Shamil
Shamil, also spelled Shamyl, Schamil, or Schamyl, (b. June 26, 1797, Gimry, Dagestan [now in Russia] - d. February 4, 1871, Medina, Hejaz, Ottoman Empire [now Saudi Arabia]), was the leader of Muslim Dagestan and Chechen mountaineers, whose fierce resistance delayed Russia's conquest of the Caucasus for 25 years.
Shamil was the third Imam of the Caucasian Imamate (1834–1859), and a Sunni Muslim Shaykh of the Naqshbandi Sufi Tariqa.
Shamil was born in Gimry, Dagestan which is now in Russia. Shamil was originally named Ali, but following local tradition, his name was changed when he became ill. His father, Dengau, was a landlord, and this position allowed Shamil and his close friend Ghazi Muhammad to study many subjects, including Arabic and logic. The two close friends also studied the Qur'an and practiced Sufism together at Yaraghal, a Murid center. Both Ghazi and Shamil came to dislike the loose customs of the mountain -- the Caucasus -- people that contradicted the laws set forth in the Qur'an.
Shamil grew up at a time when the Russian Empire was expanding into the territories of the Ottoman Empire and of Persia. Many Caucasian peoples united in resistance to Russian imperial aspirations in what became known as the Caucasian War (1817-1864). Early leaders of Caucasian resistance included Hadji Dawud, Sheikh Mansur and Ghazi Muhammad. Shamil, the childhood friend of Ghazi Muhammad, would become Ghazi's disciple and counselor.
Ghazi Muhammad (1793 –1832) became an Islamic scholar and ascetic, who became the first Imam of the Caucasian Imamate (from 1828 to 1832). He promoted the Sacred Law of Sharia, spiritual purification (tasawwuf), and facilitated a jihad against the invading Russians. He was also one of the prime supporters of Muridism, a strict obedience to Quranic laws used by imams to increase religio-patriotic fervor in the Caucasus.
Ghazi Muhammad preached that jihad would not occur until the Caucasians followed sharia completely rather than following a mixture of sharia and adat (customary traditions). By 1828, Ghazi Muhammad had begun proselytizing and claiming that obeying sharia, giving zakat, faithfully praying, and performing the hajj would not be accepted by Allah if the Russians were still present in the area. He even went on to claim that marriages would become void and children bastards if any Russians were still in the Caucasus.
Ghazi Muhammad became one of the most prominent preachers of Islam in the Caucasus. His memorization of over four hundred hadith allowed him to win many debates against rival preachers in the area. As his reputation grew, he was invited by many khanates and kingdoms loyal, indifferent, and hostile to the Czar. As a sign of humility and austerity, he refused to ride, but would walk.
During the early to mid 19th century of the Christian calendar, Russian political strategy in Dagestan included supporting local, indigenous law, known as 'adat. This was a careful and strategic investment against the growing religiosity and resistance founded on sharia law, which was championed by Ghazi Muhammad. The popularity and rise of Ghazi Muhammad has been attributed both to his charismatic personality and to an indigenous Dagestani population that had grown tired of Russian intrusion and reorganization of local land and resources. Due to conflicting local political, legal, and religious interests, the war led by Ghazi Muhammad has been characterized as a war in the name of Muslim resistance just as much as a war against Russian Imperial encroachment into the North Caucasus. While Ghazi Muhammad gained popular support for his religious policies and military tactics, he did not find widespread support among the region's other political leaders. This lack of support prompted Ghazi Muhammad to launch assaults both against local leaders who preferred to ascribe to ‘adat and against the encroaching Russians. As such, support for Ghazi Muhammad was not ubiquitous in Dagestan and his rise to power resulted in unrest among local political stakeholders.
In 1829, Ghazi Muhammad was proclaimed the first Imam of Caucasian Imamate in Ghimry. Soon thereafter, Ghazi Muhammad formally made the call for a holy war -- for a jihad. He also decreed that all wine should be destroyed publicly.
