Najdah ibn 'Amir

Najda ibn Amir al-Hanafi (; ) was the head of a breakaway Kharijite state in central and eastern Arabia between 685 and his death at the hands of his own partisans. His emergence formed part of the Second Muslim Civil War and the faction he led stood in opposition to the Umayyad Caliphate, which controlled Syria and Egypt, and the caliphate of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, which controlled the Hejaz and Iraq.

Early life and career Najda was born in circa 655 and belonged to the Banu Hanifa subtribe of the Banu Bakr, resident in the Yamama (central Arabia). As a young man, he already wielded considerable influence among the Kharijites of the Banu Hanifa in his home region. During the 683 Umayyad siege of Mecca, where the anti-Umayyad opposition leader Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr was holed up, Najda and his horsemen came to Ibn al-Zubayr's aid. Following the lifting of the siege, Ibn al-Zubayr declared himself caliph and Najda and other Kharijite leaders left for Basra. In 685, Najda and his retinue intercepted at Jabala a Mecca-bound caravan from Basra and distributed the loot among his Kharijite partisans in Jawn al-Khadarim, whom he also advised to continue utilizing the slaves they captured to work the fields after they had been freed from this labor. Najda's victory signaled the start of a series of victories that would ultimately give him control over most of Arabia to the detriment of Ibn al-Zubayr, who proved incapable of confronting the Kharijites. However, Najda and his men ambushed and scattered the Zubayrid force in 686.

After his victory against the Zubayrid army, Najda dispatched his lieutenant Atiyya ibn al-Aswad al-Hanafi to capture Oman from its chieftains Abbad ibn Abd Allah al-Julandi and his sons Sa'id and Sulayman. In the ensuing months, he entered Sana'a in Yemen and sent his deputy Abu Fudayk to Hadramawt; both places gave their allegiance to Najda and paid him tribute. Najda's growing influence prompted Abd al-Malik, who was preoccupied with domestic and external crises, to appeal for Najda's support and recognition of his caliphate. Abd al-Malik offered the Kharijite leader the formal governorship of the Yamama and a pardon for the bloodshed and financial losses he caused in Arabia if he would recognize Abd al-Malik as caliph.

Najda led his partisans to the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca in June 687, attending alongside the partisans of Ibn al-Zubayr and Abd al-Malik. According to Dixon, this demonstrated Ibn al-Zubayr powerlessness to prevent Najda from entering his capital city and that "Najda was equal in power" at the time to both Abd al-Malik and Ibn al-Zubayr. Upon his return to Bahrayn, he ordered that food provisions destined for Mecca and Medina be blocked to pressure Ibn al-Zubayr; he rescinded the order following appeals by pious individuals, notably Abd Allah ibn Abbas. At the peak of Najda's power, divisions among his Kharijite partisans ultimately led to his downfall. Domestic opposition regarding Najda's friendly ties to Abd al-Malik, unequal distribution of military pay and favorable treatment to his associates despite their religious offenses culminated with Abu Fudayk killing Najda in Bahrayn in 691/92.