Umayr ibn Hubab al-Sulami

ʿUmayr ibn al-Ḥubāb al-Sulamī (died 689) was a chieftain of the Banu Sulaym tribe, an erstwhile Umayyad general and a main leader of the Qaysi tribes in the factional wars with the Banu Kalb and Taghlib.

Life Umayr was the son of a certain al-Hubab and belonged to the prominent Dhakwan section of the large Arab tribe of Banu Sulaym. His mother was a black African woman. The family lived in the Balikh River area of the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) region. Umayr served in the army of Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I . Fighting under the command of his fellow Sulaymi tribesman, Safwan ibn Mu'attal, Umayr played an instrumental role in the Umayyads' capture of an Armenian fortress known as "Ḥiṣn Kamkh" (Kamacha) in 678.

Leader of the Qays

In a display of tribal valor, Umayr opted to join his fellow Qaysi, Zufar ibn al-Harith al-Kilabi at Qarqisiya instead of joining the pro-Alids' leader, al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, following Khazir. From Qarqisiya, Umayr led punishing raids against the Kalb led by their chief Humayd ibn Hurayth ibn Bahdal. Umayr's energetic entry into the Qays–Kalb feud made him the more active leader of the Qays, as Zufar was often bogged down defending Qarqisiya from Umayyad advances. He led further attacks against the Kalb in Samawah, and almost killed Humayd at the village of Ka'aba. Umayr obtained sanction from Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr of Iraq to attack the Christian Taghlib, and massacred many of them at Maksin along the Khabur. Umayr's exploits and battlefield performance in the tribal feuds earned him "a reputation as one of the mightiest men of his day", according to Crone.

Legacy Umayr's brother and sons all served as generals in the Umayyad army, with Tamim ibn al-Hubab serving in Yazid II's campaigns against the Kharijites of Kufa, and Umayr's sons Dhufafa and Khalid taking part in Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik's expeditions against Constantinople. Though no third-generation descendants of Umayr are noted in the sources, a Sulaymi chief in North Africa who rebelled against the Aghlabids (800–909) claimed descent from Umayr.