1804
In 1804, the conflict between ‘Uthman dan Fodio and the rulers of Gobir (Nigeria ) came to a head.
‘Uthman dan Fodio
was the greatest of these new leaders. ‘Uthman was a descendant of a torodbe
family, well established in Hausaland, a student of Jibril bin ‘Umar, an
uncompromising opponent of corrupt practices, and a proponent of jihad. He began his African preaching in 1774,
wandering from place to place as an intinerant religious scholar. For a time, ‘Uthman accepted the patronage of
the Hausa state of Gobir. His position
was like that of the Muslim scholars who for centuries had found in the Hausa
courts attractive opportunities to establish their influence, but who chafed
against the restrictions placed upon them.
Publicly expressing his frustration with the failure of the rulers to
put Islam into practice, ‘Uthman broke with the royal court. Disillusioned, he returned to Degel to preach
to his followers.
The tradition of
reform in which ‘Uthman preached also had African origins. In the fifteenth century, al-Maghili had
denounced the corrupt and un-Islamic practices of West African Muslim states. He condemned illegal taxation and the seizure
of private property, and denounced pagan ceremonial practices and “venal”
mallams who served rulers without adequate knowledge of Arabic or Islam. Al-Maghili called for the implementation of
Muslim law by a strong and committed Muslim ruler, and introduced into West Africa the concept of the mujaddid. In this vein, ‘Uthman criticized the Hausa
rulers for unjust and illegal taxes, for confiscations of property, compulsory
military service, bribery, gift taking, and the enslavement of Muslims. He also criticized them for condoning
polytheism, worshipping fetishes and believing in the power of talismans,
divination, and conjuring. Another
strand in his preaching derived from the tradition of Maliki law, communicated
through Timbuktu and Bornu ,
and reinforced by reformist religious currents emanating from Mecca
and Medina . ‘Uthman denounced pagan customs, the free
socializing of men and women, dancing at bridal feasts, and inheritance
practices which were contrary to Muslim law.
‘Uthman’s
influence was based on deep knowledge of Muslim law. Later he began to have mystical visions. A vision in 1789 led him to believe he had
the power to work miracles, and to teach his own mystical litany. He later had visions of ‘Abd al-Qadir
al-Jilani, the founder of the Qadiriyya, and an experience of ascension to
heaven where he was initiated into the silsila of the Qadiriyya and the
Prophet. In heaven, he was named the
imam of the walis (saints) and presented with the sword of truth. In general, his theological writings were
concerned with the concepts of the mujaddid, the hijra, the role of ‘ulama’ in
teaching the true faith, and the role of reason and consensus in the derivation
of Muslim law. All of these concerns
bear on the problem of the authority of an individual scholar to challenge the
established political and religious elites.
Out of these concerns, ‘Uthman produced numerous tracts on political
theory, biographies, histories, and other contributions to African-Islamic
literature. Many people regarded ‘Uthman
as the mahdi come in fulfillment of popular prophecies.
‘Uthman’s appeal
to justice and morality rallied the outcasts of Hausa society. ‘Uthman found his principal constituency
among the Fulani, a racially diverse pastoralo population. Primarily cattle pastoralists, they were
dependent upon peasants for access to river beds and grazing lands, and were
taxed accordingly. Hausa peasants,
runaway slaves, itinerant preachers and others also responded to ‘Uthman’s
preaching.
In 1804, the
conflict between ‘Uthman and the rulers of Gobir came into the open. The rulers
forbade Muslims to wear turbans and veils, prohibited conversions, and ordered
converts to return to their old religion.
‘Uthman declared the hijra and moved from Degel to Gudu where he was
elected imam, amir al-mu’minin, and Sarkin Musulmi – head of the Muslim
community. There ‘Uthman declared the
jihad. In the wars which followed, the
Muslims rallied Fulani support, and by 1808 defeated the rulers of Gobir, Kano , Katsina, and other
Hausa states. They expanded into the
territory south of Lake Chad and into Nupe and
Yorubaland as far as the forest zone. By 1830, the jihad engulfed most of what
is now northern Nigeria .
{1218/1219
A.H. - APR 12}
1804 C.C.
MUSLIM
HISTORY
The Ottoman Empire
Beginning of the Serbian revolt due to cruelties of the
local Janissary forces (April).
There was an earthquake in Patras (Turkey
The Wahhabis attacked Basra
The year after his ascension, Saud
ibn ‘Abd al-Aziz attacked Basra . The city resisted his seige, although its
garrison was killed. Saud’s forces also destroyed shrines and took crops. Attacks on Hijaz were also conducted.
Throughout 1804, the forces of both the sharif’s Bedouin supporters and Ottoman
Turkish troops engaged Wahhabi forces.
Jeddah and Medina
Up to 1804, the Wahhabis had
always been victorious. They had found
only open cities, and their superior numbers had given them so distinct an
advantage on the battlefield that their enemies had hardly resisted them. This was not the case with their siege of
Jeddah. After all, the walls surrounding the town had been repaired by Ghaleb
and Sherif Pasha, and the Wahhabis ruthlessness in any case left the defenders
with no alternative but to resist vigorously.
As a result of this, the Wahhabis were stopped before the town. Armed with simple spears and light rifles
which they did not know how to use, and lacking any knowledge of the art of
siege warfare, they attacked, unprepared, enemies who could target them without
danger from behind their crenels. Every
assault was thus for the besieged the opportunity for an easy victory. Their
dismay at being repulsed with so many losses was not the Wahhabis’ only cause
for discouragement. It was compounded by the even greater curse of the plague
which now sowed ravages within their ranks, leaving Saud ibn‘Abd al-Aziz with
no choice but to lift the siege and withdraw back to Diriyah.
