TheBanu 'l-Ukhaidhir (Arabic:بنو الأخيضر,romanized: Banū ʾl-Ukhayḍir), informally asUkhaydhirites, was anArab dynasty that ruled inal-Yamama (centralArabia) from 867 to at least the mid-eleventh century. AnAlid dynasty, they were descendants ofMuhammad through his daughterFatima and his grandsonAl-Hasan, and at least one contemporary traveler[1] describes them as having beenShi'ites of theZaydi persuasion. Their capital was known asal-Khidhrimah, which lay near the present-day city ofAl-Kharj inSaudi Arabia.
The founder of the dynasty wasMuhammad ibn Yusuf al-Ukhaidhir ibn Ibrahim ibn Musa al-Djawn ibn Abd Allah al-Kāmil ibn Al-Hasan al-Mu'thannā bin Al-Hassan al-mujtaba binAli al Murtaza binAbi Talib. Muhammad's brotherIsma'il had launched a rebellion in theTihamah in 865 against theAbbasid government and temporarily occupied the city ofMecca.[2] After Isma'il's death the following year, Muhammad began stirring up trouble along theroad running between the Hejaz and Iraq, but was defeated by the road's governorAbu 'l-Saj Dewdad.[3] Fleeing from the government forces, he made his way in al-Yamamah and established himself there in 867.[4]
Al-Yamamah at the time was nominally part of the Abbasid Caliphate, but the central government had largely neglected the area for years due to its remoteness. With the exception of the occasional raid by government forces,[5] the tribes there were largely self-governing. When Muhammad arrived in al-Yamamah, he likely gained the support of theBanu Hanifa, the largest tribe in the area, and created an independentamirate.[6]
It is not known how much of al-Yamamah was ruled by Muhammad and his descendants. Descriptions of the extent of the amirate by medievalMuslim historians vary; one source states that it controlled only al-Khidhrimah and its outskirts, while another claims that it ruled over a territory that extended as far north asQurran.[7]
The early rule of the Banu 'l-Ukhaidhir was characterized by a sustained economic depression. Thousands of people are recorded as having emigrated from al-Yamamah to various provinces of the caliphate in order to escape the turmoil. Muhammad has been blamed for this period of hardship due to his oppressive rule,[8] although it has been noted that reports of mass emigration from al-Yamamah began years before his arrival.[9]
Muhammad was succeeded as amir by his son Yusuf, who was himself succeeded by his son Isma'il. Isma'il established an alliance with the powerfulQarmatians of neighboringAl-Hasa. He participated in the capture ofKufa in 925 and was given command of the town by the Qarmatian leaderAbu Tahir. Relations between the two sides, however, subsequently soured, and in 928 Isma'il and several members of his family were killed in a battle with the Qarmatians.[9]
Isma'il was succeeded by his son al-Hasan, and at this point the amirate likely subordinate to the Qarmatians.[10] After the rule of al-Hasan's son Ahmad, the history of the Banu 'l-Ukhaidhir becomes obscure. When the travelerNasir-i Khusraw arrived in al-Yamamah in 1051, the Banu 'l-Ukhaidhir were still ruling there, but at some point after this theBanu Kilab took over the country.[9]
(Established in 866 by Muḥammad ibn Yūsūfūʾl-Ukhayḍir ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Mūsā al-Jawn after the unsuccessful revolt of his brotherIsmā'īl ibn Yūsūfūʾl-Ukhayḍir in April 865)
After Ahmad, the list of rulers becomes uncertain, but later amirs were descendants of his son Abu 'l-Muqallid Ja'far.[9]