Central Asian Arabs

[KingMamba]

The question of Timur's religion beliefs has been a matter of controversy ever since he began his great conquests. His veneration of the house of the Prophet, the spurious genealogy on his tombstone taking his descent back to Ali, and the presense of Shiites in his army led some observers and scholars to call him a Shiite. However his official religious counselor was the Hanafite scholar Abd alJabbar Khwarazmi. Timur's religious practices with their admixture of Turco-Mongolian shamanistic elements belonged to the Sufi tradition. Timur avowed himself the disciple of Sayyid Baraka, the holy man of the commercial city of Tirmidh. He also constructed one of his finest buildings at the tomb of Ahmad Yaassawi, who was doing most to spread Folk Islam among the nomads.

In religion as in other aspects of his life Timur was above all an opportunist; his religion served frequently to further his aims, but almost never to curcumscribe his actions. It was in the justification of his rule and his conquests that Timur found Islam most useful.

Tamerlane

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Now back to the Topic Please

That pretty much sums it all up nicely.

 

[Gandhi G in da house]

Yes you are right I did not mean to disregard the hindus he killed but my point was he killed so many Muslims overall yet called it a holy war. I know you will get what I mean.

I can't believe you named a missile after him.

 

[KingMamba]

I can't believe you named a missile after him.

AFAIK its just a rumor with a rumored range of 7000.

I should not have brought up Timur I just read his name in what the OP posted and started to rant. Sick bastard that man.

Anyway lets not derail anymore.

 

[Wholegrain]

::MINORITY:: -

Google Translate

Google translation on Arabs in Tajikistan.

Home Population Ethnic Groups Arabs Tajikistan
Arabs Tajikistan
The number of Arabs on the official census of 2000 was 14 thousand 450 people. According to unofficial information the Company's Arabs Arabs RT population is 40 thousand 200 people.

Live mainly in the south of Tajikistan is compact in: Ayvadzh, Shaartuz, Beshkent, Syed Kabodiyon, Hushadi, Panj Farhor. A small number live in Dushanbe, in Hissar and Tursunzoda areas of Tajikistan.

Arabs assimilated to the local environment. Education is provided in schools with the Tajik language learning. Native Arabic own 35.7%, in addition almost all speak three languages: Russian, Uzbek, Tajik.

Religion - 100% of the Arabs are Muslim.

 

[Wholegrain]

The Qashqadaria Arabs and Bukharan Arabs in Uzbekistan are believed to have come in two different waves.

The Qashqadaria are believed to have arrived with the Arab conquest 1,300 years ago

Central Asia on Display: Proceedings of the VIIth Conference of the European ... - European Society for Central Asian Studies. International Conference - Google Books

The Bukhara Arabs are believed to be from prisoners of war taken by Timur

Central Asia on Display: Proceedings of the VIIth Conference of the European ... - European Society for Central Asian Studies. International Conference - Google Books

Their dialects are distinct from each other

Influence of the Tajik language on the vocalism of Central Asian Arabic dialects - by Lian Slayford-Wei - Helium

Central Asia has seen a great deal of Arabic influence on the region; the Arabs were able to conquer a great deal of the region and so introducing their own language onto the people was only to be expected. However, over the centuries the Central Asian Arabs have lost their language to the point where only small pockets of them speak the language.

There are two independent dialects spoken by the Central Asia Arabs, the Bukhara dialect and the Qashqa-darya dialect. These dialects are widely dissimilar and one speaker will not understand the other so that when these Central Asian Arabs met, they prefer to talk in the Tajik or Uzbek languages.

According to these sources from the period of the Soviet Union they were in danger of going extinct.

The Peoples of the USSR: An Ethnographic Handbook - Ronald Wixman - Google Books

The Peoples of the USSR: An Ethnographic Handbook - Ronald Wixman - Google Books

The Central Asian Arabs of Afghanistan: Pastoral Nomadism in Transition - Thomas Jefferson Barfield - Google Books

On page 27 there is a section on Arabs in this encyclopedia but I don't read Russian and I can't copy and paste the Cyrillic text.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070927022436/http://diaspora.ferghana.ru/atlas/Ethnic minorities.pdf

 

[Wholegrain]

Arabs of Afghanistan

Arabic As a Minority Language - Google Books

Arabic As a Minority Language - Google Books

Arabic As a Minority Language - Google Books

Afghanistan Country Study

Arabs are a Sunni group living in northeastern Afghanistan, primarily "in an arc extending from Maimana to Kunduz." Here they speak a dialect of Farsi that is mixed with Uzbek vocabulary. Some scholars report that Arabicspeaking Arab communities exist in the area of Balkh.......


