Qays–Yaman war (793–796)

Between 792–793 and 796 a Qays–Yaman war (also referred to as the War of the Watermelon) took place in Palestine and Transjordan between the northern Arab tribal federation of Mudar, also called Nizar or Qays, and the southern tribal confederation of Yaman and their Abbasid allies. The conflict may have begun as early as 787/88, though specific outbreaks of the war are largely dated to 793 and 796. Some violence by Bedouin raiders in the Judean Desert also erupted in 797, though it is not clear if this was directly related to the Qaysi-Yamani conflict.

Background

In the 8th century, Palestine and Transjordan were functioning as two administrative districts: Jund Filastin and Jund al-Urdunn. Jund Filastin stretched from Rafah to Lajjun, encompassing much of the coastal plain of Palestine and included Samaria and Mount Hebron, while Jund al-Urdunn consisted of the Galilee, Jabal Amil, and most of Transjordan (east of the Jordan River). Both districts were a part of the larger province of Bilad ash-Sham of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Abbasids annexed Bilad ash-Sham after defeating the Umayyad dynasty in 750. The capital of the Caliphate was subsequently moved from Damascus to Baghdad, and Palestine consequently lost its central position in the state, becoming a distant district whose affairs were not as closely monitored or regulated as they were under the Umayyads. The Abbasids were also facing difficulties suppressing rebellions throughout the Caliphate at the time of the intertribal hostilities in Palestine. Various Arab tribes populated the regions of Palestine and Transjordan and formed confederations.