Amir al-hajj (Arabic: أمير الحج, romanized: amīr al-ḥajj, lit. 'commander of the pilgrimage' or Arabic: أمير الحج, romanized: amīr al-ḥājj, lit. 'commander of the pilgrim';[1] plural: Arabic: أمراء الحج, romanized: umarāʾ al-ḥajj)[2] was the position and title given to the commander of the annual Hajj pilgrim caravan by successive Muslim empires, from the 7th century until the 20th century. Since the Abbasid period, there were two main caravans, one departing from Damascus and the other from Cairo.[1] Each of the two annual caravans was assigned an amir al-hajj whose main duties were securing funds and provisions for the caravan, and protecting it along the desert route to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina in the Hejaz.[3][4]
- ^ a b Hathaway 2015.
- ^ Philipp 1998, p. 102.
- ^ Singer 2002, p. 141.
- ^ Al-Damurdashi 1991, p. 20.