Anthropologist Thomas J. Barfield conducted research among Arabs living in Konduz Province. They are pastoralists-nomads who practice transhumance and migrate from river valleys to mountains. They raise fattailed sheep for most of their subsistence, but wealthier men also raise the karakul sheep that yield karakuli lambskins, for which Afghanistan is renowned. They also farm, producing cotton and wheat. The Arabs are Dari speakers, although they identify themselves as Arabs. Historically, the Central Asian Arabs lived within the old Bukhara khanate and in the plains in the north of that part of Turkestan that lies within Afghanistan. Barfield also relates that these Arabs have not had any contact with Middle Eastern Arabs since the time of Timur (Tamerlane). Most Arabs view geneologies as unimportant; nonetheless, they possess 13 clans (taifa).

 

[revojam]

BTW, this great man of yours invaded Asia Minor (Turkey), defeated Sultan Bayazid Yildrim and imprisoned him in a cage. If you feel some thing for Taimur because of your Turkic identity, you should say something about his conduct regarding Sultan Bayazid Yildrim.

Timur was a Khan while Beyazid was a Sultan thats more than enough to understand which side was rightfull.

In religion as in other aspects of his life Timur was above all an opportunist; his religion served frequently to further his aims, but almost never to curcumscribe his actions. It was in the justification of his rule and his conquests that Timur found Islam most useful.

In short he was a smart man who understands importance of pragmatism.

 

[RazPaK]

Timur was a Khan while Beyazid was a Sultan thats more than enough to understand which side was rightfull.



In short he was a smart man who understands importance of pragmatism.

Haha, If that's how you feel we have more Khans and real turks in Pakistan than you do in Turkey.


Just for your general knowledge.

 

[Wholegrain]

I checked Ethnologue, it says Uzbeki Arabic (Kashkadarya) is moribund and Tajiki Arabic (Bukhara) is threatened. Both say only a few of the Arab community speak their dialect and they speak more Uzbeki and Tajik.

To summarize what the sources I posted say:

Arab communities, both who speak their own Arabic dialect or speak Uzbek or Tajik/Dari/Farsi live in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Khorasan (Iran).

In Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, a minority of the Arab community maintain their dialect. Others speak Uzbek or Tajik. They are descended both from the original Arab conquest and Timur bringing captives over,

In Khalaf in Khorasan, Iran, they speak their own Arabic dialect.

In Afghanistan there are three different communities.

One are the Arab nomadic pastoralists who fled from where modern day Uzbekistan is from the Russian invasion of Bukhara and still live as nomadic pastoralists in Afghanistan. They speak Dari or Uzbek only.

The other two are a Persian (Dari?) speaking community settled in villages and another Arabic speaking community also settled in villages.

 

[Wholegrain]

Dagestan is part of the Caucasus but the Caucasus is often grouped together with Central Asia and I didn't want to create a new thread.

Dagestan has stood out from this other North Caucasian neighbors (like Chechnya), because Islam was introduced to it extremely early by the Arab Caliphates themselves. While the Arabs conquered and then settled in Dagestan and introduced Arabic language and Islam to the peoples of Dagestan, the neighboring region of Chechnya was not conquered and remained pagan until the 17th century when Islam started being introduced to the Chechens. The Chechens were never conquered until the Russian Empire invaded the Caucasus.

Some differences are apparent. In Dagestan cousin marriage is allowed like in Muslim Arab society while Chechens still keep some pre Islamic customs in their adat like forbidding cousin marriage from up to seven generations and we have more knowledge of their pre islamic culture and mythology.

Another consequence more pertaining to this thread is that in Dagestan not only has there been a population of Arabs descended from the original conquerors speaking Arabic until recently, the rest of the non Arab peoples in Dagestan have used Arabic as a literary and spoken language, of not just religious but secular literature and as a lingua franca. Arabic was also used in government and civil records. They learned it as a second language and actually managed to speak Arabic as a living language with each other. (remember, this all happened in Dagestan itself where they were cut off physically from the Arab world after the Abbasids disintegrated) Their fusHa was reported to be excellent. This ended first with the Russian conquest of the Caucasus and then the Soviet Union. Now Arabic has been replaced by Russian as the official language of learning and the lingua franca although the Avar language may also play the same role.

Arab soldiers first settled in Dagestan from the first conquest during the Rashidun Caliphs rule and other Arabs including religious scholars continued to move to Dagestan over the centuries.

You can see from this map here how Dagestan was under control of the Rashidun then the Ummayad and Abbasid Caliphates, while Chechnya was right next to it but remained pagan during this time.

The Chechens did not fall to the Ottomans while Dagestan did.

Qajar ruled Persia controlled southern Dagestan.

Here are some sources on the role of Arabic language and culture in Dagestan, and on the settlement of Arabics themselves in the region.

