Zanj Revolt

Proposed: Duncan Head

A version of this list is included in the DBMM Army Lists Book 3.

See also Abbasid Arab, East African Coastal 100 BC - 1505 AD.

ZANJ REVOLT 869 AD - 883 AD

Dry. Ag 0. WW, _Rv_, O, Wd, SF, BF, _M_, Rd, BUAf

E = 3/37

1 C-in-c - Irr Bd (F) or Irr Cv (I)

1-2 Sub-generals - as above

30-50 African and Arab swordsmen and spearmen - Irr Bd (I) @ 4 AP

0-1/5 Upgrade Bd(I) to picked Irr Bd (F)

4-30 Ill-armed infantry with clubs, sickles, etc - Irr Hd (S) @ 2 AP

8-30 African and Arab archers - 0-1/4 skirmishing Irr Ps (O) @ 2 AP, the rest Irr Bw (I) @ 3 AP

0-2 Upgrade archers to crossbowmen - Irr Bw (O)

0-12 Slingers and stone-throwers - Irr Ps (O) @ 2 AP

0-12 Tribal Arab cavalry - Irr LH (O) @ 4 AP

0-2 per general Camp - Irr Bge (O) or pack-trains of camels, buffalo and donkeys - Irr Bge (F), or flocks of sheep - Irr Bge (I)

0-2 Replace Bge with screaming women - Irr Bge (S)

0-12 Concealed pits on land, or chain or stone barricades to block river - HO (if Hidden Obstacles stratagem used) @ 2AP

4-12 Oared boats - Irr Bts (O), or rafts or small boats - Irr Bts (I) {any foot}

0-6 Transports - Irr Shps (I) {Bge or foot}

0-4 Ballistae - Reg Art (O) or small man-powered stone-throwers - Reg Art (I) on PF of BUA only

DRAFT LIST NOTES

The Zanj Revolt was a rising of East African slaves and tribal Arabs in the southern Iraqi marshlands, led by Ali b. Muhammad, an Arab who claimed descent from the Caliph Ali. The Zanj overran most of southern Iraq, sacking Basra in 871, and establishing their own fortified cities. From 879 they were gradually subdued by a methodical campaign led by the Abbasid Caliph's brother al-Muwaffaq with a large army.

JUSTIFICATION

Aggression: Although the early years see the Zanj attacking Abbasid forces, except for brief expeditions to Ahwaz they do not operate outside the southern Iraqi marshlands, their "home terrain". In the later years the Zanj are defending against the Abbasids.

Terrain: Southern Iraqi marshlands. Canals and rivers are mentioned all the time. WW would be the lower Tigris.

The terrain was a major hindrance to the Abbasid advance, because of the canals but also the Zanj are mentioned raiding and escaping through "thickets": "He realized that the Zanj were more able than his troops to pass those desolate places and found it easier to do so" (T37.84). Scrubby flat, perhaps? The "impenetrable barriers of reeds and grasses" (T.36.154) would fit this, but the "dense thickets and copses" (ib.) through which the government attackers need guides perhaps require Woods.

Several Zanj fortified strongholds are mentioned in the later years, notably the "capital" al-Mukhtara.

Generals: Ali b. Muhammad fought with sword and shield (T36.62) as did one of his subordinate generals (Yahya, T.36.144); in later years leaders are sometimes on horses (T37.17, 37.31): see note on cavalry later.

The army had flags (mostly white - T.37.103) and drums, using a drum-roll once to signal an attack from concealment (T.36.179), but I can find no sign of organisation sophisticated enough to suggest "regular" status.

Infantry: The rebels initially relied heavily on captured weapons - capture of swords, spears, daggers and shields is mentioned in T36.41 in the first year of the revolt, and the distribution of weapons captured in Abbadan in T.36.111, though once they controlled a substantial territory they developed their own production facilities - "the yard where the profligate's (the Zanj leader's) barges, galleys and weapons were manufactured" was captured in 882-3 (T.37.109).

