Black History : The Zanj : Black slave revolt of the Middle East

African_Prince

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Jan 1, 2005
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Zanj Revolt

The largest African slave rebellions



The subject of African bondage anywhere is one of the most sensitive historical issues, and all to often it is asserted that most, if not all, of the great international movements of African people occurred only under the guise of slavery and servitude. Obviously, as we are seeing, this has not at all been the case. The period of bondage is in fact dwarfed by the ages of magnificent African civilizations, glory and splendor, not just in Africa itself but throughout the Global African Community.

It was in early Iraq where the largest African slave rebellions occurred. Here were gathered tens of thousands of East African slave laborers called Zanj. These Blacks worked in the humid salt marshes in conditions of extreme misery. Conscious of their large numbers and oppressive working conditions the Zanj rebelled on at least three occasions between the seventh and ninth centuries. The largest of these rebellions lasted for fifteen years, from 868 to 883, during which time our people inflicted defeat after defeat upon the Arab armies sent to suppress the revolt.

This rebellion is known historically as the "Revolt of the Zanj" or the "Revolt of the Blacks." It is significant to point out that the Zanj forces were rapidly augmented by large-scale defections of Black soldiers under the employ of the Abbassid Caliphate at Baghdad. The rebels themselves, hardened by years of brutal treatment, repaid their former masters in kind, and are said to have been responsible for great slaughters in the areas that came under their sway.

At its height the Zanj rebellion spread to Iran and advanced to within seventy miles of Baghdad itself. The Zanj even built their own capital, called Moktara (the Elect City), which covered a large area and flourished for several years. The Zanj rebellion was ultimately only suppressed with the intervention of large Arab armies and the lucrative offer of amnesty and rewards to any rebels who might choose to surrender.

African people have always defied subjugation, and the Revolt of the Blacks is in and of itself a glorious page in African history and Black resistance movements. Through the Revolt of the Blacks, a now relatively little known episode in a part of the world that many of us regard as foreign and strange, we see African people doing what we have always done asserting our essential dignity and standing up and demanding our inalienable human rights.

http://www.raceandhistory.com/historicalviews/slaverebel.htm
 
dustyelbow said:
I wonder what happen to these Black rebels later. Those Arab armies seem made it a HIGH priority to stop their BLACK SLAVES.

Maybe if they dig under the site of the city created by these Zanj Africans may yield clues of this question.


In addressing this, it makes me wonder how any conscious person of African descent could embrace Islam. You see, Muslims started enslaving us and carrying us off to Arabia as soon as they successfully invaded the Nile Valley which terrorized Egypt, Nubia, Sudan, and Kush/Absynnia (now Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia). From there, their carnage spread to North, West, East, Central Africa and even far south. Since about the 8th century CE, the Arab and converted African Muslims slave-raided through jihad millions of Africans all across the continent and forced them to trek often over 1,000 miles to the East coast to be packed in ships, destination Mecca and other parts of Arabia.

As you asked, what happened to all these millions of Africans spanning over 1,000 years carted into Arabia until they lost their stronghold to European Christian enslavers? They died; plain and simple. You see, the Arab Muslims had a practice of castrating all Black males before they entered the Islamic empire; hence nullifying any procreation of the vast majority of Black men in Arabic/Islamic culture. It is reported that at least 1 in 10, or 10% of all Black men died from the castration procedure before even going to Arabia as a slave. As for the women, they were made into nothing more than concubines for filthy Arabs or maybe house servants. Mind you, it didn't matter how young either, for Arabs took little girls before they started menstrating and forced themselves on them while they were upwards of 40 years in age (reference the Qur'an Surah 65:4). You will find this information and much more in the out of print book Slaves and Slavery in Muslim Africa by John Willis.

Years ago, I wondered the same thing about where did this enormous Black population go in Arabia. They died because they were viciously denied the right to reproduce.
 
ShemsiEnTehuti said:



In addressing this, it makes me wonder how any conscious person of African descent could embrace Islam. You see, Muslims started enslaving us and carrying us off to Arabia as soon as they successfully invaded the Nile Valley which terrorized Egypt, Nubia, Sudan, and Kush/Absynnia (now Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia). From there, their carnage spread to North, West, East, Central Africa and even far south. Since about the 8th century CE, the Arab and converted African Muslims slave-raided through jihad millions of Africans all across the continent and forced them to trek often over 1,000 miles to the East coast to be packed in ships, destination Mecca and other parts of Arabia.

As you asked, what happened to all these millions of Africans spanning over 1,000 years carted into Arabia until they lost their stronghold to European Christian enslavers? They died; plain and simple. You see, the Arab Muslims had a practice of castrating all Black males before they entered the Islamic empire; hence nullifying any procreation of the vast majority of Black men in Arabic/Islamic culture. It is reported that at least 1 in 10, or 10% of all Black men died from the castration procedure before even going to Arabia as a slave. As for the women, they were made into nothing more than concubines for filthy Arabs or maybe house servants. Mind you, it didn't matter how young either, for Arabs took little girls before they started menstrating and forced themselves on them while they were upwards of 40 years in age (reference the Qur'an Surah 65:4). You will find this information and much more in the out of print book Slaves and Slavery in Muslim Africa by John Willis.

Years ago, I wondered the same thing about where did this enormous Black population go in Arabia. They died because they were viciously denied the right to reproduce.


I guess this was considered to HIGH PRIORITY. It seems in every society a large number of us go, we dont get any BREAKS to actual ENJOY LIFE in PEACE.

If African males have VANISHED then African female carried the bloodlines of Africans in the Mideast and perhaps that is why there seems to be an African presence still there but UNRECOGNIZED.
 

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