Early during the siege of Jeddah,
Saud had dispatched a party of Wahhabis against Medina .
The outcome of this expedition was no better than the siege of
Jeddah. Ibn al-Medheyan and Ibn al-Harb
had advanced against this city and blockaded it by taking the villages of Kerin
and Seiran. The inhabitants of Medina
made a sortie, killed a great number of them and routed them from their
positions. As a result of this, Saud
found himself driven back from both Jeddah and Medina .
Before retreating to Diriyah, Saud attempted a last raid against Medina , sent another party
of dromedaries under the command of Ibn al-Saleh and Ibn al-Baz. These two leaders asked to be allowed to
enter the town with their troops to convey the message they were carrying. When this request was refused, they decided
to send a letter from Saud which was couched as follows:
Greetings from Saud to the people of Medina
However, after the Wahhabi defeat
at Jeddah and Medina ,
such threats had become more posturing than real. Emboldened by the defeat of al-Medheyan, the
inhabitants countered threat with threat, observing, with some justification,
that they did not require Saud’s authority in order to know and worship the
real God.
Their reply was brought back to
him by Ibn al-Saleh and Ibn al-Baz as he was withdrawing from Jeddah. By then all his endeavors had been reduced to
saving his army from the pestilence which had nearly destroyed it. He was the less able to contemplate
retribution against Medina
as his woes, in losing him some of his allies, had won new ones over to his
opponents. The two tribes of Beni
al-Harb and Beni Djenayne, which had been
forcibly converted to Wahhabism, took advantage of their new masters’ current
tribulations to join forces with their enemies.
This example had been followed by other tribes which were divided
between Jeddah and Medina ,
and would have opposed Saud with greater resistance than he could have
overcome.
Saud, therefore, wisely decided to
withdraw, contenting himself with being able to retain in Mecca the garrison he had left behind. The Beni
Zebeyde had just declared war on the Sherif Abd al-Mayn, who was now accused of
colluding with them to restore Ghaleb’s lost authority. It appeared that the new sherif, weary of the
yoke of intolerant foreigners, had secretly suggested to his brother that he
should return to Mecca, promising to deliver to him the party of soldiers left
behind by the Wahhabis. However, Ghaleb,
fearful of falling into Saud’s hands, was wary of his brother’s promises and
the plot was abandoned.
So ended the Wahhabi expedition
whose early successses had spread terror as far as Aleppo
and the confines of Syria . With difficulty Saud brought his bedraggled
army back to Diriyah. The undefeated
inhabitants of Medina
and Jeddah exulted at Saud’s retreat, and as a result came to hold his army in
contempt. Communication between them,
which had been severed at his approach, resumed upon his departure, and
abundance and plenty once again returned to the two cities.
From 1804 to 1856, Sayyid Said bin Sultan, reigned as Sultan
of Oman and Muscat
The first Russo-Iranian War (1804-1813) began.
Following
the consolidation of power in Iran
by the Qajar dynasty, Iran
attempted to regain control of northern Azerbaijan Iran sent an army under the command of his son,
Abbas Mirza, to invade Russian-held Azerbaijan Baku Turkey in
1812, the Russians brought their full forces to bear on Iran
Azerbaijan
The Ganja khanate was occupied by Russian troops.
The
Ganja khanate is an Azerbaijani principality which came into existence in the 18th
and early 19th centuries. The Ganja khanate was situated in the Kura River
valley, with its capital in the fortress city of Ganja Iran
Between 1804 and 1821, Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin of Palembang
Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam I ascended the throne as the 20th
Sultan of Brunei, but died the same year.
The 19th ruler, Sultan Muhammad Tajuddin was re-installed.
It
is believed that Islam was first introduced to Brunei
during the reign of Alak Betatar (r.1363-1402), who is believed to be the first
Sultan of Brunei Brunei Brunei Brunei to southern parts of the Philippines and Kalimantan . In the 16th century, Muslim
missionaries from Brunei
took up the task of introducing this religion to Sulawesi, Tidore and Ternate
in Indonesia as well as to
Palawan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi in the Philippines Brunei
to other parts of the region, especially those in close proximity to Brunei Brunei into an open conflict with the Spaniards
in the Philippines Brunei Brunei Brunei
Khurshid Pasha became the Viceroy of
Egypt. He would serve as viceroy until
1805.
After
Muhammad Ali turned against al-Bardisi, another new Ottoman governor, Khurshid
Pasha, attempted to establish his power in Cairo
Muhammad Ali campaigned in Upper Egypt and achieved mastery of the military
situation.
Muhammad Kurra, the real political
power in the Fur kingdom, was murdered.
Muhammad bu Dali, the chief of the
Darqawiyyah order, revolted against Uthman, Bey of Constantine.
Bey
(also Beg) has a number of meanings and refers the following:
(1) Rulers of central Asian Turkic
monarchies and the Turcoman principalities of late medieval Anatolia . The first Ottoman rulers Osman I and Orhan
were beys.
(2) Frontier lords (ucbegi) who commanded frontier forces in the Balkans and were
vanguards of conquest.
(3) Administrators of sancaks (sancakbegi), who
were at the same time military governors.
(4) Governors of beylerbeyiliks
(beylerbeyi), made up of a number of sancaks. The beylerbeyi was a military commander
responsible for all provincial forces.
(5) Title used by military officers between
the ranks of major (binbasi) and
colonel (miralay) in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries.
***
American naval lieutenant Stephen
Decatur burned the American warship Philadelphia,
which had been captured by Barbary pirates the previous year, in Tripoli
(modern Libya) harbor, North Africa (February).