Arabic As a Minority Language - Google Books

The Politics of Religion in Russia and the New States of Eurasia - Google Books

The Heritage of Soviet Oriental Studies - Google Books

Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages - Andrew Dalby - Google Books

Exploring the Caucasus in the 21st Century: Essays on Culture, History and ... - Google Books

Among Arabic Manuscripts: Memories of Libraries and Men - Ignati Ioulianovitch Kratchkovskiï - Google Books

Russian-Muslim Confrontation in the Caucasus: Alternative Visions of the ... - Gary Hamburg, Thomas Sanders, Ernest Tucker - Google Books

The Dagestanis resisted Czarist attempts to replace Arabic with Russian

Dagestan: Russian Hegemony and Islamic Resistance in the North Caucasus - Robert Bruce Ware, Ware, Enver Kisriev - Google Books

Arab settlers (some were Sadah from Yemen, among other places)

Arabic As a Minority Language - Google Books

Arabic As a Minority Language - Google Books

Arabic As a Minority Language - Google Books

Dagestan: Russian Hegemony and Islamic Resistance in the North Caucasus - Robert Bruce Ware, Ware, Enver Kisriev - Google Books

Muslim Networks and Transnational Communities in and Across Europe - Google Books

The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus - Charles King - Google Books

Kaukaz.net - Caucasus - People, Culture, Research

Derbent is the second largest city in Dagestan, beautifully located on a narrow strip between the Greater Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea. Derbent is one of the most interesting places in Dagestan, a city with extraordinary atmosphere reminding of the Middle East. It has always been an important trade centre and a strategic location between the South Caucasus and the steppes stretching out to the north of the Caucasus. The Arabs who conquered Derbent in the 7th century called it “Bab al-abwab”, which means “the gate of the gateway”. After the conquest, Derbent became the main centre of Islamisation in eastern Caucasus. Invaders have divided the city into magals, where people from the Arabian Peninsula were settled (there were Palestinian, Mosulian, Damascene and other magals).

http://www.pcgn.org.uk/Dagestan-Land of Mountains-2004.pdf

D2 Arabic was used as the language of literature and science from the 7th century through to the time of the Russian revolution of 1917. But it was Azerbaijani which acted as the general lingua franca in Dagestan12 until the final affirmation of Soviet power there in 1921. Azerbaijani was then gradually superseded by Russian, which had assumed total lingua franca dominance by about 1930.

Qala Quraysh - a famous Quraysh city in Dagestan | IslamDag.info

Qala Quraysh as a famous Quraysh city in Dagestan | islam.ru

QALA QURAYSH AS A FAMOUS QURAYSH CITY IN DAGESTAN

Dagestan Islam in Russia Qala Quraysh

"A terrible war has contributed to the unity of all Dagestani community..."

Before the Arab invasion Dagestan was divided into many states, where lived various communities who followed their own customs and traditions.

Up to V century A.D. all the territory of Dagestan was the unit of Caucasian Albania, but later its southern part passed under the dominion of the Persians, and the Khazars conquered the other part.

In the middle of VII century the Khazars formed their own state named Khazar Khanate. But this change of government lasted till Arabs have come to Dagestan.

In this article I want to talk about one historical artifact, which is at the same time a massive Ziyarat and museum. Unfortunately, very few Dagestanis know about it, but it is known in most neighboring eastern states. Qala Quraysh (Quraysh fortress), unique historic monument, is located in the mountainous region of Dagestan named Dakhadaevskiy that is situated a few kilometers from the famous village of goldsmiths Kubachi. For several centuries it was the capital of a large landmark of Kaytag utsmystvo, that was an administrative, political and cultural center, and from this place Islam was expansed to the North Caucasus.

Qala Qurayshwas founded by the Arabs from the tribe of Quraysh who came to the mountain region at the end of the VIII century B.C. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was from this tribe by origin. That's why Qala Quraysh has owned its name which means fortress of Quraysh. It was a big city and a well-fortified fortress. But to learn the history of its origin let's look back to the origins.

At the 40th years after Hijra Salman bin Rabi’ and his Companions came to Derbent with four thousand brave warriors. Caliph Muawiah reigned at that time. When they approached the city, its ruler Hakan was afraid of the power of Muslims and surrendered the fortress without a fight. It was the second war campaign of the Companions. First time they arrived to Dagestan at the 22nd year after Hijra, or 644 B.C., during the reign of the second Caliph Umar Ibn Khattab. Arabs have learned that there was no united state and no capital here. They decided to strengthen in Derbent to expand Islamic religion to the rest of the Dagestani areas.

But the local government didn't want to give power to the strangers and could not accept their rule. As a result now and then there were revolts and petty fights. And in one of the periods there was a battle of Muslims against the united forces of Khazars, Turks and Dagestani nations, and the brave commander Salman ibn Rabi’ with forty brave soldiers died the death of martyrs.

Only at the end of VII - VIII centuries Arabs have resumed their invasion of the Caucasus. During this period the transcaucasian ruler Caliph Maslama has come here. After capturing Derbent Maslama set here Sharia rules and laws. When he established the order and appointed the governor of Derbent, he returned to Sham. But over the time disbelief began to increase again. And in the 200's. or in the IX century of the Christian era Tabi'een (the followers of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) have taken up arms again. At that time army was led by Abumuslim Abdurahman. He captured the town of Derbent and fortified it. Abumuslim conquered almost the whole of Dagestan, spread Sunni Islam here and appointed rulers in different parts of the state. Then Abumuslim equips a huge army and went to the place of Haydak (Kaytag principality) and Zerihgeran (modern Kubachi). When he had arrived in Haydak, he overthrew the prince in power Gazanpara.