In 1830, Ghazi Muhammad and Shamil unsuccessfully tried to capture the Avar capital of Khunzakh from the khanum Pakkou-Bekkhe. Following the setback, Shamil prevailed upon Ghazi to bide his time for a while, until all the tribes became united in following sharia law.
In 1831, after a few months of quiet, Ghazi Muhammad attacked Northern Dagestan, and met with success there. His guerilla tactics caught the Russians unprepared. By 1832, Ghazi Muhammad (Qazi Mullah) was able to menace Vladikavkaz. However, the Russians repulsed the Imam's assault and, when the Russians took Ghimry, according to legend, they found
The Russians took the body of Ghazi Muhammad to Tarku, the capital of the Kumyk state, and gave it to the Kumyk Khan, who had been loyal to them. The body was displayed in the marketplace for a few days before being buried in the hills.
In 1832, when Ghazi Muhammad died at the battle of Ghimry, Shamil was one of only two Murids to escape. However, in doing so, he sustained severe wounds. During this fight, Shamil was stabbed with a bayonet. After jumping from an elevated stoop clean over the heads of the very line of soldiers about to fire on him, Shamil landed behind them. Whirling his sword in his left hand Shamil cut down three of them, but was bayoneted by the fourth, the steel plunging deep into his chest. Shamil seized the bayonet, pulled it out of his own flesh, cut down the man, and with another superhuman leap, cleared the wall and vanished in the darkness.
Shamil went into hiding and both Russia and his fellow Murids assumed him dead. Once recovered, he emerged from hiding and rejoined the Murids, at that time being led by the second Imam, Gamzat-bek.
Gamzat-bek, also known as Hamza-Bek, Hamza Bek ibn Ali Iskandar Bek al-Hutsali (b. 1789 — d, October 1, 1834) was the second imam of the Caucasian Imamate. Gamzat-bek succeeded Ghazi Muhammad upon Ghazi Muhammad's death in 1832.
Gamzat-bek was a son of one of the Avar beks. He was educated under the supervision of Muslim preachers and became an avid follower of a Sufi order. In August 1834, Gamzat-bek launched an assault on the Avar khans, who had been supporting the Russian Empire government and who had been hostile towards the Sufism movement. He succeeded in capturing the Avar capital of Khunzakh and executed its female ruler Pakhubike and her sons. However, the supporters of the Avar khans, including Hadji Murad, conspired against Gamzat-bek and killed him (Leo Tolstoy's story Hadji Murat is based on this event). After the death of Gamzat-bek, Shamil became the third Imam of Dagestan -- the third Imam of the Caucasian Imamate.
The Dagestan struggle against the Russians began when the Russians formally acquired control of Dagestan from Persia (Iran) in 1813. After Ghazi Muḥammad was killed by the Russians (in 1832) and his successor, Gamzat Bek, was assassinated by his own followers (in 1834), Shamil was elected to serve as the third Imam (political-religious leader) of Dagestan -- the third Imam of Caucasian Imamate.
When Gamzat-bek was murdered in 1834, Shamil took his place as the prime leader of the Caucasian resistance and became the third Imam of the Caucasian Imamate. He would wage unremitting warfare on the Russians for the next quarter century and would become one of the legendary guerrilla commanders of the century.
In 1839 (June–August), Shamil and his followers, numbering about 4000 men, women and children, found themselves under siege in their mountain stronghold of Akhoulgo, nestled in the bend of the Andi Koysu, about ten miles east of Ghimry. Under the command of General Pavel Grabbe, the Russian army trekked through lands devoid of supplies because of Shamil's scorched-earth strategy. The geography of the stronghold protected it from three sides, adding to the difficulty of conducting the siege. Eventually the two sides agreed to negotiate. Complying with Grabbe's demands, Shamil gave his son, Jamaldin in a sign of good faith, as a hostage. Shamil rejected Grabbe's proposal that Shamil command his forces to surrender and for him to accept exile from the region. The Russian army attacked the stronghold. After two days of fighting, the Russian troops secured Akhoulgo. Shamil escaped the siege during the first night of the attack. Shamil's forces had been broken and many Dagestani and Chechen chieftains proclaimed loyalty to the Tsar (Czar). Shamil fled Dagestan for Chechnya. There he made quick work of extending his influence over the clans.