Manning
the ship the Intrepid, Lieutenant
Stephen Decatur and his crew went on a night raid into the Tripoli harbor where
they set fire to the captured frigate Philadelphia, an exploit that Admiral
Lord Nelson himself called “the most bold and daring act of the age.”
However,
although the 36 gun Philadelphia
The Intrepid
was blown up (September 5).
Acting
on his conviction that the Barbary potentates were a “deep designing artfull
treacherous sett of Villains” who would respond only to a strong show of force,
Commodore Edward Preble completed the fifth general attack on Tripoli Israel
and Wadsworth
Between 1804 and 1808, Uthman dan
Fodio, a Fulani reformer, waged a jihad against
the Hausa armies.
The
jihad of Uthman dan Fodio was a Muslim holy war and its aim was religious
purification and social justice, together with a desire to see improvement in
the economy, which was adversely affected by the wars in among the various
Hausa city states. To this end the Shehu selected 14 trusted lieutenants to
carry the flag to the 14 Hausa States.
After they conquered the area, they would be installed as Emirs
there. The war was waged in the name of
Allah and his prophet and was directed not only against the pagans
(unbelievers) but also against lukewarm followers of the prophet Muhammad. During the war, Bornu, which was then a
Muslim country, was attacked and conquered but later regained its independence
under Al-Kanemi, a fact which has always coloured the relationship between the
Hausa-Fulani and the Kanuri peoples.
Uthman dan Fodio died in 1817, leaving the care of the state to his
brother Abdullahi and his son Muhammad Bello Northern
Nigeria a unity that it never had before. Sokoto, the city founded by Uthman dan Fodio,
became the focal point of Islam in Nigeria
The
jihad of Uthman dan Fodio would lead
to a Fulani hegemony (domination) over most of northern Nigeria under the first Fulani Amir al-Mumenin,
Muhammad Bello
The forces of Uthman dan Fodio
prevailed at the Battle of Kwatto.
Uthman
dan Fodio, supported by the Fulani and the Hausa, formed the sultanate of
Sokoto.
The
Fulani live in many parts of West Africa from Senegal
to the Lake Chad area. The original home of the Fulani is not well
known, but it is generally assumed to have been in the Senegal River valley and
the Highland in Guinea
known as Futajalon Highland of West Africa . From this area they moved eastwards about the
twelfth century until they reached Northern Nigeria and the Lake
Chad area. Many Fulani
became Muslim, and they have played important roles in the spread of Islam both
by teaching as Islamic teachers and priests, and by war.
The
Fulani are one of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria Nigeria
The
Fulani came to religious and political prominence in the early part of the 19th
century through the jihad of Uthman Dan Fodio.
As a result of the war, the Fulani were installed as Emirs in almost all
the Hausa city-states and in many other places of Northern
Nigeria in place of the former traditional rulers. The Fulani empire became weak toward the end
of the 19th century and was conquered by the British in 1903. In spite of this, the Fulani’s role in the
politics of Nigeria
The
Hausa are the most numerous people in Northern Nigeria . Historians are not too sure of the exact
origin of the Hausa. Some say they came
from Libya or Mecca Chad Basin
and settled among the local population, while others say that the Hausa trace
their origin through Bayajidda, son of Abdallahi, king of Baghdad Hausa City Kano , Zamfara,
Zaria
Although
Islam came to the Hausaland around the 13th century of the Christian
calendar, traditional religious beliefs and practices were still prevalent
until the Fulani jihad of the early 19th century which aimed at
establishing Islam more firmly in the Hausa States by imposing Fulani rulers,
called Emirs, on them. Today the Hausa are mainly Muslim.
The
Hausa possess an intense cultural consciousness and pride in themselves. Consequently, the impact of Christianity upon
them has been small.
Muhammad Bello became commander of one
of the revolutionary armies of Uthman dan Fodio.
Muhammad
Bello Bello Bello Bello Bornu Bornu Bello
Buba Yero became the first emir of
Gombe.
Buba
Yero was born around 1762 near Mada in what is now known as Numan District. He
was of Fulani descent and during his youth, he was a student under Uthman Dan
Fodio at Gobir. He later became a mallam
and a preacher. Upon hearing about
Uthman Dan Fodio’s jihad in 1804, Buba Yero went to Gobir, where Uthman was
staying. It was there he received a flag
from Uthman Dan Fodio as one of the 14 flag bearers he sent to conquer the
Hausa States. He was asked to go to
Gombe and became the first Emir of Gombe in 1804. During the jihad, he conquered the Muri
people and the areas in the valleys of the Gongolaand Kilengi rivers. He died in 1841 and was succeeded by his son,
Sule, who died just three years later.
Said bin Sultan became Sultan of Oman
and Zanzibar
Said bin Sultan (c.1789-1856) was
born at Semail in Muscat , Oman
From 1806 to 1817, Said
established his reign in Oman
and, with British help, rid the coastal waters of pirates. He instructed his governor in Zanzibar to invade Pemba ,
which was then conquered in 1822. In
1828, he visited East Africa and subsequently made frequent visits to Zanzibar and had a large
palace constructed there in 1832. He led
an expedition to Mombasa
and subjected it finally in 1837. He was
shrewd, energetic, ambitious, and established an impressive sphere of
influence, developing a commercial rather than territorial empire. He did not rule as a king. Each town on the coast had a governor (wali) and a few of his soldiers. If customs duties were collected correctly,
each governor could do as he pleased. He
held a baraza and judged cased
brought to him. He started the growing
of clove trees on Zanzibar
and encouraged Indians to settle there as traders and money-lenders. He welcomed European and American traders and
signed trade treaties with the United States
in 1833 and with Britain
in 1839.
