25] The cycle of raids began following the battlefield defection of the Qaysi general and Sulaym chieftain,Umayr ibn al-Hubab, from the Umayyad army during theBattle of Khazir against the pro-Alid forces ofal-Mukhtar in 686.[citation needed] The defection of Umayr and his troops, who took refuge with Zufar in al-Qarqisiyah, was blamed for the rout of the Umayyad force.[citation needed]
Though the exact year is not available in contemporary sources, the firstayyām raid was carried out by Zufar against a Kalb encampment at Musaiyakh in the environs of Hims, in which twenty Kalb tribesmen were killed.[25] The Kalb, led byHumayd ibn Hurayth ibn Bahdal, responded by killing sixty men from the Qaysi tribe ofNumayr living among the Kalb inPalmyra.[25] Afterward, Umayr led an assault on Iklil, in the vicinity of Palmyra, that killed between 500 and 1,000 Kalb tribesmen.[25] Umayr evaded Humayd's pursuit and made it back to al-Qarqisiyah.[26] Umayr followed up on his victory by leading several damaging raids against the Kalb in their dwelling places in the Samawah desert, including at a well named Kaaba, in which Humayd was nearly killed.[26] The Kalb in Samawah ultimately fled for theJordan Valley in Palestine as a result of the attacks.[26]
Umayr later settled his Sulaym tribesmen along theKhabur River, where they encroached on the grazing lands of theTaghlib.[26] The latter, a Christian tribe belonging to the Rabi'ah,[27] had settlements stretching from the Khabur eastward beyond theTigris River.[26] The Taghlib requested Zufar's intervention to evict the Sulaym but Zufar was unable to mediate the dispute.[28] Instead, Umayr received sanction from the Zubayrids to assault the Taghlib, and with a large force he massacred numerous Taghlib tribesmen at the Khabur village ofMakisin.[29] Further Qaysi-Taghlib skirmishes, which also dragged in Zufar on the side of Umayr, took place along the Khabur, Tigris,Balikh andTharthar rivers.[29] In 689, the Taghlib ambushed the Qays at the Tharthar village of al-Hashshak, nearTikrit.[29][30] The ensuing battle lasted three days,[30] and towards the end, Zufar and his 'Amir kinsmen retreated to al-Qarqisiyah and abandoned Umayr, who was ultimately killed by the Taghlib.[31] The latter sent Umayr's head to Abd al-Malik.[29]
Obliged to avenge the death of his Qaysi comrade, Zufar retaliated against the Taghlib, dealing them a heavy blow at the Tigris village of Kuhail.[32] Afterward, he executed 200 captured Taghlib tribesmen.[32] In 691, Abd al-Malik's siege of al-Qarqisiyah pushed Zufar to accept a negotiated surrender to Umayyad authority.[27] Per the agreement, Abd al-Malik incorporated Qaysi tribesmen into the Umayyad court and army.[33] The entry of Qays into the reconstituted Umayyad army of Syria ended Yamani, and specifically Kalbi, monopolization of that institution; from then on Abd al-Malik sought to balance each faction's interest within the military.[34] Abd al-Malik's forces also defeated the Umayyads' Zubayrid rivals and patrons of the Qays,Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr in Iraq in October 691 and Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr inMecca in September 692.[35] These developments put an end to Qaysi attacks against the Taghlib.[36] Around this time, the Taghlib's celebrated poet and representative to the Umayyad court,al-Akhtal, recited a poem to Abd al-Malik boasting of the victory over Qays and their surrender to Abd al-Malik:
(Thanks to us) the men of Qays came forth hastening to pledge allegiance to you [Abd al-Malik] publicly after long denial.
May God never lead Qays back from their error; and may no one say 'Take care!' when they stumble ...
... They [Qays] lived in blessed abundance till they were caught in Satan's [Ibn Zubayr's] snares.
—Al-Akhtal, circa 691/92.