Shamil was effective at uniting the many, quarrelsome Caucasian tribes to fight against the Russians, by the force of his charisma, piety and fairness in applying Sharia law. Shamil believed that the Russian introduction of alcohol into the area corrupted traditional values. Against the large regular Russian military, Shamil made effective use of irregular and guerrilla tactics. In 1845, an 8-10,000 strong column under the command of Count Michael Vorontsov followed the Imamate's forces into the forests of Chechnya. The Imamate's forces surrounded the Russian column, destroying it. This destroyed Vorontsov's attempt to cut away Chechnya from the Imamate.
Shamil's fortunes as a military leader rose after he was joined by Hadji Murad, who defected from the Russians in 1841. Soon thereafter, the area under Shamil's control tripled in size. Hadji Murad, who was to become the subject of a famous novella by Leo Tolstoy (1904), turned against Shamil a decade later, apparently disappointed by his failure to be anointed Shamil's successor as imam. Shamil's elder son was given the successor designation, and in a secret council, Shamil had his lieutenant (Hadji Murad) accused of treason and sentenced to death.
Hadji Murad, on learning of the successor designation and death sentence, re-defected to the Russians. Though Shamil hoped that Britain, France, or the Ottoman Empire would come to his aid to drive Russia from the Caucasus, these plans never came to fruition. After the Crimean War, Russia redoubled its efforts against the Imamate.
In 1857, the Russians became more determined to suppress Shamil, whose reputation had spread throughout western Europe and whose exploits had become legendary among his own people. Sending large, well-equipped forces under generals N.I. Evdokimov and A.I. Baryatinsky, the Russians started operations from all sides. The Russian military successes, coupled with the increasing exhaustion of Shamil’s followers, resulted in the surrender of many villages and tribes to the Russians.
After the Russian invaders successfully stormed Shamil’s fortress at Vedeno (in April 1859), Shamil and several hundred of his adherents withdrew to Mount Gunib. On September 6, 1859, Shamil, recognizing the futility of continuing to fight the overwhelming Russian armies that surrounded him, finally surrendered and effectively ended the resistance of the Chechen and Dagestani peoples to Russian subjugation.
After his capture, Shamil was sent to Saint Petersburg, Russia, to meet the Tsar (Czar) Alexander II. Afterwards, he was exiled to Kaluga, then a small town near Moscow. After several years in Kaluga, Shamil complained to the authorities about the climate and in December, 1868, he received permission to move to Kiev, a commercial center of the Empire's southwest. In Kiev, Shamil was provided with a mansion on Aleksandrovskaya Street. The Imperial authorities ordered the Kiev superintendent to keep Shamil under "strict but not overly burdensome surveillance" and allotted the city a significant sum for the needs of the exile.
In 1869, Shamil was given permission to perform the hajj to the holy city of Mecca. He traveled first from Kiev to Odessa and then sailed to Istanbul, where he was greeted by Ottoman Sultan Abdulaziz. He became a guest at the Imperial Topkapi Palace for a short while and left Istanbul on a ship reserved for him by the Sultan. In Mecca, during the pilgrimage, he met and conversed with Abdelkader El Djezairi, the Algerian religious and military leader who had led a struggle against the French colonial invasion of Algiers in the early 19th century.
After completing his pilgrimage to Mecca, Shamil went to Medina. Shamil died in Medina in 1871. He was buried in the Jannatul Baqi, the historical graveyard in Medina where many prominent personalities from Islamic history are interred.