Later Emir Chupan, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), became the first governor of the newly formed Kaytag utsmystvo, and Qala Quraysh became the first capital of the utsmys.

Qala Qurayshis a highly fortified ramparts settlement, located strategically in a very convenient place, on the crest of the rugged mountains reaching 1,000 meters altitude. The settlement is surrounded from three sides by mountain streams, steep cliffs and rocks that make it unassailable. The length of the Qala Quraysh fortress is 400 m., width is up to 200 m. The fortress was surrounded by high walls around the whole perimeter. Even now the walls which reach a height of 4-5 meters are still preserved. Only the western side of the fortress is connected with the surrounding mountains by a narrow bridge system of 5m wide, reinforced on the sides of retaining walls. This is the only direction in which it was possible to enter the territory of the fortress. It would be difficult to choose a more convenient location for the safety of the settlements.

The complex of ancient buildings of Qala Quraysh included the system of wheeled roads, stretching from the fort in three directions. These were the so-called ‘roads of utsmys’. They were mainly intended for the movement of wheeled vehicles (carts).You could get to Qala Quraysh from the land of Kubachi and Madzhalis and from the land of the current district center Urkarah through a small village Dibgalik.

At various times the borders of modern utsmystvo reached Kayakentskiy and Sergokalinskiy districts and even came close to Tarki (Makhachkala village, located about 150 km from Qala Quraysh, that is, to the Caspian Sea, from these sites Qurayshits controlled the trade routes coming from the Middle East, including The Silk Road).

Ahmed Khan and his grandfather Rustam Khan were the most powerful utsmys. Rustam Khan was the author of one of the old statute (Code of Laws), composed for the settlement of relations between different classes and villagers. Code of Laws was drafted in '30 of the XVII century. It reads, 'Never to be state without the governor, Dargo without trial, herds without a shepherd, army without a reasonable head.’

In 1812, the last utsmy of Kaytag Adil Khan and honored elders of the all Dargin society came to Derbent to swear allegiance to Russia. Since 1821 the title utsmy was no longer used.

The settlement of Qala Quraysh has been abandoned for more than a half of century and is gradually collapsing. Rains, winds, heat and cold every year take a piece of its history. The last residents of the once prosperous utsmystvo were forcibly evicted in 1944 into Chechnya.

At the end of XX century one elderly man Omar was a mausoleum keeper. Today, a former resident of Qala Quraysh Muhammad is a keeper of this valuable historical artifact.

In 1944 when the Chechens were evicted from their land, the Qala Quraysh residents were forced into Chechnya. The Soviet authorities relocated residents of some villages such as Urtsuki, Duaqar, Shiri, Amuzgi, Sinkrizhi, Scharkli, Chakhzhi. Then the residents were gathered in a village Mayartup. In 1957, after the rehabilitation of the Chechens, they began returning to their homeland. But only about 30 families returned to Qala Quraysh, some have remained in Chechnya, while others settled in the plains, where conditions were better.

There are a large number of preserved monuments of material and spiritual culture in Qala Quraysh. For several decades these buildings were almost completely destroyed. More than a half of the mosque which was once adorned with a trim with perfect decorative motifs, was destroyed too. Here were the top-notch examples of monuments of stone-cutting art, such as mihrab, tomb steles of the mausoleum-tomb, the family cemetery of Kaytag utsmys, and sarcophagus-style tombstones. The mosque standing in the center of the settlement is one of the oldest in Dagestan. Today it has been restored, as the masters tried to restore it to its original form.

The territory of the fortress was defended against possible invasions of the enemy by steep mountains and well-designed layout, as well as the defense system. Remains of the fortress of residential areas are divided by winding main street, which runs the narrow side streets. The passages divide the territory into small blocks, including a complex of residential and business premises.

Formerly, the guard signal towers stood on the main peaks around the castle. The alarm signals were transferred faster than the telegraph to prevent any danger.

The period of the XVIII century was inscribed with bloody letters in the history not only of Dakhadaevskiy district, but the whole of Dagestan. In 1741 the Iranian leader and the world largest conqueror Nadir Shah with a strong army of twenty-four thousand soldiers invaded Dagestan.

Moving across Kaytag utsmystvo they had ruined some villages. Some had offered a decent resistance, and some had given up to prevent bloodshed. The villages Kalkni and Dibgaschi were glorified because of their desperate resistance, both villages were taken by storm, the Persians gathered the elderly people and the children remained there and trampled them by cavalry. The terrible massacre site is preserved in human memory until now.