Despite Abd al-Malik's accord with the Qays, the two camps continued to attack each other.[37] Thereafter, the battles spread to theHejaz and Iraq, unlike most of the early confrontations, which occurred in Upper Mesopotamia and the Palmyrene steppe.[37] Thus, the Qays–Yaman conflict broke out of its Syrian confines and into the wider Islamic world.[37] Humayd still sought revenge for prior losses the Kalb suffered at the hands of the 'Amir and Sulaym, but since those two tribes were now under Abd al-Malik's protection, Humayd resolved to attack the Qaysi tribe of Fazara.[36] The latter mainly lived east ofMedina, but their ruling clan inhabitedKufa.[36] They were not previously involved in attacks against the Yaman.[36] Humayd acquired a warrant from the Umayyad prince,Khalid ibn Yazid, to collect the cattle tax from the Fazara on behalf of Abd al-Malik's government.[36] Using this legal cover, Humayd led a large expeditionary force of Kalbi clans against Fazara tribesmen in Iraq, killing and wounding many, particularly at a place called 'Âh.[38] The Fazara protested these assaults to Abd al-Malik,[38] who responded by paying them blood money, which the Fazara, in turn, used to purchase weaponry and horses.[38] In circa 692/93, the Fazara retaliated against the Kalb in a surprise attack against their encampment at the Banat Qain wells in the Samawah, which ended with the deaths of 69 Kalb tribesmen.[38] The raid on Banat Qayn was the most celebrated of theayyam between Qays and Kalb.[38] Infuriated at the Fazara's attack, Abd al-Malik ordered his generalal-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf to lead an expedition against the Fazara.[38] However, the two main Fazara commanders from Banat Qain, Sa'id ibn Uyaynah and Halhalah ibn Qays,[39] surrendered themselves to avert a military assault against their tribe.[38] The Fazara commanders were then executed to satisfy the Kalb, who accepted it as a compensation for their losses.[38]
Abd al-Malik's ability to end Qaysi–Yamani violence was mostly limited to issuing threats or paying blood money.[37] Though he succeeded in transforming the Umayyad Caliphate into a centralized, bureaucratic state with decreasing reliance on the Syrian army, Kennedy notes that the "Qays–Yaman feud illustrated the problems of transition" in the caliphate fromnomadism tosettled life and governance.[37] After 691, each faction became associated with an Umayyad prince; the Qays allied themselves with Abd al-Malik's brother and governor of Upper Mesopotamia,Muhammad ibn Marwan, while the Yaman were associated with Abd al-Malik'sPalestine-based son,Sulayman.[40] These affiliations played an important role during future intra-Umayyad rivalry.[40] After the accession ofal-Walid I (r. 705–715), Qaysi–Yamani tensions simmered, but did not result in serious conflict.[41] Al-Walid, whose mother Wallada was Qaysi, afforded the Qays a degree of privilege.[41] Nonetheless, the Yaman held significant influence with other branches of the Umayyad household, namely with Sulayman, but alsoUmar ibn Abd al-Aziz, who maintained the ties his father established with Yamani army leaders in Egypt.[41] Moreover, with the accession of Sulayman in 715, the Yamani general Raja ibn Haywa of Kindah became his chief adviser and the Yaman regained their advantageous position within the Umayyad state.[42]
There is disagreement among historians over the basis of the Qays–Yaman conflict during and after Sulayman's reign.[42] Medieval Arab sources describe the conflict mainly as a tribal rivalry.[42] M. A. Shaban asserts that the Qays came to represent the policies of Islamic expansionism and Arab governmental monopolization embraced by Abd al-Malik and the powerful governoral-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, while the Yaman supported stabilizing the caliphate's borders and assimilating non-Arabs into the state.[16] The Yaman's allies and successive caliphs, Sulayman (r. 715–717) and Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (717–720), pursued such policies.[16] Kennedy argues against Shaban's theory, instead holding that the conflict "was between two factions based on tribal loyalties, which sought to control access to military power and the privileges that went with it".[42] To that end, the ultimate goal for each faction was the caliph's favor and appointment to provincial governorships.[42]