In the process of Russia managing to conquer Chechnya and Dagestan in a series of bloody conquests, Russians developed a great respect for Shamil. Tsar Alexander II of Russia openly admired Shamil's resistance. The Tsar's admiration is part of the reason why, in the later part of his life, Shamil was housed in a mansion and was permitted to perform the hajj. Accordingly, Shamil largely escaped from the demonization of other Caucasian leaders in Russian historiography. Indeed, Shamil's legacy continues to remain strong not just in the memories of the people of the North Caucasus but also in general Russian history. He is regarded as one of the revered warrior figures in Russia and is frequently studied by Russian academia despite his defiance to Russian imperial aspirations and power.
Shammar
The tribe of Shammar is one of the largest tribes of Arabia, with an estimated (in 2010) 1 million in Iraq, over 2.5 million in Saudi Arabia (concentrated in Hail), a Kuwaiti population (centered in Aljahra) of around 100,000, a Syrian population that is thought to exceed 1 million, and with an unknown number in Jordan. In its "golden age", around 1850, the tribe ruled much of central and northern Arabia from Riyadh to the frontiers of Syria and the vast area known as Aljazeera in Northern Iraq.
The Shammar is a tribal confederation made up of three main branches: the Abdah, the Aslam, and the Zoba. According to the tribe's oral tradition, the Shammar originated from a bedouin Yemeni tribe called the Dhayaghem who immigrated northwards, conquering the area around the twin mountains of Aja and Salma in northern Nejd from a local chief known only as "Bahij". The first mention of Shammar comes from the 14th century. The area of the two mountains subsequently came to be known as Jabal Shammar ("Shammar's Mountain") from that time. In modern times, it has become common to link the Shammar with the tribe of Tayy, the ancient inhabitants of that area, and some genealogists believe that Shammar may have indeed absorbed some remnants of that tribe.
Oral tradition mentions that the first chiefs of the Shammar tribe were the family of Dhaigham, (Arar and Omair) from 'abda, who supposedly ruled Shammar at the center of their presence in Jabal Shammar. In the 1600s, a large section of the Shammar left Jabal Shammar under the leadership of Al Jarba and settled in Iraq, reaching as far as the northern city of Mosul. The Shammar are currently one of the largest tribes in Iraq, and are divided into two large branches. The northern branch, known as Shammar al-Jarba, is mainly Sunni, while the southern branch, Shammar Toga, converted to Shi'ism largely just before or during the 19th century after settling in southern Iraq.
The Shammar that remained in Arabia had their tribal territories in the area around the city of Ha'il, and extending from Ha'il northwards to the frontiers of the Syrian Desert. The Shammar had a long traditional rivalry with the confederation of 'Anizzah, who inhabited the same area.
The city of Ha'il became the heart of the Jabal Shammar region and was inhabited largely by settled members of Shammar and their clients. Two clans succeeded each other in ruling the city in the 19th century. The first clan, the Al Ali, were replaced by the Al Rashid with their uncles Al Sabhan, who pledged allegiance to the Al Saud family in Riyadh. Both these clans belonged to the 'Abda section of Shammar.
During the civil war that tore apart the Second Saudi State in the late 19th century, the emirs ("rulers") of Ha'il from Al Rashid intervened and were able to gradually take control of much of the Saudi realm, finally taking over the Saudi capital Riyadh in 1895 and expelling the Saudi leaders to Kuwait. The bedouin Shammari tribesmen provided the majority of the Al Rashid's military support.
The Al Rashid were defeated by Ibn Saud during his campaign to restore his family's rule in the Arabian Peninsula in the first two decades of the 20th century, with Jabal Shammar falling to Saudi rule in 1921. Later, some sections of Shammar were incorporated in the Ikhwan militias loyal to Ibn Saud. Ibn Saud also married a daughter of one of the Shammari chiefs, who bore him the current Saudi king, Abdullah.
