On the Shammar rebellion of 1871 against the Ottomans
Thanks to Kate, I was able to purchase the unpublished PhD. thesis of John F. Williamson, “A political history of the Shammar Jarba tribe of al-Jazirah: 1800-1958“, Indiana University, Ph.D., 1975.
Here is a quote from the thesis about the rebellion of Shammar leader ‘Abdul Karim al-Jarba against the Ottomans:
‘Abd al-Karim revolted in early August, 1871. Within a week the rebel leader at the head of some 3,000 Shammar warriors succeeded in reducing the area around Nisibin to ruins. Before effective government action could be taken, the rebellious Shammar raided over 200 villages, setting seventy of them on fire, killing a large number of persons and carrying off everything they could remove.
In the meantime, ‘Abd al-Karim wrote various tribal leaders, complaining that Midhat Pasha sought to force the Shammar to settle as mere fallabin, and solicited their support. When several of these letters reached Midhat Pasha, he offered a reward of 10,000 piastres for ‘Abd al-Karim alive, and 5,000 piastres for his head.
Meanwhile, ‘Abd al-Karim divided his forces into three sections and dispatched them against Dayr az-Zor, Mosul and Baghdad. This ill-conceived plan for destroying the Ottomans collapsed when the Shammar were decisively defeated at Qalat ash-Sharqat. Some 3,000 Shammar warriors were overrun by two Ottoman armies under the command of Isma’il Pasha of Diyarbakr and Ahmad Pasha, commanding general of Baghdad.
With three hundred warriors lying dead, numerous others either wounded
or captured, ‘Abd al-Karim abandoned his belongings and quickly fled into
the desert. After this disastrous defeat, the beleaguered chieftain sought sanctuary along Wadi ath-Tharthar. Unfortunately, the wadi had completely dried up and many of the Shammar tribesmen died of thirst.
The revolt ended when several contingents of Ottoman troops joined by
Dulaym and ‘Anaza irregulars caught and defeated the two other Shammar
contingents. In one of these encounters, ‘Abd al-Razzaq, the brother of
‘Abd al-Karim, fell before the Ottoman onslaught. With more and more
reinforcements arriving from Ottoman posts along the Euphrates and from
the Sinjar region, the rebellion could only end in failure.
With his plans shattered, his supporters either dead or dispersed, ‘Abd al-Karim, having already lost his beloved wife and a young son, fled
for his life. Hoping to escape to Najd and the protection of his fellow
Shammar chieftain, Ibn Rashid, he swam the Euphrates River and eventually
reached the Muntafiq dirah in southern ‘Iraq.
Unfortunately, Nasir Pasha, shaykh of the powerful Muntafiq confederation, being on good terms with Midhat Pasha, arrested ‘Abd al-Karim and sent him to Baghdad. Following a court trial in Baghdad, ‘Abd al-Karim was sentenced to death for his rebellion. When the sentence received final confirmation in
Constantinople, the Shammar shaykh met his end on a bridge over the Tigris.“