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The Numayrids () were an Arab dynasty based in Diyar Mudar (western Upper Mesopotamia). They were (princes) of their namesake tribe, the Banu Numayr. The senior branch of the dynasty, founded by Waththab ibn Sabiq in 990, ruled the Euphrates cities of Harran, Saruj and Raqqa more or less continuously until the late 11th century. In the early part of Waththab's reign (r. 990–1019), the Numayrids also controlled Edessa until the Byzantine Empire conquered it in the early 1030s. In 1062, the Numayrids lost Raqqa to their distant kinsmen and erstwhile allies, the Mirdasid dynasty, while by 1081, their capital Harran and nearby Saruj were conquered by the Turkish Seljuk Empire and their Arab Uqaylid dynasty allies. Numayrid emirs continued to hold isolated fortresses in Upper Mesopotamia, such as Qal'at an-Najm and Sinn Ibn Utayr near Samosata until the early 12th century, but nothing is heard of them after 1120.
As Bedouin (nomadic Arabs), most Numayrid emirs avoided settled life in the cities they controlled; rather, they ruled their (principalities) from their tribal encampments in the countryside, while entrusting administration of the cities to their ghilman (military slaves). An exception was Emir Mani' ibn Shabib (r. ca. 1044–1063), under whom the Numayrids reached their territorial peak. Mani' resided inside Harran, transforming its Sabians temple into an ornate, fortified palace. The Numayrids were Shia Islam and initially recognized the religious sovereignty of the Sunni Islam Abbasid Caliphate, at least nominally, but later switched allegiance to the Shia Fatimid Caliphate after the latter extended its influence into northern Bilad al-Sham in 1037. By 1060, they likely reverted to Abbasid suzerainty.
The 13th-century chronicler Ibn al-Adim holds that the Banu Numayr migrated to Upper Mesopotamia from al-Yamama in 921,Zakkar 1971, p. 70. while the historian Clifford Edmund Bosworth places their arrival at sometime between 940 and 955. This corresponded with the second major, post-Islamic migration of Arab tribes to Syria and Mesopotamia,Heidemann 2005, p. 104. this time in association with the Qarmatian movement.Bianquis 2002, p. 180. Like the Banu Numayr, many of the tribes that formed part of the Qarmatian army were also branches of the Banu Amir from Arabia, including the Banu Kilab, Khafaja, Banu Uqayl and Banu Qushayr.Zakkar 1971, pp. 69–70. These Bedouin groups largely uprooted the pre-established, sedentary Arab tribesmen of Upper Mesopotamia, rendered the roads unsafe for travel and severely damaged crop cultivation. According to the 10th-century chronicler Ibn Hawqal,
... the Banu Numayr ... expelled them peasants from some of their lands, indeed most of them, while appropriating some places and regions ... They decide over their protection and protection money.Heidemann 2005, p. 93.
In 942, Banu Numayr tribesmen served as auxiliaries troops for an Abbasid governor in Upper Mesopotamia. Six years later, they were employed in the same fashion by Sayf ad-Dawla (r. 945–967), the Hamdanid dynasty emir of Aleppo,Sinclair 1990, p. 203. against incursions by the Ikhshidid leader Abu al-Misk Kafur. Not long after, Sayf attempted to check the Bedouin tribes, whose growing strength came at the expense of the settled population. The Banu Numayr were driven out of Diyar Mudar and took refuge in Jabal Sinjar in Diyar Rabi'a to the east. Along with other Qaysi tribes, the Banu Numayr revolted against Sayf and the Hamdanid emir of Mosul, Nasir al-Dawla. The latter expelled them to the Syrian Desert, while in 955/56, Sayf gained their submission, after which he confined them to an area near the Khabur River in Diyar Mudar. By 957, Sayf launched another expedition against the Banu Numayr tribesmen, who proved to be unruly subjects.
Later in 990, Waththab took over the fortified town of Saruj to the west of Harran,Rice 1952, p. 77. and in 1007, he conquered Raqqa from its Hamdanid governor, Mansur ibn Lu'lu'. During his early reign, Waththab also annexed Edessa, north of Saruj, from the Hamdanids, and granted it to his cousin Utayr. The capture of Edessa put the Numayrids in a strategic position vis-a-vis the Byzantines, whose territory bordered Edessa from the north and west. Wathhab died in 1019/20 and was succeeded by his son Shabib.
In 1030/31, negotiations were initiated between the Byzantines and Ibn Utayr or the latter's Marwanid patrons over transferring Edessa's main citadel to Byzantine control; at the time, Ibn Utayr was being challenged by Shibl ad-Dawla of the lesser citadel, prompting either Ibn Utayr or the Marwanids to sell the main citadel to the Byzantine emperor, Romanus III, for 20,000 gold and several villages. After the purchase, Shibl's forces fled, the Muslim inhabitants were massacred and the city's mosques were burned down. Ibn Utayr, meanwhile, apparently relocated to a fortress named after him near Samosata called "Sinn Ibn Utayr".
