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Abdallah al-Battal

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Abdallah al-Battal
Native name
عبدالله البطل
Died740
Akroinon
Allegiance Umayyad Caliphate
Years of serviceca. 727–740
WarsArab–Byzantine Wars

Abdallah al-Battal (Arabic: عبدالله البطل; "Abdallah the Hero", died in 740) was a Muslim warrior of the Arab–Byzantine Wars of the early 8th century, participating in several of the campaigns launched by the Umayyad Caliphate against the Byzantine Empire. Historical facts about his life are scarce, but an extensive pseudo-historical and legendary tradition grew around him after his death, and he became a famous figure in both Arab and later Turkish epic literature as Sayyid Battal Ghazi.

Biography

Nothing is known of Abdallah al-Battal's origin or early life. Much later accounts claim that he hailed from Antioch or Damascus, and that he was a mawla of the Umayyad family. He is also given various kunya, Abu Muhammad, Abu Yahya, or Abu 'l-Husayn.[1] Even his name is not certain: Khalid Yahya Blankinship suggested that he might be the same person as a certain "'Amr" recorded by the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes the Confessor in the Nicaea campaign of 727, and hence that "'Amr" could be his actual personal name or a patronymic (i.e. his name could be 'Amr ibn Abdallah or Abdallah ibn 'Amr), while alternatively "Abdallah" could simply be an honorific.[2]

Map of Byzantine Asia Minor and the Arab–Byzantine frontier zone in the early 8th century

According to historical sources (the chroniclers al-Ya'qubi and al-Tabari), Abdallah first appears in 727, in one of the annual raids against Byzantine Asia Minor. This campaign was commanded by Muawiyah ibn Hisham, the son of the reigning Caliph Hisham (reigned 723–743). Abdallah led the vanguard, with which he penetrated as far as the city of Gangra in Paphlagonia, which he captured and razed, before the army went on to unsuccessfully lay siege to Nicaea.[1][3] Along with the capture of Caesarea by Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik in 726, Abdallah's capture of Gangra ranks as one of the greatest successes of Umayyad arms against the Byzantines in this period.[4] Later accounts from the 10th century, however, place Abdallah al-Battal alongside Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik during the latter's failed siege of Constantinople in 717–718. As the Arab accounts of the siege are semi-legendary, it is impossible to know if this report contains any truth.[1]

Abdallah himself commanded another raid in 731–732, of which little is known. It most probably was a failure, and is remembered only for the death in battle of another Arab hero, Abd al-Wahhab ibn Bukht.[1][5] In the next year, AH 115 (732–733), Abdallah campaigned again alongside Muawiyah ibn Hisham, raiding as far as Akroinon in Phrygia. A Byzantine army under a certain Constantine tried to confront the Muslims, but Abdallah defeated Constantine and took him prisoner.[1][5][6] Abdallah's next and last appearance is in 740, when a major campaign involving several tens of thousands of men was launched by the Umayyads against Byzantium. Along with Malik ibn Shu'ayb, deputy governor of Malatya, Abdallah commanded a 20,000-strong cavalry force while Sulayman ibn Hisham led the main force behind them. Abdallah and Malik's force reached as far as Akroinon, but there they were confronted and defeated by the Byzantines under Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (r. 717–741) in person. Both Arab generals and two thirds of their army perished.[1][6][7]

Legend

If his military career was not particularly distinguished, Abdallah al-Battal quickly became the subject of popular tales and his fame grew, so that by the 10th century he was well established as one of the heroic figures of the Arab–Byzantine Wars: al-Mas'udi (The Meadows of Gold, VIII, 74–75) ranks him among the "illustrious Muslims" whose portraits were displayed in Byzantine churches.[1] In the 10th–12th centuries his alleged role in the siege of Constantinople was embellished by the Persian historian Bal'ami and the Andalusian mystic Ibn Arabi.[1] A number of fictional anecdotes became part of the accepted historical corpus around Abdallah from the time of Ibn 'Asakir (1106–1175) on: the use of his name to frighten children by the Byzantines; his entry into Amorion pretending to be a messenger and discovery of the Byzantine plans; his stay at a convent, whose abbess shielded him from Byzantine soldiers and whom he took with him and married; and finally his death in battle and burial, attended by Emperor Leo himself.[1]

Battal's exploits became the subject of two romances, the Arabic-language "Tale of Delhemma and al-Battal" (Sīrat Delhemma wa 'l-Baţţāl) and the Turkish epic of Sayyid Baţţāl Ghāzī.[1] Although both were composed in the 12th century and draw upon a common Arabic tradition, they show significant differences: the Turkish tale includes many Turkic and Persian elements and places Battal in the mid-9th century and associates him with the epic cycle of Malatya and its emir, Umar al-Aqta (died 863). It became very popular, and in Ottoman times Battal became a hero of many local legends in Asia Minor, especially among the Alevi and Bektashi sects.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Canard (1986), pp. 1002–1003
  2. ^ Blankinship (1994), p. 314 (Note 20)
  3. ^ Blankinship (1994), p. 120
  4. ^ Blankinship (1994), pp. 120–121
  5. ^ a b Blankinship (1994), p. 162
  6. ^ a b Winkelmann, Lilie, et al. (1999), pp. 5–6
  7. ^ Blankinship (1994), pp. 169–170
  8. ^ Melikoff (1986), pp. 1003–1004

Sources

  • Blankinship, Khalid Yahya (1994). The end of the jihâd state: the reign of Hishām ibn ʻAbd al-Malik and the collapse of the Umayyads. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-1827-7.
  • Canard, Marius (1986). "al-Baţţāl, ʿAbd Allāh". The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume I: A–B. Leiden and New York: BRILL. pp. 1002–1003. ISBN 90-04-08114-3.
  • Melikoff, I. (1986). "al-Baţţāl (Sayyid Baţţāl Ghāzī)". The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume I: A–B. Leiden and New York: BRILL. pp. 1003–1004. ISBN 90-04-08114-3.
  • Winkelmann, Friedhelm; Lilie, Ralph-Johannes; et al. (1999). "'Abdallāh al-Baṭṭāl (#15)". Prosopographie der Mittelbyzantinischen Zeit: I. Abteilung (641–867), 1. Band (in German). Berlin, Germany and New York, New York: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 5–6. ISBN 3-11-015179-0. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)

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