About 1835, he began to send
caravans into the interior under his protection and in 1839 made a treaty with
the Nyamwezi chief for his subjects to get free right of passage. He became wealthy from the trade in slaves,
gold, ivory and cloves. The United States opened a Consulate in Zanzibar in 1837. He moved his capital there in 1840 and then Britain and France sent their first
representatives in 1841. The Hamburg firm opened a
branch in 1849.
Said was tactful and diplomatic,
preferring to negotiate rather than to fight.
He was noted for his generosity and tolerance. He died in 1856 at sea while returning from Oman . His power died with him as Oman and Zanzibar
were then separated.
By 1804, the Nyamwezi had achieved
supremacy as inland traders in central Tanzania
With the advent of the 1800s, the trade
in ivory with the inland countries of Africa
blossomed. However, along with ivory, a
trade in inland African slaves and guns also began to develop. All three areas of trade, would eventually
serve to undermine and impoverish many of the inland peoples of Africa .
Bahadur became the Omani governor of Zanzibar
During the 1775-1804 period, Twakaly
Hija, cheikh of Quitangonha district in Mozambique Province
Islam
was introduced to Mozambique
The first mosque opened in Capetown.
The first Muslims at the Cape were political exiles, convicts banished from the
possessions of the Dutch East India Company in the East, or slaves. Most of the slaves came from Bengal, the west
coast of India Cape Town ’s
slave population, and many Indonesian customs, relating to clothing, food, and
ritual, were brought to the Cape .
Toward
the end of the 18th century, a remarkable growth of Islam occurred
among Cape slaves. The religion appealed to them because the imams identified with their needs,
performing marriages and funerals denied by Christian churches, and because it
was color-blind. Slave owners welcomed
the conversion of their slaves to Islam because of official restrictions on the
buying and selling of Christian slaves and because of the Muslim prohibition on
alcohol. Many free blacks were also
attracted to Islam. During the first British occupation of the Cape, Muslims in
Cape Town
The
majority of Cape Muslims followed the Shafi school, although a minority were
persuaded by Abu Bakr Effendi (1835-1880), sent to Cape Town by the sultan of
Istanbul in 1862, to adopt Hanafi beliefs. After 1860, Indian indentured
laborers arrived in South Africa
to work on the Natal Madras Natal Natal
Apartheid radicalized some Muslims, and
Muslim youth movements challenged the conservative Muslim Judicial Council. Imam Haron, who died in police custody in
1969, became a martyr, and many Cape
Town South Africa ’s Muslims had one of the highest
rates of hajj (pilgrimage) outside
the Middle East .
The first Serbian revolt against
Ottoman rule began, precipitated by the cruelties of the local Janissary forces
(April).
***
Notable
Births
Abdul Samad (Almarhum Sultan Sir Abdul Samad ibni
Almarhum Raja Abdullah) (1804 - February 6, 1898), the fourth Sultan of
Selangor, was born.
Abdul Samad was born in 1804 at Bukit
Melawati in Selangor to Raja Abdullah ibni Ibrahim Shah, younger brother of
Sultan Muhammad Shah. His reign lasted 41 years from 1857 until his death in
1898. His time on the throne saw the only civil war in Selangor, the establishment
of Kuala Lumpur, the introduction of the Selangor flag and coat of arms and the
start of British involvement in Selangor state affairs.
Before becoming the Sultan of Selangor,
Abdul Samad held the title of Tengku Panglima Raja and held authority
over Langat. The third sultan of Selangor, Sultan Muhammad Shah, died on
January 6, 1857 without appointing an heir. This started a dispute between the
royal court and dignitaries of Selangor to choose the next sultan. To select
the next sultan Malay customs dictated that the son of a royal wife takes
precedence over the sons of other wives. This made Raja Mahmud the next
legitimate heir but he was too young and was unable to exert his right. Sultan
Muhammad's older and more competent sons, Raja Laut and Raja Sulaiman were sons
of concubines, the Sultan's sons-in-law, Raja Jumaat and Raja Abdullah, were
from the Riau branch of the family, hence they were all ineligible. This left
Raja Abdul Samad, the nephew and son-in-law of the late Sultan, as the candidate
with the strongest claim. Raja Jumaat and Raja Abdullah became convinced that
they could become the power behind the throne if they supported Raja Abdul
Samad to take the throne. With their patronage and the support of four other
state dignitaries, a consensus was made to select the nephew of Sultan Muhammad
Shah, Raja Abdul Samad Raja Abdullah.
Following the successful establishment of
the Ampang tin mines by Muhammad Shah, Sultan Abdul Samad used the tin ore to
trade with the states of the Straits Settlements. The mines in turn attracted
even more Chinese miners with the help of Raja Abdullah bin Raja Jaafar, one of
his son-in-laws and Yap Ah Loy, a Chinese Kapitan.
In 1866, the Sultan gave Raja Abdullah the
power and authority over Klang. This fueled the feud between Raja Abdullah and
Raja Mahadi, who was the previous administrator of Klang. The dispute led to
the Klang War. The Sultan appointed his son-in-law, Tengku Dhiauddin Zainal
Rashid (a.k.a. Tengku Kudin), as Vice Yamtuan and arbitrator twice during the
war; first on June 26, 1868 and again on July 22, 1871. At the same time, he
handed over management of the entire state. He also provided Langat to Tengku
Kudin to help him fund the handling of the war. Tengku Kudin in turn engaged
the help of Pahang, mercenaries and Sir Andrew Clarke of the British Empire.