After the establishment of modern borders, most bedouins gradually left their nomadic lifestyle. Today, most members of Shammar live in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and some sections have settled in Syria and Jordan.
Under the leadership of Banu Mohamad known as Al Jarba, there was a massive exodus of the Shammar into Iraq. Many of the Shammar in Iraq gave up the nomadic life to settle in the major cities, especially the Jazirah plain, which is the area between the Tigris and Euphrates from Baghdad all the way to Mosul. In times of drought, there were several migrations of Shammar into Iraq, which, according to the Ottoman census upon its annexation, had only 1.5 million inhabitants.
In Iraq, the Shammar became one of the most powerful tribes, owning vast tracts of land. They were important supporters of the Iraqi monarchy of the House of Hashem. Shammar power was threatened after the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958 by Abdul-Karim Qassem, and the Shammar welcomed Ba'athist rule. With the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Saddam Hussein, the tribe of Shammar lost favor in Iraq due to their close links to their Saudi relatives. After the overthrow of Saddam, Ghazi al-Yawar, from the Al Jarbah clan, was unanimously chosen as interim president. His uncle is the current Sheikh of Sheikhs of the tribe of Shammar. Samir, an Iraqi-American Shammari, pulled Saddam out of his "spider hole" in the famous picture of the capture of Saddam.
Shams al-Dawla (Shams al-Daula) (Abu Tahir ibn Fakhr al-Dawla Shams al-Dawla). Member of the line of the Buyids who ruled in Hamadan and Isfahan (r. 997-1021). He was in permanent conflict with his brother Majd al-Dawla.
Abu Taher (died 1021) was the Buyid ruler of Hamadan from 997 to 1021. He was the son of Fakhr al-Daula.
Fakhr al-Daula died in 997. His elder son Abu Taleb Rostam ("Majd al-Daula") took power in the bulk of his father's possessions in Jibal. Abu Taher himself gained the governorships of Hamadan and Kirmanshah, and was hence known as Shams al-Daula. Since both sons were still minors their mother, the "Sayyida", assumed the regency.
Both sons originally took the title of Shâhanshâh, implying that they were subordinate to no one. They abandoned the title, however, when they accepted their cousin Baha al-Daula's authority by 1009 or 1010 at the latest.
In 1006 or 1007, Majd al-Daula tried to throw off the Sayyida's regency. However, she gained the support of the Kurdish ruler Badr ibn Hasanwaih and Shams al-Daula. Their forces laid siege to Ray and fought several battles with Majd al-Daula's forces. When Ray was finally taken, Majd al-Daula was imprisoned for a year, and Shams al-Daula ruled in the city during that time. When the Sayyida released Majd al-Daula, Shams al-Daula returned to Hamadan.
Around 1013, following the death of the Badr ibn Hasanwaih, Shams al-Daula occupied part of the former ruler's territory. Sometime in the later part of his reign, he tried to replace Majd al-Daula as the ruler of Ray, but the Sayyida foiled his plans. He died in 1021 and was succeeded by his son Sama' al-Daula.
Abu Tahir ibn Fakhr al-Dawla Shams al-Dawla see Shams al-Dawla
Shams al-Daula see Shams al-Dawla
Shams al-Din, Ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Samatrani (Ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Samatrani Shams al-Din) (Shamsu’ddin Pasai) (Shamsu’ddin al-Sumatrani) (c.1575-1630). Malay mystical author from North Sumatra. His radical mysticism brought him, together with his contemporary Hamza Fansuri, in conflict with the more orthodox Nur al-Din al-Raniri. He has exercised a considerable influence on Javanese mystic literature.
Shamsu’ddin of Pasai was the author of religious texts in Arabic and Malaysian. In these texts, Shamsu’ddin saw an essential equality between man and god (wujudiyya).