After a series of setbacks in October 1742 Nadir Shah moved his main forces to Qala Quraysh. After few weeks of the siege the fortress had failed. As soon as Nadir and his army climbed to the top of the fortress, brave residents repulsed the attack and drew the army into retreat. The Iranians were surprised by the resistance of the people of Qala Quraysh, by their bravery and courage. But stocks of food and water were exhausted, and hunger compelled the tempted elders of the village to negotiate with Nadir Shah, with the condition that the Shah would leave their homes and fields and cancel the taxes. Instead he demanded delivery of 200 hostages. After much debates elders found 80 captives and vagabonds, dressed them in their national highlanders dress and gave them to Iranians to avoid bloodshed.

People of Dagestan fought heroically against the enemy, even women fought against invaders along with their husbands, brothers and fathers. This terrible war has contributed to the unity of the people of Dagestan.

At the present time Qala Quraysh is a comfortable place with good facilities for visiting pilgrims and tourists. There are a lot of springs of cold and curative water near the river at the flank of hill. One of them is still called Utsmy. People coming to ziyarat can stay here, relax, pray or just drink fresh water. A caravanserai of XIV-XV centuries is located at the foot of the mountains to the east of Qala Quraysh fortress.

Beautiful medieval mosques, minarets heading into the heights and ancient buildings designed with a great taste, preserving the special Islamic traditions are still fascinating today and attracts thousands of visitors. Today Qala Quraysh fortress is one of the popular tourist destinations of Dagestan. The republic's authorities are trying to restore the complex structures of the ancient capital of Kaytag utsmystvo to its former beauty.

* Utsmy, usmi, - a hereditary title of a ruler of Kaytag (historical region in Dagestan).

* Kaytagskoe utsmystvo - one of the most powerful fiefs of Dagestan in the XVI-XVII centuries.

Arab Dagestanis - direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad | islam.ru

ARAB DAGESTANIS - DIRECT DESCENDANTS OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD

Arabs Dagestan history Islam in Russia Russian Muslims

Village Akhti, Dagestan. [Photo: A. Firsov]
By Hajimurad Radjabov: Assalam| Makhachkala| 2011

Beloved Prophet (PBUH) is the best among people. Islamic history researchers and researchers of Prophet’s genealogy (PBUH) are unanimous that Prophet Muhammad’s family (PBUH) has its roots in the family of Prophet Ismail (PBUH), who is the son of Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH). Hereby is Muhammad (PBUH) an adherent of Ibrahim’s religion (PBUH), a descendant of Ismail (PBUH), an Arab from pure and noble tribe of Quraysh, Hashimite clan.

Here are father’s side ancestors of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH): his father Abdallah, then Abd al-Muttalib, Hashim, Abd ul-Manaf, Qusay, Kilab, Murrat, Qaab, Luay, Halib, Fihr, Malik, Nazar, Kinana, Huzayma, Mudriqa, Ilyas, Muzar, Nizar, Muad, Adnan.

His mother Amina was Wahb’s daughter. Wahb is Abdu l-Manaf’s son, who is Zuhrat’s son, who is a son of Kilab. Both Prophet’s (PBUH) mother’s and father’s families go back to Kilab.
Our Prophet (PBUH) had seven children. Among them there were four daughters and three sons: Qasim, Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Fatima, Umm Kulthum, Abdullah and Ibrahim.

Fatima was the only one to live after the Prophet (PBUH) died. Fatima was born in Mecca, by the Almighty’s decision she married Companion Ali, who was Muhammad’s (PBUH) cousin. She had six children: Hasan, Husayn, Muhsin, Umm Kulthum, Zaynab, Ruqayyah. The Prophet (PBUH) loved Fatima very much. She will be senior to other women in Heaven. Her elder sons Hasan and Husayn are the only ones who left descendants that still live midst us. Among them there are great imams, awliya, Tariqa shaykhs and other kinds of outstanding people.

Allah’s beloved One (PBUH) left this world about 1400 years ago. But there are some people left with Prophet’s blood on their side. These are his descendants that belong to his noble tribe. Many of them are quite famous. They live in different countries. There are also some of them in Russia, for example, in Daghestan.

We had a conversation about Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) descendants with a historian, the Head of History Department at Islamic University of Daghestan Muradula Dadayev.

- How did Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) descendants move to current Daghestani land and what was their fortune?

- Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), whose appearance on Earth was the salvation for the mankind, said on the Farewell pilgrimage: ‘O Men! Listen well to my words carefully! And retell them to the ones who are not here, for I do not know whether I shall meet you again on such an occasion in the future.’ Obeying these words of the Prophet (PBUH) his companions worked hard to inform everyone of the Almighty’s religion. They travelled to the different parts of the world to make da’wah (Islamic call). Thus they came to Daghestan. There were some people from Quraysh tribe and some from banu Hashims, i.e. descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

In the time of Abbasids a famous shaykh Abu Muslim came to Daghestan. Two more shaykhs from Hamza tribe and three more shaykhs from Abbas tribe who were blood brothers of Prophet’s father (PBUH) followed Abu Muslim. Shaykh Abu Muslim settled down in Daghestan and was busy with da’wah. He lived about 24 years in Khunzah, the capital of Avaristan, and spread Islam. He built mosques and Islamic schools. When Islam asserted itself and people wanted to live according to the Creator’s religion, Abu Muslim following Islamic traditions of governing chose five shaykhs and made them rule over five regions: Kazikumukh, Kaytag etc. These governors and their descendants are sayyids, which means that they belong to the Prophet’s family (PBUH).