This marked the first British involvement in local politics. The Sultan later
handed over the ruling power of Klang to Tungku Kudin after the war was won in
1874. In 1878 Tengku Kudin stood down from this post.
After a number of piracy attacks took place
in Selangor, Andrew Clarke assigned Frank Swettenham as a live-in advisor to
Sultan Abdul Samad in August 1874. Sultan Abdul Samad accepted James Guthrie
Davidson as the first British Resident of Selangor in 1875. In October the same
year, Sultan Abdul Samad sent a letter to Andrew Clarke requesting that
Selangor to be placed under a British protectorate.
During his reign, the areas of Semenyih,
Beranang and Broga went under Selangor jurisdiction. Lukut, however, was handed
to Dato' Kelana of Sungai Ujong on July 30, 1880. The Sultan was awarded the
Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) conferring the title Sir. Jugra
became the royal capital of Selangor when Sultan Abdul Samad built the Jugra
Palace and moved there in 1875. The state capital was moved from Klang to Kuala
Lumpur in 1880.
In 1893, he helped found one of Malaysia's
premier schools, Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur along with Kapitan Yap
Kwan Seng, K. Thamboosamy and Loke Yew. Sultan Abdul Samad was made one of the
first two patrons of the school.
Sultan Abdul Samad was a member of the
Council of Rulers for the Federated Malay States, under the British colonial
regime. The sultans of the four Federated Malay States of Perak, Selangor,
Negeri Sembilan, and Pahang were represented at the first Durbar, which
convened in 1897 at Kuala Kangsar, Perak.
Sultan Abdul Samad
interacted openly with his people as observers noted that he mingled by
chatting in local markets, while taking his daily walkwalks or while watching a cockfight.
Sultan Abdul Samad died on February 6, 1898
at the age of 93 after reigning for 41 years. He was laid to rest in his own
mausoleum in Jugra. He had 12 children, 6 princes and 6 princesses
from two wives.
The Sultan Abdul Samad Building in Kuala
Lumpur, Sultan Abdul Samad Secondary School in Petaling Jaya and the Sultan
Abdul Samad Library in Universiti Putra Malaysia are named after him.
Ahmad
Faris ash-Shidyaq, a Lebanese scholar and linguist, was born. Ahmad Faris Shidyaq (known also as Fares Chidiac, Faris Al Chidiac) (1804 – September 20, 1887), an Ottoman
scholar, writer and journalist, was Maronite by birth. He converted to
Protestantism and then to Islam. He is considered to be one of the founding
fathers of modern Arabic Literature.
Ahmad
Faris ash-Shidyaq (1804-1887) was born in ‘Ashqut , Lebanon Egypt
He
achieved a rare mastery of the Arabic language and in 1834 was invited by
American Protestant missionaries to Malta Malta
He
traveled for ten years in Europe , meeting
Orientalists and visiting libraries. He
made his living from translations of the Bible and tutoring students of
Arabic. He wrote a book on European
affairs, probably the second book of its kind (after a similar one by the
Egyptian R. Tahtawi). In Paris Paris Istanbul Egypt Istanbul
He
is considered a liberal thinker and reformer. He coined many of the modern
technical and political terms used in Arabic and expressed enlightened – albeit
inconsistent – views on women, not common among men of the age.
Ahmad Faris Shidyaq was born in 1804 in
Ashqout, a mountain village of the Keserwan District in the modern Mount
Lebanon Governorate. At birth, his given name was Faris. His father's name was
Youssef. His mother came from the Massaad family, from Ashqout.
His family, Shidyaq, was a notable family,
tracing its roots to the Maronite muqaddam Raad Bin Khatir from Hasroun. His
family was very well educated and its members worked as secretaries for the
governors of Mount Lebanon.
In 1805, the family was obliged to leave
Ashqout following a conflict with a local governor that cost the life of Butrus
Ash-Shidyaq, the grandfather of Faris. The family settled in Hadath, in the
suburbs of Beirut at the service of a Shihabi prince.
Faris joined his brothers, Tannous
(1791–1861) and Assaad (1797–1830) and his cousin Boulos Massaad (1806–1890),
in Ayn Warqa school, one of the most prestigious Maronite schools of the 19th
Century. Again, a conflict opposing the family Shidyaq to the Prince Bashir
Shihab II obliged Youssef Ash-Shidyaq to take refuge in Damascus where he died
in 1820. Faris left school and continued his studies with his brothers Assaad
and Tannous. He joined his brother Tannous, as a copyist at the service of
Prince Haydar Shihab, his brother Assaad being the secretary of the Sheikh Ali
Al-Emad in Kfarnabrakh, in the Chouf District.
What was to determine the career and life
of Faris was the tragic destiny of his brother Assaad.
Around 1820, an encounter of Assaad Shidyaq
with Jonas King, a missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions, was to lead him to become Protestant. He was excommunicated
under the automatic excommunication edicted by the Maronite Patriarch Youssef
Hobaish (1823–1845) against all dealings with the evangelical missionaries.
Assaad was later detained in the Monastery of Qannoubine in the Qadisha valley
where he died in 1830.
In 1825, being tormented by the ordeals of
Assaad, Faris left Lebanon for Egypt. The death of his brother would influence
permanently his choices and his career. He never forgave his brother Tannous
and his cousin Boulos Massaad (who became later Maronite Patriarch (1854–1890))
their role in the tragic events that led to the death of Assaad.
In 1826, Faris married Marie As-Souly,
daughter of a wealthy Christian Egyptian family, originally from Syria. They
had two sons: Faris (1826–1906) and Fayiz (1828–1856).