Qaysi–Yamani alignment among the Arab tribes was present throughout the Caliphate and avoiding association with either camp became increasingly difficult for Muslim leaders.[43] In Iraq, the two major rival tribes,Azd andTamim, became the central component of the Yaman and Qays, respectively, in that province.[42] The Qays–Yaman rivalry also played out among constituent Arab tribes in the Umayyad army in Khurasan.[42] Though Shaban characterized Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz as strongly pro-Yamani for his efforts to integrate non-Arab Muslim communities, the caliph evidently maintained a more balanced policy in regard to the rivalry and sought to end the tribal factionalism.[44] His appointment of provincial governors was based on competence and loyalty to his authority.[44] To that end, he appointed the Qaysi stalwart,Umar ibn Hubayra al-Fazari, as governor of Upper Mesopotamia and dismissed the Yamani governor of Iraq and Khurasan,Yazid ibn al-Muhallab of Azd, in favor of several governors, many of whom were not Yamani.[44] Nonetheless, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz's reforms threatened Qaysi interests and following his death in 720, the Qays helped restore the old order through his successor,Yazid II (r. 720–724).[45]
During Yazid II's reign, Ibn al-Muhallab revolted in Iraq, capturingWasit andKufa.[45] It is not apparent that he was supported by the Yamani tribes of Syria, and his revolt was crushed by a strong ally of the Qays,Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik.[45] Umar ibn Hubayra's subsequent appointment to Iraq saw the violent purge of Yamani leaders in the province.[45] Yazid died in 724 and his successor,Hisham (r. 724–743), managed to avoid entanglement with the Qays–Yaman rivalry, and appointedKhalid al-Qasri from the ostensibly neutralBajila tribe as governor of Iraq.[46] Hisham's reign was one of the most internally peaceful periods in the Umayyad Caliphate,[46] and there were no violent incidents reported between the Qays and Yaman within the Umayyad army during that time.[47] Toward the end of his reign and out of concern for maintaining stability in the aftermath of his death, Hisham increasingly relied on Qaysi support.[48] To that end, in 738, he replaced al-Qasri, who had possible Yamani sympathies, with the staunch Qaysi,Yusuf ibn Umar ofThaqif, and appointed another Qaysi stalwart,Nasr ibn Sayyar, as governor of Khurasan.[48]
The Qays–Yaman feud persisted, but the caliphate remained stable and prosperous by the time of Hisham's death in 743.[49] However, this situation unraveled as a result of the policies and incompetence of his successor,al-Walid II (r. 743–744).[49] The latter left the state administration largely in the hands of Hisham's Qaysi appointees, and his arrest of the Yaman's patrons among the Umayyad family, rallied the Yaman against his rule.[49] Walid II's governance was seen by members of the Umayyad family as so egregious that a section of them led byYazid III decided to depose him, an unprecedented action in Umayyad dynastic history.[49] Though much of the Umayyad family and other leaders were reluctant to back Yazid III, the Yamani tribes, partly led by the Kalbi chieftainMansur ibn Jumhur, provided him critical support; the Yaman were motivated by a desire to reestablish their once dominant position in the state.[50] The rebels captured Damascus, then besieged and killed Walid II in the vicinity ofPalmyra in 744.[50] Consequently, the Qays–Yaman conflict violently intensified.[50] Kennedy asserts:
It would be wrong to imagine that all members of these two groups were implacably hostile; it would seem that the violence was begun by extremists like Yusuf ibn Umar for the Qaysis and Mansur ibn Jumhur for the Yamanis, but once it had begun, it was very difficult to stop and came to involve the whole Syrian army and political elite. It was this fatal division, more than anything else, which destroyed [the] Umayyad government.[50]
