The APM as history: the battle of al-Rudaymah in 1823
The Abbas Pasha Manuscript (APM) mentions many war episodes (manakh) between the Bedouin tribes, of which that of Al-Rudaymah (incorrectly spelled Al Radeemah in the Sherif-Forbis translation) was perhaps the most important. This was no regular ghazu, but more a set of pitched battles, during which many horses died or changed hands over three months.
The Najdi chronicler ‘Uthman ibn Abdallah Ibn Bishr dated the beginning of the “battle” of al-Rudaymah to the month of Rajab 1238 of the Hijri calendar, equivalent to March-April 1823, some 30 years before the completion of the APM. Here’s Ibn Bishr, my translation:
In this year, in Rajab, [was] the famous battle of al-Rudaymah [after] a well-known place in al-‘Armah, between Faysal al-Dawish and his followers from Mutayr and the ‘Ajman and other Bedouins Arabs, and Majid ibn ‘Uray’ir and his followers from Bani Khalid and others including ‘Anazah and Subay’. A protracted battle and combat involving horsemen and men on foot took place […]. Combat was so intense that the hair on a child’s head would have turned grey. Bani Khalid and their followers lost. Much treasure, jewelry, fancy cloth and provisions was gained [by the winners]. Many were killed from both sides. From ‘Anazah, Mughayleeth ibn Hazzal was killed. From Mutayr, Habab ibn Qu’aysan, the head of al-Barzan [section of Mutayr] and a comrade of Saud ibn ‘Abd al-Aziz, was killed.
Amazingly, the APM provides first hand accounts of the battle, from key protagonists and their relatives. On page 570, Fahd Ibn Hanaya of the Mutayr, apparently Habab’s grandson, spoke about a Kuhaylan ‘Abeyssan colt from his grandfather’s strain: “And on the day of al Radimah [sic], he [the grey colt] was slain under Habab ibn Hanaya.” The same Fahd, speaking of a chestnut sister of that colt, also says: “Habab was slain on her the day of al Radimah, and she was captured by Mich’an ibn Hazzal.” So, thanks to the APM, we know of at least two of the mounts of this main protagonist of al-Rudaymah: a colt who died under him; and a filly he was riding when he was killed. The filly was taken by the man who killed him.
Page 589, Faris Ibn Ja’ed al-Dawish of the Mutayr also mentioned the battle of al-Rudaymah, in his account on the strain of Kuhaylat al-Muradi: “And on the day of al Radimah [sic], we fought a battle against Anazeh, and on the day that Habab ibn Hanaya was slain, a three year old mare came to us under trover from al Sab’a.”
Page 428, a man from the Suqur (a Anazah tribe) speaks of his ‘Ubayyah: “And in the year of the battle between us and al Dawish at al Radimah [sic], the day that Habab ibn Kuhaysan was slain, we attacked and the filly was felled. So we put her in a place where she could rest.”
The APM also illustrates the companionship between Hubab ibn Qu’aysan Ibn Hanaya and Saud. The account of Kuhaylat al-‘Abeyssa has the following: “And Habab [sic] ibn Hanaya gave her to Saud and she died at Saud’s.“