And there is a third branch in Daghestan that comes from Prophet’s daughter (PBUH) Fatima and her sons Hasan and Husayn. It is known that Djamaludin Kazikumukh, who is a shaykh of Naqshbandi tariqa, is a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by his daughter Fatima’s side.

And it is also known that great Daghestani shaykhs are direct descendants of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH). It is notable that the head of Daghestani Muslims, mufti Ahmad-hajji Abdulayev, is a grandchild of Tariqa shaykh Abdulhamid-afandi from Inkho, whose genealogy goes back to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Thus Ahmad-hajji is a descendant of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in different meanings, because he continues spreading Allah’s religion.

- What historical documents mention sayyids?

- According to Shariah norms people from Banu Hashim and Banu Abd al-Mutalib clan used to get stipend (khumus) from booty. At the times of imam Shamil’s Imamat Prophet’s descendants also used to get this stipend. Reliable sources say there were more than 70 sayyid families in Dagestan and they received khumus. Shaykh imam Shamil gave these families a special document that stated these people truly were sayyids, the descendants of the Prophet’s noble clan (PBUH), so that not anyone could claim khums. One of these documents given by imam Shamil to two brothers Muhammad and Ahmad, who lived in the village of Kudali of Gunib region, has preserved until nowadays.

And there are some other documents that tell us about Prophet’s descendants (PBUH) in Daghestan. There is this certified document that tells about a ruler of Kazikumukh Muhammadkhan from the clan of Abbas, Prophet’s uncle (PBUH). After his death three of his sons Gunash, Alikhan and Alibeg had an argument concerning governing rights. They were given lands in Hid and Andalal vilayats. The society of Hid (today is a part of Shamilsky district of Republic of Dagestan (RD)) gave them the lands in the village of Gogotl and descendants of the Prophet (PBUH) stayed there for a while. But the climate did not match them and they left. The elder son Gunash moved to Gonoda (a part of Gunibsky district of RD), Alibeg moved to Teletl (Shamilsky district of RD) and Alikhan moved to the village of Gotsal (Khunzah region of RD).

What happened to Alikhan after he moved to Gotsatl is of a great interest. His son Aliskandi was famous for his wisdom and was a vizier of Khunzah khans. Aliskandi’s son Gamzat-beg was Daghestan second imam. His destiny was similar to Hamza’s, who was the Prophet’s uncle (PBUH), and he died as a shahid on a mosque threshold.

- Where do Prophet’s descendants (PBUH) live nowadays and what do you think is the number of sayyids today?

- No one can tell the exact number today. There are quite a few historical facts, that say there were Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) descendants in Dagestan. There is a letter written by a head of the village of Tsoloda to Khunzah khan Umakhan. It says some descendants of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) live in Tsoloda, and the head of the village asks khan not to take taxes from them.

At the times of imam Shamil there were more than 70 families that truly were sayyids. Daghestani families had many children those days, so we may consider that there are a lot of Prophet’s (PBUH) offsprings in Daghestan nowadays.

We also must mention the fact that people having secret knowledge (shaykhs that are aqtabs, people who have high ranks) are descendants of Hasan, grandchild of the Allah’s Messenger (PBUH). This can be proved by the fact that we have true Tariqa shaykhs in Dagestan and they are the offspring of the best among people – Muhammad (PBUH).

It is great to have so many people coming from the noble family on such a small land like Daghestan. Thanks to their grace and wisdom Daghestan is calm and peaceful, though there are always some attempts to destabilize the situation.

If we take into consideration that there are many marriages between different Daghestani tukhums, it is possible to call them all Arabs, because thousands of families moved here from Sham (Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon), Mecca and Medina in the past. Hisham ibn Abd ul-Malik, who is a cousin of the well-known ruler Umar ibn Abd ul-Aziz, at the times of his reign (105-125 Hijri of 724-745 CE) came to Daghestan and brought 24,000 soldier families with him. They moved and settled down here. Ibn Kathir wrote in his book Bidayatu wa Nihayat, that well-known Abbasid caliph Harun ar-Rashid visited Daghestan with his wife and two children. And he also brought 7,000 soldier families with him. These soldiers moved to Derbent and its region. The village of Kurush in Southern Daghestan was called Kurushiyu before, because Arab people from Quraysh tribe lived there. Obviously, Arabs assimilated with Daghestani peoples.