Yazid III's reign lasted six months, during which he briefly appointed Ibn Jumhur governor of Khurasan. He was succeeded by his brotherIbrahim ibn al-Walid, but in December 744 the latter was overthrown byMarwan II (r. 744–750), a strongman favored by the Qays of Upper Mesopotamia and the Byzantine frontier zone.[51] The Qays were the only part of the Syrian elite that backed Marwan II's usurpation,[52] after which the leaders of Yaman were driven out of Syria.[52] A rebellion in the Kalb stronghold of Homs ensued, but was suppressed by Marwan II in 746.[52] Opposition to Marwan II sparked rebellions in the provinces east of Syria, with Ibn Jumhur throwing his lot with theAlid rebelAbd Allah ibn Mu'awiya.[52]
Marwan II dispatched the QaysiYazid ibn Umar to suppress the Alid-Yamani revolt in Kufa.[52] Ultimately, the Yaman of Syria and Iraq, and theKharijites underal-Dahhak al-Shaybani, were defeated by Marwan II's forces and a respite in the war was achieved by the spring of 748.[52] However, by December 748, theAbbasid Revolution in Khurasan was in earnest and its leader,Abu Muslim, drove out the Qaysi governor Nasr ibn Sayyar fromMerv and advanced westward.[52] Yazid ibn Umar dispatched the Qaysi generals Nubata ibn Hanzala of Kilab and'Amir ibn Dubara of Murrah to halt Abu Muslim's march, but they were defeated byQahtaba ibn Shabib ofTayy.[53] Iraq, with the exception of Qaysi-held Wasit, was conquered by theAbbasids underas-Saffah (r. 750–754) in October 749.[53] Qaysi troops rallied behind Marwan II as he advanced against the Abbasids, but he was decisively defeated at theBattle of Zab in February 750;[53] Umayyad power all but diminished as a result.[53] When the Abbasid army reached Damascus in pursuit of Marwan II, Yamani tribesmen facilitated their entry into the city.[53]
Though the Abbasid Revolution was "hotly pro-Yaman and anti-Qays", once the Abbasids consolidated power they "took up the tribal balancing policy of the defunct Umayyad regime", according to historianKhalid Yahya Blankinship.[54] Much of the Qaysi leaders of Upper Mesopotamia and the Byzantine and Armenian frontiers, including Marwan's close ally,Ishaq ibn Muslim of Uqayl, eventually embraced the Abbasids.[55] However, in the immediate aftermath of the Abbasid annexation of Syria in 750, the Qays of Qinnasrin led byAbu al-Ward and the Yaman of Hims and Palmyra led by the Umayyad noblemanAbu Muhammad al-Sufyani launched a revolt to reinstate Umayyad rule.[citation needed] However, the Qaysi–Yamani coalition was defeated relatively quickly by the Abbasids, with the Qays in particular suffering heavy casualties.[citation needed]
Following the collapse of the Umayyads and relocation of the caliphate's capital from Syria toBaghdad, the political significance of the Qays and Yaman factions diminished considerably.[56] Watt asserts that "little is heard of the hostility" between Qays and Yaman following the advent of the Abbasids.[16] Nonetheless, throughout the following centuries, Qaysi–Yamani alignment continued to serve as an "organizing principle for all sorts of feuds within or between tribes, clans, and neighborhoods, not just in Syria, but more generally throughout the Arab world", according to historianRobert Irwin.[56] With time, the feud transcended nomadic Arab tribes and even Arabs in general; the Qays–Yaman division also existed amongKurds andBerbers.[57]
Irwin asserts that in contrast to the scholarship devoted to the Qays–Yaman feud during the Umayyad era, the "importance of Qays and Yaman loyalties in the Mamluk period has been largely neglected" by historians.[58] During the Mamluk period in Syria, nomadic Arab tribes (ʿurban orʿarab), semi-nomadic Arab tribes (ʿushran orʿasha'ir) and, to an extent, non-Arab tribes or groups often claimed belonging to either the Qays or Yaman factions.[58] Historian William Popper wrote that theasha'ir, particularly theDruze, of the hills and valleys aroundSafad,Wadi al-Taym andJabal Amil sometimes organized themselves along Qays and Kalb (Yaman) lines during the Mamluk period.[59] During some occasions in which non-mamluks (those not part of the manumitted slave soldier tradition) partook in the internecine warfare between the Mamluk elite, they took up the Qaysi or Yamani label.[58] For the most part, Qaysi–Yamani feuding does not appear to have played a role in the tribal strife of the early Mamluk period.[60] The division became more pronounced, or at least recognized by Mamluk historians, during the closing decades of the 14th century.[61] Even then, references to the factional feud were sporadic and do not establish the rivalry's continuity during the Mamluk era.[62]