Terms between Shabib and the Byzantines were reached in 1032 and during delineation of borders, Edessa was left in Byzantine territory, while the rest of Diyar Mudar remained under Numayrid rule. For an undetermined period afterward, Shabib paid tribute to the Byzantines.Rice 1952, p. 44. Because he was unable to effectively challenge the Byzantines, Shabib focused on expanding his domain eastward and northward into Marwanid and Uqaylid territory. In 1033, he assaulted Uqaylid-held Nusaybin, but was repelled. The following year he gained Byzantine military backing and advanced against Amid, the Marwanid capital. He retreated after a show of strength by a Marwanid–Uqaylid coalition. Also in 1033/34, the city of Harran was restored to Shabib, on the heel of a severe famine, plague and local uprising. By 1036, Shabib and Ibn Utayr defected from the Byzantines and joined the Marwanid–Uqaylid effort to expel the Byzantines from Edessa.Rice 1952, p. 78.Green 1992, p. 97. The Numayrids captured and looted the city, took several men captive and killed many of the inhabitants. However, they did not seize the citadel and Shabib hastily withdrew to confront a Seljuk Empire threat to Harran. Shabib and the Byzantines made peace in 1037 and Edessa was confirmed as a Byzantine possession.
The peace between Shabib and his neighbors freed him up to back his brother-in-law Nasr ibn Salih, the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo, against the offensive of Anushtakin al-Dizbari, the Damascus-based Fatimid governor of Syria in 1037; The Fatimids were aiming to extend direct control over northern Syria which was held by their nominal vassals, the Mirdasids. The latter were members of the Banu Kilab and as such, distant kinsmen of the Banu Numayr.Bianquis 2002, p. 181. According to historian Suhayl Zakkar, the two tribes generally maintained friendly relations,Zakkar 1971, p. 55. and historian Thierry Bianquis holds that the "Numayr–Kilab alliance ... controlled all northern Syria and much of western Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia)". Shabib's sister, al-Sayyida Alawiyya, who was noted for her intelligence and beauty, was married to Nasr ibn Salih and later played an important role in Aleppan politics. Al-Dizbari killed Nasr ibn Salih in May 1038 and advanced against Aleppo, prompting Shabib, al-Sayyida and Nasr's brother and successor Thimal to retreat to Upper Mesopotamia. Afterward, al-Sayyida married Thimal. By 1038 Shabib paid allegiance to the Fatimids and ordered Caliph al-Mustansir to be recognized as the Islamic sovereign in . This marked a formal break with the Abbasid Caliphate, whose religious legitimacy the Numayrids had previously acknowledged.
Tensions over Raqqa increased when Mani' came of age and took charge of the Banu Numayr between 1044 and 1056. Mani' viewed himself as the rightful heir to Shabib's possessions and sought to retrieve them by force.Heidemann 2005, p. 97. He switched the Numayrids' formal allegiance from the Fatimids to the Seljuq sultan Tughril Beg of Baghdad, who sent Mani' robes of honor and issued a decree granting him Raqqa. In April 1056, after Thimal rejected Mani's demand to withdraw from Raqqa, hostilities broke out between the two sides. By then, Mani' had already seized Harran from his uncles.Sinclair 1990, p. 205.
The Fatimids attempted to stabilize the situation in Upper Mesopotamia and assist the anti-Seljuq general Al-Basasiri, whom they sought to use to invade Iraq.Heidemann 2005, pp. 97–98. The Fatimid envoy, al-Mu'ayyad al-Shirazi, held a highly negative view of Mani' and leaned towards supporting Thimal, but was later convinced by the chieftain of the Al-Mazeedi in al-Basasiri's camp that Mani' was essential to the anti-Seljuq cause.Heidemann 2005, p. 98. Al-Mu'ayyad persuaded Mani' to defect to the Fatimids. In reward, al-Basasiri captured Raqqa from Thimal and transferred it to Mani' in October 1057. According to chronicler Ibn Shaddad, al-Basasiri did not capture Raqqa; rather, Thimal handed over both Raqqa and al-Rafiqah to Mani' due to military pressure.Zakkar 1971, p. 150.
In 1060, after al-Basisiri's forty-week reign came to an end with his defeat and execution by the Seljuqs, Mani' married one of his daughters to Uddat ad-Din to establish ties with the caliph's family. Uddat ad-Din was then returned to Baghdad with many gifts and would later succeed al-Qa'im, who had since regained his throne. Though not explicitly mentioned in contemporary chronicles, Mani' likely reverted his allegiance to the Abbasids in the aftermath of al-Basasiri's defeat. According to historian D. S. Rice, the Numayrids greatly benefited from the "Basasiri incident", having gained Raqqa from the Mirdasids and given large sums by the Fatimids "without committing themselves" to the "hazardous enterprise" of participating in al-Basasiri's coup attempt. The period between 1058 and 1060 represented the peak of Numayrid power.