Zanj infantry are mostly mentioned using swords, spears and shields, with swords being mentioned the most frequently and no indication that "swordsmen" and "spearmen" were in separated groups, except perhaps for one enumeration of their forces as "swordsmen, lancers, archers, sling-shooters and artillerymen" (T.37.46) or another reference to boats carrying "archers and lancers" (T.37.54). In one force in 880 "all the sailors (were) provided with swords, spears and shields" (T.37.17), an observation which may be included to indicate a better or more uniform standard of equipment than usual. There seems to be no indication of "impetuous" behaviour, charging without orders and so on. In one early engagement Zanj ambushers "crouch down facing the enemy, guarding themselves with their shields, allowing no-one to attack until the enemy were close enough to brandish swords at them", while the Zanj women gather bricks to supply the men - suggesting a bombardment of missiles, albeit in this case improvised, as used by other Blades types (T.36.65). They have great difficulty with Abbasid cavalry, unless helped by difficult terrain: a small detachment of foot stood firm in the face of superior cavalry in 876 (T.36.184), but the rest, cavalry and infantry alike, were routed; and Abbasid horsemen "selected from his most valiant ghulams and courageous officers" routed Zanj infantry - "dealt them a crushing blow, killing a great many of their best men" in 880 (T.37.21).

Picked men: There are occasional hints of picked bodies of Zanj troops: two black officers leading "the most valiant of Sulayman b Jami's men, the chosen ones on whom he relied" (T.37.28), for example.

Ill-armed hordes: It is hardly surprising that in the early stages of the revolt, some of the Zanj had to rely on improvised weapons: "One of the blacks fell on the people's standard-bearer, felling him with blows from the two cudgels he was carrying" (T.36.51); "One of the blacks came up behind him and struck his legs with a club, breaking them both"; "they commenced to beat him with sickles, leaving him severely wounded" (T.36.55). I haven't seen mention of such crude weapons (apart from the thrown stones) after the first year of the revolt, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they disappeared. Such men could be treated either as rear rankers in the normal infantry elements, or as separate Hordes.

(It was pointed out that as noted under the Infantry, impetuous behaviour might not be appropriate for these troops, in which case they could be Hd(O).)

Archers: Archers are mentioned from the earliest stages of the revolt. They are particularly prominent on boats and defending fortifications, but are also mentioned in land battles. No numbers are ever given, but they do not seem to have been the majority. Archers shooting from concealment (T.36.141) and " skirmishers" who shoot arrows at horsemen whilst retreating (T.37.18) may be best classed as psiloi under the rules. The bulk may be best as Inferior Bows, since they are not recorded as winning an archery duel nor forcing enemy to withdraw, nor as having any weaponry other than the bow. With the exception of one archer described as a Greek ghulam of the Zanj leader, who successively wounds two Abbasid leaders (T.37.82, 87), we do not hear of many notable feats of archery.

Crossbows (qissi al-rijl, "foot-bows" in Fields' translation - T.37.60, see Kennedy "Armies..." p.156 and Nicolle "Caliphates" p.18 - "proper hand-held crossbows, called qaws al-rijl or 'foot-bows' were used by Abbasid soldiers in open battle in the late 9th century") are mentioned once (T.37.60), used in defence of a fortress.

Slingers and stone-throwers: The Zanj defended walls with "arrows and stones from their ballistas, catapults and slings, while the rank and file threw stones from their hands" (T.37.43; similar at 37.60, 37.93), their army was "swordsmen, lancers, archers, sling-shooters and artillerymen" (T.37.46).

While any troops could probably be found throwing stones - like the bricks collected for swordsmen (T.36.65) - on one occasion "the weakest were charged with flinging stones by hand, and, as assembled onlookers, they added to the tumult by screaming and shouting, a task shared by the women" (T.37.46). These stone-throwing rabble could be treated as part of the ill-armed hordes already mentioned, but it seems at least as appropriate to group them in with the slingers.

Arab horsemen: Alliances with local tribes brought Arab horsemen into the Zanj army from 871 onwards. We hear of "a contingent of Zanj and Arab tribesmen on horseback" (T.36.128); "in order to raise a force from among the Arab tribesmen; that he had in fact managed to muster a large troop of horsemen, and with these and his own Zanj infantry..." (T.36.129); "the cavalry of the Arab tribesmen and the Zanj footsoldiers led by a man riding a chestnut horse and carrying a spear bearing a yellow lappet (adhaba)" (T.36.130)

These Arabs do not seem to have been recruited as large tribal allied contingents under their own generals, since we hear of the Zanj leader putting two of his own officers in charge of a force of Bahrayni tribesmen to attack Basra and "to drill the tribesmen in the execution of such an operation" (T.36.126). Nonetheless one group of Arab cavalry defected in the heat of battle (T.36.184), which could be reflected by an ally.