During the early Ottoman era, the inhabitants of Damascus divided themselves along Qays–Yamani lines, with the residents ofBab al-Jabiya,al-Shaghour,Salihiyya, Shaykh Raslan,Masjid Aqsab and Qubeibat affiliated with the Qays and the residents ofal-Midan, Mazabil and Mahruqa belonging to the Yaman. In the environs of Damascus, the chiefs ofZabadani,Wadi al-Taym and the Marj area (south of the city), and theHarfush dynasty ofBaalbek were all Yamani.[63]
InMount Lebanon during Mamluk rule, the localDruze nobility was split along Qaysi–Yamani lines, with the Alam al-Din andBuhtur families representing Yaman and Qays, respectively.[64] When theMa'an family supplanted Buhtur in 1516, the Qaysi clans rallied around them.[64] The Yaman under Alam al-Din temporarily prevailed against the Ma'an under Emir Qurqmaz, but the latter's sonFakhr ad-Din II, successfully reasserted Qaysi dominance in Mount Lebanon until his death in 1633.[64] Afterward, a Yamani attempt to control Mount Lebanon led to a massacre and civil strife, but by 1635 and until the end of the 17th century, the Qays under Ma'an leadership remained dominant.[64] TheSunni MuslimShihab dynasty replaced their Ma'an kinsmen as the leaders of the Qaysi Druze after the Ma'an's chief died without progeny in 1697.[64] In 1709, the Qays lost their position in Mount Lebanon at the hands of the Yaman, but the latter were dealt a decisive blow during theBattle of Ain Dara in 1711, in which numerous Yamani fighters and the entire leadership of theAlam al-Din family were killed.[64] Afterward, the Yamani Druze, besides theArslan clan, emigrated from Mount Lebanon, with most taking refuge in theHawran. The Battle of Ain Dara essentially ended the Qays–Yaman feud in Mount Lebanon.[64] From then on, feuding factions were known after their leading clans.[64]
Qays–Yaman affiliation in Palestine had an extensive history.[64] However, many who adhered to either Qays and Yaman, including some of the factions' leading families, such as theAbu Ghosh, were not ethnic Arabs, but ofCircassian, Kurdish orTurkmen stock.[64] Meanwhile, families that did claim Arab origin chose allegiance with either Qays or Yaman without much consideration to their north or south Arabian lineage; sometimes, branches of the same clan adhered to different factions because of intra-family disputes.[64] Bedouin tribes, peasant clans and townspeople all identified with one or the other faction, including families whose origins were not clear.[64]
According to Marom, "In the eighteenth century, the hinterland of Nablus suffered from civil strife due to the Qays (northern Arabians) and Yaman (southern Arabians) rivalry. Most of society—includingfellahin (the peasantry), Bedouins andahl al-mudun (townsfolk) was affiliated with one of these factions. The strife disrupted rural life, precipitating emigration and village formation in areas that were less densely populated".[65] Indeed, according to historian Ihsan al-Nimr, the northern section of Jabal Nablus was designated for the Yaman, while the southern part was given to Qays by Mamluk sultanan-Nasir Muhammad (r. 1293–1340, with interruption).[64] During Ottoman rule throughout the 16th century, there were frequent clashes between families across Palestine based on Qays–Yaman divisions.[64] Most of the fighting was concentrated in the hinterlands of Nablus and Jerusalem during the 18th and 19th centuries.[64]
As seen in sources from the 18th and 19th centuries bylabor zionistYitzchak Ben-Tzvi, the tribal division is shown in the following examples:[66]