From 1825 to 1848, Faris lived between
Cairo and the island of Malta. He was the editor in chief of an Egyptian
newspaper, Al Waqa'eh Al Masriah
and in Malta, the director of the printing press of the American missionaries.
He also studied Fiqh in Al-Azhar University in Cairo. It is thought that it was
during this period that Faris converted to Protestantism. It was a period of
solitude and study that was interrupted in 1848 when he was invited to
Cambridge by the Orientalist Samuel Lee (1783–1852) to participate in the
Arabic translation of the Bible.
The translation of the Bible was published
in 1857, after the death of Samuel Lee. This translation is still considered
one of the best Arabic translations of the Bible.
Faris stayed in England for almost 7 years.
He settled first in Purley and then moved to Cambridge. At the end of his
English stay, he moved to Oxford where he became a British citizen and kept
trying in vain to secure a teaching post. Disappointed by England and its
academics, he moved to Paris, France around 1855.
Faris stayed in Paris until 1857. It was
one of his most prolific periods of thinking and writing, but also in having an
intense social nightlife. It was in Paris that he wrote and published his major
works. It is also in Paris that he was introduced to Socialism and where he
became a Socialist.
A keen admirer of Shakespeare, Faris argued
that Othello suggests a detailed knowledge of Arabic culture. Faris even
suggested that Shakespeare may have had an Arabic background, his original name
being "Shaykh Zubayr". This theory was later developed in all seriousness
by Safa Khulusi.
After his wife died in 1857, Faris married
an English woman. Her name was Safia and she was one of the few English ladies
to embrace Islam. They had one daughter, Rosalinde Faris. The couple moved to
Tunisia.
Called upon by the Bey of Tunis, Faris was
appointed as editor in chief of the newspaper Al Ra'ed and supervisor of the Education Directorate. It was while
in Tunisia that he converted to Islam from the Maronite Church in 1860 and took
the name Ahmad. He soon
afterwards left Tunis for Istanbul, Turkey, being invited by the Ottoman Sultan
Abdel Majid I.
Ahmad Faris spent the last part of his life
in Istanbul where, in addition to his position as an official translator, he
amplified his journalistic talents founding in 1861 an Arabic newspaper Al Jawa'eb, supported financially by
the Ottomans, as well as by the Egyptian and Tunisian rulers. It was modeled on
the modern Western newspapers and continued appearing until 1884. Ahmad Faris
was a keen defender of the Arabic language heritage and Arabic culture against
the Turkization attempts of the Turkish reformers of the 19th Century. Ahmad
Faris Shidyaq died on September 20, 1887 in Kadikoy, Turkey and was buried in
Lebanon on October 5, 1887.
Although Ahmad Faris Ash-Shidyaq is considered
one of the founding fathers of modern Arabic literature and journalism, many of
his works remain unpublished and some manuscripts are definitely lost.
Since 2001, a rediscovering of Ahmad Faris
Shidyaq seems to have taken place among scholars around the world. Several
books were dedicated to his life, thought and unpublished works.
Shidyaq’s major works were dedicated to
·
the
modernization of the Arabic language,
·
the promotion of
the Arab culture in opposition to the turkization movement of the 19th Century
Ottoman Empire, and
·
the
modernization of the Arab societies.
Ahmad ibn Abi Diyaf (1804, Tunis – 1874),
(known colloquially as Bin Diyaf),
the author of a chronicle of Tunisian history, was born.
Ahmad ibn Abi Diyaf was also a long-time
and trusted official in the Beylical government of Tunisia. His multi-volume
history, while it begins with the 7th-century arrival of the Arabs, spends more
attention on details of the Husainid dynasty (1705–1957), during the 18th and
19th centuries. His writing is informed by his experience as chancellery
secretary during the reigns of five Beys in succession. Bin Diyaf himself
eventually favored the reform position, which became current in Tunisian
politics. His letter in reply to questions about Tunisian women has also
attracted notice.
Bin Diyaf was born into a prominent family,
his father being an important scribe for the ruling regime. Trained thoroughly
in traditional religious studies, Bin Diyaf in his early 20s entered government
service (1827). He was soon promoted to
the post of private (or secret) secretary, a position he held under successive
beys until his retirement only a short time before his death.
Other tasks were also assigned to Bin
Diyaf. In 1831 Bin Diyaf was sent to the Ottoman Porte in Istanbul due to the
fall-out from the 1830 French occupation of Algiers. In 1834 the Bey appointed
Bin Diyaf as liaison between the quasi-independent al-Majlis al-Shar'i
(supreme religious council) and the Bey's own vizier, regarding a civil war in
neighboring Tarabulus and the designs of the Ottoman Empire there. He returned
on business to Istanbul in 1842, and accompanied Ahmed Bey to Paris in 1846.
His letter on the status of women was written in 1856. As part of his duties, Bin Diyaf also served
as a mediator, e.g., to assist in resolving a dispute between two imams at the
Zitouna Mosque. Bin Diyaf composed the Arabic version of the Ahd al-Aman
[Pledge of Security] (prepared originally in French), a version which proved
acceptable to the Muslim community, and which Muhammad Bey issued in 1857.
From his insider perscpective, Bin Diyaf
came to understand that the Beys, in common with other Maghriban rulers,
governed as functional autocrats. Even though the personal exercise of power
was tempered and circumscribed by religious and traditional restraints, it
continued to be arbitrary and total. Bin
Diyaf became a "partisan" of the reforms being advanced, off and on,
in Tunisia. From 1857 to 1861 and from 1869 to 1877 Khayr al-Din, the high
government official, was strongly advocating reform policies. Bin Diyaf
collaborated with Khayr al-Din to establish the famous, though short-lived,
Constitution of 1861—opposed by the conservative ulama. For awhile, as
premier (1873–1877), Khayr al-Din managed to initiate institutional changes.