- What do you do in order to get to know more about Dagestani history, especially concerning the period of Islamisation and Arab arrival? How do you look for Prophet Muhammad’s descendants (PBUH) and the people who come from his noble tribe?

- This task is very laborious and interesting at the same time. We analyze old books and look for information about old times; we visit different villages and meet local historians and elder people etc. There are people who know something about their ancestors and have documents concerning them and come to us. This kind of help is very important to us.

Hereby I want to ask everybody who has historical documents or any information on this topic, anyone who can help to find historical bonds with Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) tribe to contact us through our site on the Internet.

The New Cold War?: Religious Nationalism Confronts the Secular State - Mark Juergensmeyer - Google Books

 

[Ahiska]

We must immediately help these people. I wonder why we never learnt about the giant Arab diaspora in school? We should help them economically especially the rich GCC countries. This is very great footage. Maybe many of them have now died and their children or grand-children have forgot their language, culture and heritage? We hope not because then they will be extinct very soon.

We must also thank the Uzbek people for protecting them if they have not persecuted them. Is there Uzbek members here we can ask questions to.

This is all new for me.

We hope that they can make us proud and be a good example - even better than us Arabs living in the Arab world!

Let me tell you usbek people are nice aslong you have not more then them i speak of experience....

 

[al-Hasani]

@Wholegrain

Another very, very interesting post as usual, Wholesgrain. I have had a somewhat interest in Caucasus and Dagestan in the past so I knew quite a few of those things but still large parts of it was new information for me. I am happy that the Arab culture and presence is so deeply rooted in Dagestan. It is better not to show this thread to our famous troll, I-LEK, since he might get a heart attack!

Anyway I appreciate your dedication, sense of detail and the excellent sources you provide although they take a lot of time to read - as they should when of a good quality.

Also I remember reading, once, that there is a little Arab presence in Azerbaijan which is just south of Dagestan and that there are a few ancient Arab villages.

 

[Wholegrain]

I looked for genetics tests, but there were very few done on the Arabs on central asia.

I found this genetic test exposing three "Arab wannabees" in Afghanistan.

PLOS ONE: Afghanistan's Ethnic Groups Share a Y-Chromosomal Heritage Structured by Historical Events

The Islamic invasion in the 7th century CE left an immense cultural impact on the region, with reports of Arabs settling in Afghanistan and mixing with the local population [49]. However the genetic signal of this expansion is not clearly evident: some Middle Eastern lineages such as E1b1b1-M35 are present in Afghanistan, but the most prevalent lineage among Arabs (J1-M267) was only found in one Afghan subject. In addition, the three Afghans that identified their ethnicity as Arab, had lineages autochthonous to India.

There was also a genetic test done on the very real community of Bukharan Arabs.

The Eurasian Heartland: A continental perspective on Y-chromosome diversity

The Eurasian Heartland: A continental perspective on Y-chromosome diversity

The Eurasian Heartland: A continental perspective on Y-chromosome diversity

R. Spencer Wellsa,b, Nadira Yuldashevaa,c, Ruslan Ruzibakievc, Peter A. Underhilld, Irina Evseevae, Jason Blue-Smithd, Li Jinf, Bing Suf, Ramasamy Pitchappang, Sadagopal Shanmugalakshmig, Karuppiah Balakrishnang, Mark Readh, Nathaniel M. Pearsoni, Tatiana Zerjalj, Matthew T. Websterk, Irakli Zholoshvilil, Elena Jamarjashvilil, Spartak Gambarovm, Behrouz Nikbinn, Ashur Dostievo, Ogonazar Aknazarovp, Pierre Zallouaq, Igor Tsoyr, Mikhail Kitaevs, Mirsaid Mirrakhimovs, Ashir Charievt, and Walter F. Bodmera,u

Author Affiliations


Contributed by Walter F. Bodmer

Next Section
Abstract

The nonrecombining portion of the human Y chromosome has proven to be a valuable tool for the study of population history. The maintenance of extended haplotypes characteristic of particular geographic regions, despite extensive admixture, allows complex demographic events to be deconstructed. In this study we report the frequencies of 23 Y-chromosome biallelic polymorphism haplotypes in 1,935 men from 49 Eurasian populations, with a particular focus on Central Asia. These haplotypes reveal traces of historical migrations, and provide an insight into the earliest patterns of settlement of anatomically modern humans on the Eurasian continent. Central Asia is revealed to be an important reservoir of genetic diversity, and the source of at least three major waves of migration leading into Europe, the Americas, and India. The genetic results are interpreted in the context of Eurasian linguistic patterns.