Shamsu’ddin of Pasai lived and worked in Java and Sumatra. He was a heterodox Muslim mystic who enjoyed high favor during the reign of Mahkota Alam in Acheh but whose works, like those of Hamzah Fansuri, were later condemned to be burned. One of the works that survived was his Mir’at al-mu’min which was completed in 1601.
The favorite subjects of Shamsu’ddin of Pasai were the doctrine of existence and the recitation of religious formulae, while his mysticism was speculative rather than emotional. He also wrote a commentary on Hamzah Fansuri’s poems Kitab Sharh ruba’i Hamzah Fansuri, and an Arabic work Jauhar al Haka’ik.
Ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Samatrani Shams al-Din see Shams al-Din, Ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Samatrani
Shamsu’ddin Pasai see Shams al-Din, Ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Samatrani
Shamsu’ddin al-Sumatran see Shams al-Din, Ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Samatrani
Shamun, Kamil (Kamil Shamun). See Chamoun
Kamil Shamun see Shamun, Kamil
Shanfara, al-. Pre-Islamic black Arabian poet. Associated with the poet and Bedouin hero Ta’abbata Sharran, he was a terror to tribes. One of his poems, in which he celebrates a committed murder, is known for its amatory introduction (in Arabic, nasib). Another poem, generally known as Lamiyyat al-‘Arab and attributed to him, is acknowledged as one of the finest products of Arabic poetry.
Shangawa. The banks and islands of the Niger River support the Shangawa in and around the northwestern Nigerian city of Shanga, which they are credited with founding. Shanga District forms a link between the farthest outpost of Hausa culture to the west and the outside world to the south, a link that emphasizes the importance of this ethnic group.
The Shangawa were once a subgroup of the Kengawa. According to legend, the Kengawa and Shangawa are the elder and younger branches of a priestly tribe that served the House of Kisra, reputedly Muhammad’s rival “in the East.” A number of Nigerian peoples trace their origins to Kisra or one of his sons or daughters. Kisra, who some say was Persian, fought against the spread of Islam. In Persian, the word “Kisra” may have come from “Chosroes,” the name of a Persian dynasty. The Prophet Muhammad defeated Kisra in battle, and Kisra then either fled or was allowed to emigrate in recognition of his valor.
By the thirteenth century, the Kengawa-Shangawa were part of the Songhay Empire with many of their towns occupied by Songhay troops. In the late sixteenth century, a Moroccan army defeated the Songhay soldiers by then had merged with the indigenous populations, and folklore takes not of the facts. Amidst the invasions the Shangawa found refuge in Yauri, and Shanga District was most likely founded in the early nineteenth cenurty. Invaders and slave raider forced them to retreat further into the hinterlands, and they found a haven on the islands of the Niger River.
Shapur (Sapor; in Arabic, Sapur). Name of several members of the Sasanian dynasty. The following were known to the Muslim historians: Shapur I ibn Ardashir (in Arabic, Sabur al-Junud) (r.241-272). Muslim sources, based on older Persian traditions, give his biography, which is for a large part legendary but contains a number of historical details otherwise unknown; Shapur II ibn Hurmizd (Dhu’l-Aktaf) (r.310-379). He is said to have waged war against several Arab tribes; Shapur III (r.383-387).
Shāpūr (Persian, meaning son of the king) is a Persian male given name. It is first attested in Middle Persian as Shahpuhr.
Shapur can refer to one of three Sassanid kings:
* Shapur I (r. 241–272)
* Shapur II (r. 309–379)
* Shapur III (r. 383–388)
Shapur may also refer to:
* Shapur Bakhtiar (1915–1991), former Prime Minister of Iran
* Shapur ibn Sahl, a ninth century Persian Christian physician from the Academy of Gundishapur
* Sapor of Bet-Nicator was the Christian bishop of Bet-Nicator
* Shapoor Zadran, an Afghan cricketer.
Sapor see Shapur
Sapur see Shapur
Shahpuhr see Shapur
Son of a King see Shapur
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