The expansion of Seljuq power into Syria and Upper Mesopotamia after their victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 threatened the Numayrid emirate; the Byzantine defeat deprived both the Numayrids and the Mirdasids of a powerful protector. In 1081, the Uqaylid emir Muslim ibn Quraysh, backed by the Seljuqs, conquered Harran from Mani's successor(s), whose names were not recorded in the sources. According to medieval historian Ibn al-Athir, Ibn Quraysh appointed Yahya ibn ash-Shatir, a Numayrid ghulām (slave) and administrator who assisted Ibn Quraysh, as governor of Harran, while another medieval chronicler, Sibt ibn al-Jawzi, claims a certain Ja'far al-Uqayli was made governor and promoted Shia Islam there. That same year, the Uqaylids wrested control of Saruj from Hasan, who had held it continuously since 1039. Hasan was given Nisibin in exchange and ruled that city as an Uqaylid vassal. In 1083, Abu Jalaba, the Hanbali qadi (chief Islamic judge) of Harran, and a Numayrid emir (either Ibn Utayr or a certain Ibn Atiyya an-Numayri) led a revolt against the Uqaylids in 1083; The rebels fought in the name of a Numayrid child prince, Ali ibn Waththab, possibly a young son of Mani', and took over the town for a short period. By the end of the year, the uprising was suppressed by Ibn Quraysh, who executed Abu Jalaba, the latter's sons and about one hundred other participants. Ibn ash-Shatir continued to administer Harran after Ibn Quraysh's death in 1085 and was re-confirmed in his post by the Seljuq sultan Malik-Shah I in 1086.Rice 1952, pp. 82–83. The advent of the Seljuqs and affiliated Turkmen tribal forces at this time effectively put an end to the reign of Arab tribal powers, including the Banu Numayr, in northern Syria and Upper Mesopotamia.
Despite the loss of their capital and much of their power, the Numayrids maintained a presence in the region into the 12th century, holding onto a few fortresses that were isolated from each other, including Qal'at an-Najm on the northern Euphrates and Sinn Ibn Utayr.Rice 1952, p. 83. According to Rice, the Banu Numayr "were still spasmodically active" during this period. In 1101, they killed the Uqaylid emir, Ibn Quraysh's son Muhammad ibn Muslim, at Hit,Ibn al-Athir, ed. Richards 2010, p. 65. and four years later led an abortive raid against the Seljuq general Afshin.Ibn al-Athir, ed. Richards 2010, p. 105. In 1110, the Numayrids, led by a certain Jawshan an-Numayri, seized Raqqa from its Turkmen governor Ali ibn Salim, who they killed,Ibn al-Athir, ed. Richards 2010, pp. 139–140. but were dislodged a short time later. The Crusades, who had entered the region at the beginning of the century, captured Sinn Ibn Utayr from the Numayrid emir Mani' ibn Utayr an-Numayri in 1118. The medieval chronicler al-Azimi recorded that the Numayrids still held Qal'at an-Najm in 1120, but nothing else is heard of the Numayrids in the following centuries. Based on his research, Rice found that as of 1952 the descendants of the Banu Numayr continued to live in and around Harran and were known as the Nmēr, a colloquial form of "Numayr", and belonged to the confederation of Jēs, a colloquial form of "Qays". He also noted that they were unaware "that their ancestors had once been, for nearly a century, the 'Lords of Raqqa, Saruj and Harran'".
The building activities in Harran and probably those in Raqqa are proof that Mani' did not regard cities only as places for fiscal exploitation. He also wanted to present himself within the city as an urban ruler, while maintaining his powerbase, the Banu Numayr, in the pasture.
The Numayrids, like their Marwanid neighbors, used the title of amir (prince).Rice 1952, p. 57. The Numayrid emirs Shabib and Mani' also used the Fatimid-influenced titles ṣanīʿat ad-dawla and najīb ad-dawla, respectively. They likely adopted these titles during periods of formal allegiance with the Fatimids. The Numayrids established mints at Harran, and under Mani', at Raqqa as well.Heidemann 2005, p. 101. The names of the ruling Numayrid emirs were named on the coins, which in the medieval Islamic era symbolized sovereign rulership.
Heidemann holds that there was likely building activity during Mani's reign in Raqqa and the adjacent town of al-Rafiqah, including the possible restoration of a congregational mosque in the latter town. However, there are no specifically identifiable traces of Numayrid construction in Raqqa/al-Rafiqah.
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