This is not meant to imply that the only Arabs in the Zanj forces were cavalrymen - apart from the fact that all the senior commanders seem to have been Ali b Muhammad's Arab associates (though other officers were Zanj - "his black commanders and their infantry" (T.36.198)), the whole army can be called "Zanj and others" (T.37.56); "both whites and Zanj" were killed on Zanj barges (T.36.138) and 5,000 "white and black" defected in 881 (T.37.51).

Tribal Arabs may not have been the only cavalry, some Zanj may have been mounted in later years. Apart from the references to mounted commanders noted above, we hear of "a great many Zanj horsemen and others" defecting (T.37.58), "the leaders of the cavalry and infantry from among the Zanj and the white troops" (T.37.117). I don't know if we can justify classing them any differently from the Arabs, though.

Baggage: Perhaps because of the ubiquity of water-transport, I can't find obvious references to any mobile baggage type. There are references to herds of camels, sheep and others being brought to the Zanj camps by merchants, and merchants using water-buffaloes, camels and asses to transport provisions (T.37.72, 73, 74).

The women of the Zanj are mentioned collecting bricks for the warriors to throw (T.36.65) and screaming presumably to encourage the troops (T.37.46). This might justify Bge (S), as for the Arabs.

Obstacles: Pits were dug, with iron rods planted in them and covered in matting for concealment; but when one Farghanah officer's horse was trapped in them, the enemy were alerted (T.37.17); a bridge was defended with "interlocking teakwood stakes" reinforced with iron (T.37.99). Canals were blocked with an iron chain (T.37.95), and with stone barricades to narrow them, causing a violent current to prevent boats entering (T.37.99).

Boats: Boats are so often mentioned and so integral to the warfare of both sides during the Zanj war that I think they should be compulsory. It's only in the very few Zanj expeditions outside the marshlands, into Ahwaz, that they may not have been present.

Kennedy ("Armies" p.154) says that "We have the names of numerous different sorts of boats, but without illustrations or detailed descriptions it is difficult to have a clear idea of what is being described. It is not clear, either, that the names are applied consistently in the accounts that have come down to us. It would seem that they were shallow draft vessels, propelled by oars. They varied in size from large vessels with 40 oarsmen to tiny craft which can have been little more than canoes for use in the narrowest channels". This applies to the vessels of both sides - the 40-oar description refers to Zanj vessels (T.37.18). From a DBMM standpoint, since Mycenaean 30-oared triakonters and Croatian 40-man sagenai are classed as Bts (O), the largest Zanj boats should be no more than (O) as well. Despite the translators' rendering of "sumayriyyah" (the type of the 40-oared vessel) as "galley", there's no indication of rams being used.

Early on the Zanj used rafts (T.36.44), and they also use zawraq "skiffs" (T.37.39); when used by the Abbasids these are coupled with "light vessels" (T.37.56), so maybe notably smaller than other vessel types.

The "salghah" is a transport vessel: one carrying ten Zanj was loaded with barley (T.37.19); they are described as "larger vessels" than the sumayriyyah "galleys" (T.36.175), and are used as troop-transports ("galleys, skiffs (zawraq) and boats (salghah) loaded with Zanj" - T.37.39). Tribesmen who brought wheat, camels and sheep to the Zanj expected them to be transported in Zanj ships (T.37.72).

Artillery: There are frequent references to what the translator calls "catapults" and "ballistas" (T.37.43, 46, 59, 60, 93, 103). They are always described as shooting from fortification walls, not being used in the open. There is one reference to "war machines" being captured on Zanj ships (T.36.197), but no clear descriptions of artillery mounted on boats such as their opponents occasionally used.

Kennedy notes that the weapons described were "'arradat" and "manjaniq"; these both seem to have been stone-throwers (Kennedy "Armies" pp.184-5, Nicolle "Caliphates"18). It does look as if it is one of these two terms that Fields in Tabari v.37 is translating as "ballista".

Also mentioned is the "navakiya" or "nawukiyyah" (Kennedy's and Fields' transliterations respectively) bow. Kennedy suggests ("Armies" p.155) that this term was probably a diminutive of the Persian "nav", "pipe" or trough. The same word is used for Sassanian Persian cavalry bows, probably indicating their use with arrow-guides. But in the Zanj instances, the nawukiyyah bows "were clearly static, since they were burned along with the catapults on one occasion, but they fired arrows not stones". He thinks they were large bows that shot arrows through tubes or down grooves to improve the aim - one thinks of the Hellenistic catapult's slider. These would probably be Art (O) bolt-shooters under DBMM.