Muhanna ibn Isa

Husam ad-Din Muhanna ibn Isa^{[note 1]} (also known as Muhanna II; d. 1335)^[2] was the Arab lord of Palmyra and amir al-ʿarab (commander of the Bedouins) under the Mamluk Sultanate. He served between 1284 and his death, but was dismissed and reinstated four times during this period. As the chieftain of the Al Fadl, a clan of the Tayy tribe, which dominated the Syrian Desert, Muhanna wielded considerable influence among the Bedouin. He was described by historian Amalia Levanoni as "the eldest and most senior amir" of the Al Fadl during his era.^[3]

Muhanna was first appointed amir al-ʿarab to replace his father Isa ibn Muhanna in 1284. He was imprisoned by Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil in 1293, but released two years later. In 1300, he commanded a wing of the Mamluk army in the Third Battle of Homs against the Mongol Ilkhanate. He defected to the latter in the early years of Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad's reign (1310–1341), ushering in a policy of playing off the Mamluks and the Mongols to further his own interests. An-Nasir eventually banished Muhanna and his tribe to the depths of the Syrian Desert. Through mediation by the Ayyubid prince, al-Afdal Muhammad, Muhanna reconciled with an-Nasir in 1330 and remained loyal to the Mamluks until his death five years later.

Muhanna was succeeded by his son Musa, and his descendants filled the office of amir al-ʿarab for the next seven decades with minor interruption. Throughout his reign, Muhanna was granted numerous iqtaʿat (fiefs) by an-Nasir, including Palmyra, Salamiyah, Sarmin and Douma. Muhanna later criticized an-Nasir's generous iqtaʿ distribution to the Bedouin tribes, believing it would ultimately degrade the character of the Bedouin and in turn, weaken the Muslim armies.

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