Hadhrami Rebellion (659)

Hadhrami Rebellion
Part of First Fitna
Date 659 Location Basra, Iraq Result Victory for Ali
Belligerents
Rashidun Caliphate Pro-Alids	Umayyad Syria Uthmaniyya
Commanders and leaders
Ali ibn Abi Talib Ziyad ibn Abihi	Mu'awiya I Abd Allah ibn Amir †
Strength
50+	2,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Most of the army killed or captured

The Hadhrami Rebellion (659) was a military uprising carried out in Basra during the First Fitna by the rebelling Uthmaniyya under the leadership of Abd Allah ibn Amir al-Hadhrami, supported by Mu'awiya I, against the authority of the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib. The uprising ended in failure after Ali's forces besieged the rebels.

The long-time governor of Greater Syria, Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, who rejected Ali's authority, had taken a number of measures to strengthen his position during the First Fitna. He refused to integrate any personnel outside of his Syrian powerbase into his army even if they had expressed support for his cause. In contrast to the critics of Uthman, there were also people in Basra and Kufa who considered Ali's authority as illegitimate and defected to the Umayyads, however despite his unwillingness to recruit them, Mu'awiya enlisted the seceders while keeping them separate from the Syrian army by establishing garrison cities in Jund Qinnasrin, originally a part of Jund Hims, to accommodate them. Al-Jazira and Mosul were the other regions where they settled. The Banu-al Arqam who opposed Ali's rule in Kufa defected to Mu'awiya and settled in Al-Jazira.^[1]

Ali appointed his kinsman Abd Allah ibn Abbas as the governor of Basra. However, the relations between the two men deteriorated shortly afterwards and Abd Allah left the city with six millions dirhams. In the account of Abu Ubayda, Sabra bin Shayman proposed that he keep the money and offered the military support of the Qays. Ibn Abbas soon reconciled with Ali and resumed the governorship of Basra.^[2] After the Battle of the Camel, Basra briefly came under Ali's control. After the Umayyad annexation of Egypt, Mu'awiya I dispatched Abd Allah ibn Amir al-Hadhrami with 2000 men to Basra to launch a rebellion with the support of the Banu Tamim tribe there who were aligned with the Uthmaniyya.

Abd Allah ibn Abbas, the governor of Basra, had left for Kufa leaving his deputy Ziyad ibn Abihi in charge. Ziyad informed Ali of the escalation and took refuge with the tribe of Banu Azd. The Banu Tamim of Kufa was dispatched by Ali under Aʿyan ibn Dahiʿah al-Mujashiʿ to confront the forces of Abd Allah ibn Amir al-Hadhrami but he was soon killed upon his arrival in Basra. Ali then sent Jariyah bin Qudamah with 50 relief troops. Jariyah then called for assistance from Ziyad with the Banu Azd tribe. They arrived in Basra, clashing with the forces of Abd Allah ibn Amir al-Hadhrami, forcing them to retreat and take refuge in the house of Sabil al-Saʿdi. The house was set on fire by Ali's forces, killing most of Hadhrami's men including himself. Those who escaped were blocked by forts where they were besieged.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}