| Al-Ahwaz theater (Zanj Rebellion) | ||||||||
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| Part of the Zanj Rebellion | ||||||||
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Al-Ahwaz_ca._875.svg) Map of al-Ahwaz (black) and the surrounding regions (red) during the Zanj Rebellion. | ||||||||
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| Belligerents | ||||||||
| Abbasid Caliphate | Zanj rebels | Saffarid Amirate | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
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Ibrahim ibn Sima †Mansur ibn Ja'far al-Khayyat †Asghajun 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muflih Abu al-Saj Masrur al-Balkhi Ahmad ibn Laythawayh Takin al-Bukhari Aghartmish |
'Ali ibn Aban Al-Khalil ibn Aban Bahbudh ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab |
Muhammad ibn 'Ubaydallah al-Kurdi (Defected) Hisn ibn al-'Anbar | ||||||
The al-Ahwaz theater was one of two major areas of operations during the Zanj Rebellion, the other being the regions of lower and central Iraq. Beginning in 869, Zanj armies repeatedly entered the province of al-Ahwaz (modern Khuzestan Province, Iran) and succeeded in scoring several victories against the defending forces of the Abbasid Caliphate. Over the course of the next decade, the rebels attacked and looted many of the cities in the region, including Suq al-Ahwaz (the provincial capital), 'Askar Mukram and Ramhurmuz. By the height of the rebellion in the mid-870s the Zanj were effectively in control of extensive portions of the province, appointing governors to the districts under their sway and collecting supplies from the local population. During this period, the Zanj in al-Ahwaz were usually commanded by 'Ali ibn Aban al-Muhallabi, a primary lieutenant of the overall Zanj leader 'Ali ibn Muhammad.
In an effort to contain the Zanj, the Abbasid government in Samarra dispatched several commanders to the province to fight against the rebels. The caliphal armies were at times able to defeat the Zanj in battle, but they were unsuccessful in dislodging them from the province and frequently suffered severe losses themselves. The Abbasid war effort was further complicated after the Saffarid amir Ya'qub ibn al-Layth arrived in al-Ahwaz in 875 and attempted to assert his own authority over the region, at the expense of both the Zanj and the Abbasids.
The Zanj presence in al-Ahwaz came to a sudden end in 881, when 'Ali ibn Aban was ordered to abandon the region and return to lower Iraq, where the remaining military events of the rebellion would take place.