The neighbor-joining tree (Fig. 2) shows several population clusters defined by branches from a central point. Cluster I is composed primarily of European populations, all characterized by high frequencies of the M173 haplotype. Cluster II contains Middle Eastern populations (Turks, Lebanese, and Iranians), as well as populations from the Caucasus, with some suggestion of a separate branch for the Iranian/Samarkand, Turkish, Kazbegi, and Azeri populations. Cluster III contains the Tuvinian and Nenets populations. Cluster IV is an East Asian cluster, distinguished by high frequencies of M122, M119, M174, and M130. Cluster V contains populations united by high frequencies of M17, and includes Eastern European (Macedonia, Russian, and Ukrainian) and Central Asian (Kyrgyz, Tajik/Khojant, and Ishkashim) populations. Cluster VI includes the Sinte Romani (Gypsies), Hunza (a northern Pakistani population speaking a divergent language, Burushaski), and Bartangi (Pamir region) populations. Cluster VII includes the Indian populations (Kallar, Sourashtran, and Yadhava), as well as those Central Asian populations closest to them geographically (Tajik/Dushanbe, Shugnan, Tajik/Samarkand, and Arab/Bukhara). Finally, cluster VIII includes the settled populations of Central Asia (Uzbeks, Uighurs, Tatars, and Karakalpaks). The populations in the eighth cluster also show the highest haplotype diversity; their close proximity to the center of the tree is consistent with this, because they share haplotypes in common with all other populations.

Figure 2

Neighbor-joining tree of 61 Eurasian populations, based on Y-chromosome biallelic haplotype frequencies. Nei genetic distances were used in a neighbor-joining analysis. Internal numbers are bootstrap values (1000 replicates); values less than 200 are not shown. Roman numerals denote population clusters described in the text. Data for the following populations were taken from the literature: Basque, Cambodian/Laotian, Chinese, Hunza, Japanese, Middle Eastern, and Taiwanese from ref. 8; Czech/Slovak, Greek, Macedonian, Turkish, and Ukrainian from ref. 17. Uzbek* and Tatar* include all Uzbek and Tatar populations shown in Table 1.

 

[Wholegrain]

Ahmad ibn Arabshah was one of the captives taken by Timur from Damscus in Syria to Central Asia. He wrote a history about Timur. Syrian craftsmen were among those who built samarkand.

The Sack of Damascus | History Today

The Sack of Damascus

By Richard Cavendish | Published in History TodayVolume: 51 Issue: 3 2001

March 24th, 1401

The central character of Christopher Marlowe’s bloodthirsty and hugely popular drama Tamburlaine the Great, in which the fall of Damascus is a major episode, was the savage Turkic war-lord the Persians called Timur Lenk (Timur the Lame), which in English became Tamburlaine or Tamerlane. One of history’s more notorious psychopaths, Timur began his career as a bandit in what is now Uzbekistan. By his thirties he had made himself ruler of the Chagatai Khanate with his capital at Samarkand. Ruthless, cunning, vengeful and cruel, he announced himself the restorer of the Mongol Empire, though his campaigns were more in the nature of large-scale looting expeditions than empire-building. In the 1380s and ‘90s he and his horsemen invaded Russia and Persia, ravaged Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iraq and Mesopotamia, and smashed the Golden Horde. Pillage and murder, as Marlowe put it, were Timur’s ‘usual trades’. Everywhere he went, he waded deep in blood and brains, destroying cities and massacring their populations, building triumphal towers of his victims’ severed heads and carrying off survivors as slaves. In 1398 he invaded India, crossing the Indus on a bridge of boats, reducing Delhi to rubble and taking away enormous quantities of the plunder on which his army’s loyalty depended.

Tall and powerfully built, lamed in his youth by an enemy arrow in his right leg, Timur was reputed a fine chess player and enjoyed a good theological discussion as well as food, drink and women in quantity. His last major campaign was aimed against the Ottoman Sultan, Bayazid I, and the Mameluke sultan of Egypt. Invading Syria, he took Aleppo and sacked it, and descended on the ancient and civilised town of Damascus, the second city of the Mameluke Empire, whose garrison had already been virtually wiped out in a rash sortie. The governor held out with some forty men in the citadel, but surrendered after a month. Timur extorted a huge ransom from the town and then let his men loose to rape and pillage. Many of the inhabitants were viciously tortured, bastinadoed, burned or crushed in presses, and many were enslaved. Children under five were left to starve when their mothers were carried off. One of those enslaved was the twelve-year-old Ahmad ibn Arabshah, who later wrote a biography of Timur. As was his habit, Timur had all the town’s skilled craftsmen deported to Samarkand to beautify his capital.

Tamerlane; Or, Timur, the Great Amir - Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad Ibn »Arabsh
h - Google Books

No more posts praising Timur please, stay on topic which is about the people. If people praised Stalin while talking about his deporation of Crimean Tatars to Uzbekistan (same place where Timur deported his victims) during World War 2, it would be off topic and very rude.

 

[A1Kaid]

Timur was a bastard who only killed Muslims and called it a jihad.

Just wanted to throw that out there.

He didn't simply persecute Muslim kingdoms who stood in his way, but Hindustan he massacred tens of thousands of Hindus if not more in the sack of Delhi and India. This is off topic.


On Topic: Interesting thread, do these people identify themselves as Arabs, not much dialogue in the video just raw footage...