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

Bani Saqr
Sardiyah
Bani Aqil
Bani Kulayb

Commanders and leaders

Husayn Pasha ibn Makki (Amir al-Hajj)
Musa Pasha †

Qa'dan al-Fa'iz (Bani Saqr chief)

Strength

N/A

Casualties and losses

N/A

~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 led by Qa'dan al-Fa'iz of the Bani Saqr 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" Bedouin raid against the Hajj caravan. The raid caused a crisis in the Ottoman government, with senior high-ranking officials such as the Kizlar Agha, Aboukouf, and the former Wali of Damascus, As'ad Pasha al-Azm, executed for their alleged negligence or involvement, respectively.

Performing the Hajj (annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca) is a sacred duty in Islam. During the Ottoman era in the Levant (1517–1917), as in previous periods, Muslim pilgrims from the Levant and Anatolia would assemble in Damascus and travel together in a caravan stocked with goods and foodstuffs to Mecca under an armed guard led by a commander known as the amir al-hajj. The armed guard was present mainly to protect the caravan from Bedouin assaults as it traveled through various Bedouin tribes' territories.

Major looting raids against the caravan normally occurred when the tribes were experiencing economic hardships. The Bedouin would typically be paid off by the amir al-hajj through a sarr (tribute) payment in return for safe passage through their territory. The sarr money came from revenues collected by the amir al-hajj earmarked specifically for the Hajj caravan's protection and supply. Often, an amir al-hajj would pay half of the sarr to the most powerful Bedouin tribes en route to Mecca, and pay the other half on the return if the circumstances necessitated it. If the Bedouin tribes did not threaten the caravan on the return trip, the amir al-hajj would keep the remainder of the sarr payment to himself. Many times, despite payment of the sarr, the Bedouin tribes would loot the caravan regardless, although to a much lesser extent. The tribes also received additional income from selling transport camels to pilgrims. In addition, Bedouin tribesmen were enlisted to serve as the caravan's auxiliary troops because of their familiarity with the territory and the predominantly Bedouin population that inhabited the areas along the route to Mecca. Thus, the Hajj caravan was a lucrative source of income for the tribes.

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Wikipedia