Muhammad of Qatif

Who he is

Name

Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Husayn Ahmad al-Uyuni (Muhammad ibn Ahmad)

Title

Emir (amir) of Qatif and Awal

Since

587 (1191) at Qatif; Awal soon after

Born

not pinned

Family

Uyunid house of Abd al-Qays; his son al-Fadl ibn Muhammad later rules Qatif (from 606/1209); other kin not pinned

Confidence

medium

Arabic Wikipedia's account of the Uyunids, drawn from the commentary on Ibn al-Muqarrab's diwan: took Qatif in 587 and Awal soon after; took al-Hasa in 599 after killing his cousins Abd Allah and Shukr; killed in 605 (1208-1209) in a plot involving Rashid ibn Umayra of the Banu Uqayl and Ghurayr ibn al-Hasan.

Overlord

the caliph al-Nasir (khutba; annual grant)

What it holds

• Qatif, its springs and palm gardens, and the island of Tarut
• Awal (Bahrain) and the pearl banks
• the coast between Qatif and the Qatar peninsula (loose)

How it was acquired

Seized Qatif in 587 (1191) from his cousin Abd Allah ibn Mansur, then Awal.

Allies and rivals

Ally of the caliph al-Nasir; enemy of his cousins Shukr and Abd Allah, sons of Mansur, at al-Hasa; wary of Kish (Qays), whose rulers raid Awal; must manage the Banu Amir and Banu Uqayl.

How things stand that morning

Holds Qatif and Awal; reads the khutba for the caliph.

Wealth

Pearls of Awal, dates and springs of Qatif and Tarut, Gulf shipping and customs, the caliph's grant.

Military

Kinsmen and Abd al-Qays followers, the townsmen of Qatif, the boats of Qatif and Awal, hired Bedouin.

Threats

• his cousins at al-Hasa
• Kishi raids on Awal
• the Banu Amir and Banu Uqayl

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. not in 1200: 598 (1201-1202)At the caliph's request he leads a force from al-Hasa, Iraq, the Khafaja, the Muntafiq and the Ubada against Dahmash ibn Sanad and the tribes robbing pilgrims near Kufa, and defeats them.Depends on: the caliph's request and the pilgrim-road robberies Stopped by: his war with his cousins; a quarrel with Baghdad

Places of note

• Tarut island: island and fort off Qatif

Where the sources disagree

• English Wikipedia's dating of his union of Qatif and al-Hasa from 587 back-projects: al-Hasa is his only from 599.

Evidence: Single tradition (Ibn al-Muqarrab's diwan and commentary) as used by modern Arabic writers.

On the map: Ports, gardens and an island; the desert behind belongs to the Bedouin.

Primary sources for Uyunids

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Dictionary of Countries, Yaqut al-Hamawi (1224 to 1228, at Aleppo). An alphabetical gazetteer of every place Yaqut had read of or seen: he travelled as a bookseller's agent through Syria, Iraq, Persia, Khurasan and Khwarazm (about 1213 to 1220) and settled in Aleppo. Read online