Rakan bin Hithalayn

Rakan bin Falah bin Mani’ bin Hathleen Al-Ajmi (c. 1814–1892), also known as Abu Falah, was a prince, poet, warrior, and leader of the Ajman tribe. His father, Falah bin Hethlin, who was a sheikh, was killed in 1845 and succeeded by Falah's brother Hizam as the tribe's leader. When Hizam abdicated due to old age in 1859, Rakan became the sheikh of the Ajman tribe. Rakan was imprisoned in the city of Niš in Serbia while it was affiliated with the Ottoman Empire during the Serbian–Ottoman Wars (1876–1878), and he participated in a battle between the Serbians and the Ottomans during his imprisonment.

Banishment to Serbia Rakan was imprisoned in Niš, Serbia, which belonged to the Ottomans. He may have been imprisoned in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, as a stopover during his transfer west to Niš. Historians agree Rakan participated in the Serbian–Turkish War (1876–1878) in Niš.

Ibn Firdous mentioned that the Ottomans appointed servants for Rakan including somebody who would make him coffee, among whom was Hamza al-Othmani. Hamza was an Ottoman officer responsible for Rakan; he treated him well, and a friendship developed between them.

Duel with the Serbian knight During the imprisonment of Rakan, there was a battle between the Serbs and the Ottomans. The Serbs' army contained a huge black-armored knight, and between the two armies was a large trench. The Serbian knight was jumping on horseback to the Ottomans' side, killing Ottomans for four days from the beginning of the battle.

Rakan, following the battle from the roof of the prison, called Hamza to have him inform the governor that he could kill the Serbian knight. Hamza informed the governor, but the governor refused as Rakan was thin and of short stature. The battle continued and the Serbian knight was wreaking havoc, so again Rakan sent to Hamza, who told the governor that Rakan still insisted on fighting the black knight. The governor met with Rakan and agreed to let him go into battle. Rakan chose and trained a horse, then defeated the Serbian knight. Ultimately, the Ottomans won the battle.

There is disagreement over the character of the Serbian knight. Some sources mention that this knight was originally from Moscow and that he is known as the commander "Anatoly the Muscovite", or "a slave of the ceiling".

Release from prison A pardon was issued by Sultan Abdul Hamid II for Rakan, and the Ottomans released him in 1877. They awarded him the Order of Courage. They offered to have him stay with them and raise his status and give him a position, but he preferred to return to his tribe. They brought him back by sea to the Arabian Peninsula, then bought him a camel and placed his equipment on it and brought him to his family, the Ajman tribe.

Rakan returned as the leader of the Ajman tribe, and the Ottomans arranged for him a monthly salary of 400 piasters starting from 1292 AH until his death in 1314 AH as a token of thanks. After his death, the salary was transferred to his son Falah.

According to Zekeriya Kurşun, a professor at the History Department at Marmara University in Turkey who specializes in the modern history of the Middle East, Rakan exaggerated his story in his poems.

In some sources, Rakan went and handed a captive to the Turkish governor, who said to him, "You did a deed that no one else did, and we won by the grace of God and then thanks to you." He summoned the governor who had experience in the regions, and he believed that Al-Dahna and Al-Suman were from the capitals of the country. They told him that “Al-Dahna” is a sandy land with many trees and is a pasture for the livestock of the desert, and “Al-Suman” is a rocky land, a pasture for livestock in the springtime. When he knew that, he said to him: We gave you what you asked with what we will give you of gifts and money.

Death Rakan died in 1892 at the age of 77 or 78. Other sources mention that he died in Shawwal in the year 1314 AH/1897 CE, in reference to the last salary that the Ottomans paid him.