Nonetheless Bin Diyaf was personally familiar with, and adept at, the practice
of traditions, of the customary etiquette expected of him in his situation. Bin
Diyaf performed his official position in close proximity with the Bey and the
conservative elite, with old distinguished families and with the Muslim ulama
who followed an elaborate code of politesse.
Bin Diyaf rendered his official services
under Husain Bey (1824–1835), Mustafa Bey (1835–1837), Ahmed Bey (1837–1855),
Muhammad Bey (1855–1859), and Sadok Bey (1859–1882). His death in 1874 occurred
while Khayr al-Din was serving as the premier. The reigning monarch and head of
state, under whom Bin Diyaf had labored, attended the funeral ceremony.
Bin Diyaf’s principal work was written in
Arabic, Ithaf Ahl al-zaman bi Akhbar muluk Tunis wa 'Ahd el-Aman which
is translated as: Presenting the History of the Rulers of Tunis and the
Fundamental Pact. A complete
version, newly-edited, of the Arabic text was published in eight volumes by the
Tunisian government during 1963-1966.
Of the eight volumes, the first six address
Tunisian history from the arrival of the Muslim Arabs forward. The account is
summary until 1705, when the Husainid dynasty commences; here Bin Diyaf draws
on his study of the archives and background of the Beys from the 18th century,
and on his own experiences as a beylical official during the 19th. These
'Husainid' volumes present "an abundance of personal and accurate
information". For example, Bin
Diyaf sheds light on the circumstances surrounding the notorious trial of Batto
Sfez in 1857. The last two volumes contain over 400 biographies of leading
statesmen and religious figures who died between the years 1783 and 1872.
Included are the careers of many ulama and others, holding such offices as:
shadhid (witness), katib (clerk), qaid (judge), mufti (jurisconsult), and imam
(prayer leader). He labored over the details of this chronicle more than ten
years.
Bin Diyaf's description of dynasty politics
and of the lives of officials "make the work a major reference source for
the period."
His Risalah fi al'mar'a [Epistle on
Women] was a response to a list of 23 questions posed by Léon Roches, then
French Consul General in Tunis. Written longhand in 1856, the thirty-page
manuscript addresses the social role of women in Tunisia, their legal rights
and duites, regarding family and conjugal relations: marriage, divorce,
polygamy, public presence (veiling, seclusion, segregation, repudiation),
household tasks and management, and lack of education. It was perhaps the most
informative writing from the 19th century on the everyday life of the Muslim
woman and on the Tunisian family structure. Although in politics a contemporary
reformer, here Bin Diyaf appears as "highly conservative".
Maria Theresa Asmar (b. 1804 in Tel Keppe, Iraq), an ethnic
Assyrian and the author of Memoirs of a Babylonian Princess, was born.
Memoirs
of a Babylonian Princess consists of two
volumes and 720 pages. This book was written in the early 19th century, describing
Asmar’s travels through Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel and the harem system
used in Turkey. It was translated into English in 1844. Maria Theresa Asmar
died in France before the Franco-Prussian War, and was known as Babylon's
Princess in Europe.
Facing tremendous obstacles, Asmar, an
Assyrian Christian woman, set up a school for women in Baghdad and welcomed
with open arms western Christian missionaries, who then bribed the Turkish
government to give them the license for the school and forbid Maria to carry on
with her project. Left frustrated and angry to have been treated this way by
fellow Christians, Asmar sought sanctuary with the Muslim Bedouins. She set
about recording their daily lives, everything from the weddings and
celebrations to their assaults on other tribes. She explained in great detail
Bedouin life.
Artin Chrakian (1804-1859): Armenian
Ottoman minister of commerce and foreign affairs in Egypt
was born in Istanbul
Artin
Pasha Chrakian (1804-1859) was the minister of commerce and foreign affairs in Egypt Istanbul Egypt Paris Egypt Cairo
By
this time Artin was a full-fledged member of the administrative machinery
governing Egypt Paris
and London
Upon
the death of Boghos Bey Yusufian in 1844, Artin succeeded as minister of commerce
and foreign affairs. He remained in that
post during the reign of Ibrahim. Along
with many other Armenians in the employ of the Egyptian government, he fell out
of favor after Abbas assumed the post of viceroy. He was removed from office in 1850 and went
into exile in Europe . He returned after Said, the succeeding
viceroy, invited him back to Egypt
Hamengkubuwono
IV, also spelled Hamengkubuwana IV (1804 – 1828), the fourth sultan of
Yogyakarta, Indonesia, reigning from April 3, 1814 - December 6, 1822, and then
from August 17, 1826 - January 2, 1828, was born. His reign was a period of
political deterioration that ultimately led up to the Java War. Upon his death,
rumors circulated that he had been poisoned. His three-year-old son,
Hamengkubuwana V, ascended the throne amid controversy over who would act as
regent.
Sultan Muhammad Shah, (Almarhum Sultan Muhammad
Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim Shah) (1804 - 6 January 1857), the third
Sultan of Selangor, was born. His reign lasted 31 years until his death and saw
the opening of tin mines in Ampang and the partition of Selangor into five
independent districts.
