1757 Hajj caravan raid

1757 Hajj caravan raid
Date September – late-October 1757 Location Al-Qatranah (Damascus Eyalet) and Hallat Ammar (Jeddah Eyalet), Ottoman Empire Result Hajj caravan plundered and pilgrims killed
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire	Bedouin tribes: Bani Sakher Sardiyah Bani Aqil Bani Kulayb
Commanders and leaders
Husayn Pasha ibn Makki (amir al-hajj) Musa Pasha  †	Qa'dan al-Fayez (Bani Sakher chief)
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown
~20,000 pilgrims killed or died of starvation/thirst

The 1757 Hajj caravan raid was the plunder and massacre of the Hajj caravan of 1757 on its return to Damascus from Mecca by Bedouin tribesmen. The caravan was under the protection of an Ottoman force led by the Wali (provincial governor) of Damascus, Husayn Pasha, and his deputy Musa Pasha, while the Bedouin were led by Qa'dan al-Fayez of the Bani Sakher tribe. An estimated 20,000 pilgrims were either killed or died of hunger or thirst as a result of the raid.

Although Bedouin raids on the Hajj caravan were fairly common, the 1757 raid represented the peak of such attacks. Historian Aref Abu-Rabia called it the "most famous" raid against a Hajj caravan. The attack caused a crisis in the Ottoman Government. Husayn Pasha was dismissed and senior officials such as the kizlar agha (chief eunuch), Aboukouf, and the former wali of Damascus, As'ad Pasha al-Azm, were executed for their alleged negligence or involvement, respectively.