Muhammad Shah was not the son of his
father's first wife, but since he was made the heir presumptive during his
father's reign, Selangor dignitaries accepted him as the next Sultan of
Selangor. Sultan Muhammad Shah was not as competent in governing the state and
did not have total control over local rajas, village leaders or their
districts. By the end of his rule, Selangor was partitioned into five
individual territories, namely Bernam, Kuala Selangor, Kelang, Langat and
Lukut. Each area was governed by different leaders and Muhammad Shah only
controlled Kuala Selangor. Chinese
settlers started mining for tin in the state during his time. The setting up of
tin mines in Ampang brought business to the people and this was to be his only
recognized success.
Notable
Deaths
Abdul Kader (c. 1723-1804), the ruler
of Futa Toro (r. 1776-1804), died.
During
his reign, Abdul Kader consolidated the Tukolor state after the Islamic
revolution.
Abdul
Kader was designated the successor of Suleiman Bal, leader of the Islamic
revolution, who was killed in 1776. Futa
Toro was established as a federation.
Lands were distributed among the new clerical aristocracy (torobe), upon whom Abdul Kader called to
provide soldiers for jihads (holy
wars) against his Wolof neighbors in Walo and Cayor. The lands that Abdul Kader controlled
directly were governed along theocratic principles. He built mosques in every village and
appointed village religious and administrative officials himself. However, the new aristocracy differed little
from the one which it replaced. Abdul
Kader was assassinated by a group of nobles in 1804 at the age of eighty-one.
Ahmad Pasha al-Jazzar, an Ottoman
governor, died.
Born in Bosnia ,
Ahmad Pasha began his rise to prominence in Istanbul by attracting the notice of an
Ottoman official. He later entered the company of the Mamelukes in Egypt , but in 1768 he fell out with his patron
and went to Syria , where the
Ottomans appointed him governor of the coastal province of Sidon Syria for
nearly three decades. One was the
increase in trade to Europe in agricultural
products. His control over Syrian ports enabled him to skim a rich revenue in
customs taxes, which he used to enlarge the military resources at his
disposal. He also benefitted from Istanbul ’s declining
ability to exercise authority over the provinces. In the face of challenges from the
insubordinate Mamelukes in Egypt ,
Wahhabi raids from Arabia, wars with Russia ,
and Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion, the Ottomans experimented with different
administrative solutions to the problem of keeping order in Syria . One option was to place the usually separate
provinces of Sidon and Damascus under a single governor. Thus, Ahmad Pasha was governor of southern Syria from 1785
to 1786, 1790 to 1795, and 1801 to 1804.
He established himself at the port
of Acre Lebanon ,
but his endeavors were interrupted by Napoleon’s 1799 invasion. Following his successful defense of Acre
against a French siege, in 1801 the Ottomans again appointed him governor of Damascus , which he
remained until his death in 1804. His
brutal methods of extracting revenues, extorting wealth and keeping order
gained him the nickname "al-jazzar,” the butcher.
*****
Ahmed al-Jazzar [Ahmad al-Jazzar] (Arabic أحمد الجزار, Turkish " Cezzar Ahmet Paşa") (b. 1720 (or 1708) in Stolac, Bosnia Eyalet - b. 1804 in Acre, Sidon Eyalet) was the Ottoman ruler of Acre and the Galilee from 1775 until his death.
Jazzar was a Christian slave boy from Herzegovina who, escaping after committing a murder, sold himself to the slave-markets of Constantinople. There he was bought by an Egyptian ruler who converted him to Islam and used him as his chief executioner and hit-man. He began his rise as governor of Cairo but made his name defending Beirut against Catherine the Great's navy. Beirut was honorably surrendered to the Russians after a long siege and the sultan rewarded al-Jazzar with promotion to Governor of Sidon, and sometimes also that of Damascus. Jazzar set up his capital in Acre after the fall of Dhaher al-Omar. He earned the nickname "the Butcher" for his bravery and brutal effort to defeat his enemies. He is reputed to have walked around with a mobile gallows in case anyone displeased him.
Jazzar led a ruthless 'holy war' (jihad) campaign against non-Muslims. Under his ruled, Christians were forced to "accept" Islam. He oppressed minorities in Palestine including Christians (who were massacred) and Jews.
Jazzar is best known for defending Acre against Napoleon Bonaparte during the siege of Acre in 1799. After Napoleon's capture of Egypt, then an Ottoman territory, the French army attempted to invade Syria and Palestine. Although the French captured Al-Arish and Jaffa, and won every battle they fought against the Ottomans on an open field, they were unable to breach the fortifications of Acre. Their army was weakened by disease and cut off from resupply. The success was due to the English Commodore William Sidney Smith too, who sailed to Acre and helped the Turkish commander reinforce the defenses and old walls and supplied him with additional cannon manned by sailors and Marines from his ships. Smith also used his command of the sea to capture the French siege artillery being sent by ship from Egypt and to deny the French army the use of the coastal road from Jaffa by bombarding the troops from the sea.
Though both Napoleon and Jazzar requested assistance from the Shihab leader, Bashir, ruler of much of present-day Lebanon, Bashir remained neutral. After several months of attacks, Napoleon was forced to withdraw and his bid to conquer Egypt and the East failed.
With the help of his chief financial adviser, Haim Farhi, a Damascus Jew, Jazzar embarked on a major building program in Acre that included fortifying the city walls, refurbishing the aqueduct that brought spring water from nearby Kabri, and building a large Turkish bath. One of the most important landmarks built by Jazzar was the mosque that bears his name, a massive building in the Turkish style. Built over a Crusader church, the Al-Jazzar Mosque incorporates columns brought from Roman and Byzantine ruins in Caesarea and Tyre, and included a school for Islamic religious studies, later used as a religious court. Al-Jazzar and his adopted son and successor Suleiman Pasha, were buried in the courtyard.
*****
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