View source for Dahis and al-Ghabra

{{short description|6th-century armed conflict in pre-Islamic Arabia}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Dāhis and al-Ghābra
| date              = {{circa|568–609 CE}}
| place             = [[Al Yamama]]
| result            = Inconclusive
*Truce formed between the two tribes
*Blood money paid by external parties
| combatant1        = [[Banu Abs]]
| combatant2        = [[Banu Dhubyan]] (supported by the [[Tayy]] and [[Hawazin]])
| commander1        = [[Qays ibn Zuhayr]]
| commander2        = Hudhayfah ibn Badr
| image             = Ruins of the oldest mosque in Najd at al-Qarina, Saudi Arabia; originally built on the site of a church in the early 7th century (5).jpg
| caption           = Purported location of the battles fought by the Abs and the Dhubyan
}}
'''Dāhis and al-Ghābra''' ([[Arabic]]: داحس والغبراء) was an armed conflict between two tribes of the [[Ghatafan]]. The conflict started due to a dispute over [[horse betting]] and occurred in the 6th century CE.
== Background ==
[[File:Family Tree of the Dahis and Ghabra leaders.jpg|thumb|The family tree of the two main leaders during the war of Dahis and al-Ghabra.]]
The chief of [[Banu Abs]], Qays ibn Zuhayr, had organized a [[horse betting]] event with the chief of [[Banu Dhubyan]], Hudhayfah ibn Badr.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Barru |first=Taufique |url=https://shamela.ws/book/11084 |title=Tarikh al-'Arab al-Qadim |publisher=Dar Al Fikr |year=2001 |edition=2nd |location=Beirut, Lebanon}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Ibn Abd Rabbih |title=Kitāb al-ʿIqd al-Farīd |publisher=Maktaba At-Ta'lif At-Taryama Wa'l Nasar |year=1937 |location=Morocco |trans-title=The Unique Necklace}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Ibn al-Athir |title=al-Kāmil fī al-tārīkh |publisher=Dar Sader |year=2009 |isbn=9789953136578 |location=Beirut, Lebanon}}</ref> Qays brought a horse named Dahis, while Hudhayfah brought a horse named al-Ghabra. The winner would receive at least a hundred camels from the rival tribe.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
During the race, the Banu Dhubyan sent a few men from their tribe to distract the horse named Dahis.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> As a result, Dahis slowed down and its rival al-Ghabra was able to win. When the Banu Abs heard about this, they ordered the Banu Dhubyan to pay the hundred camels, as they were the ones who would have won if not for the intervention.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> But Hudhayfah ibn Badr refused to pay up, and the Banu Abs responded by stabbing his brother to death. Banu Dhubyan retailiated by stabbing the brother of Qays ibn Zuhayr. The stabbings led to a series of bloody violence between the tribes.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
== Conflict ==
=== Course of conflict ===
The fighting lasted for approximately forty years.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The pre-Islamic poet [[Antarah ibn Shaddad]] was one of the fighters in the war, fighting on the side of the Banu Abs.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Other Arabian tribes including the [[Hawazin]] and the [[Tayy]] participated in the conflict on the side of the Banu Dhubyan.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> More than a hundred people died in the fighting, which included Hudhayfah ibn Badr and Antarah ibn Shaddad.<ref name=":0" />
Some of the Banu Abs, however, refrained from fighting in order to guard the caravans of the [[Lakhmids]] that were passing through [[Al Yamama]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=17 September 2012 |title=The story of the war of Dahis and al-Ghubra |url=https://www.qssas.com/story/5333 |website=Qassas|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020220356/https://www.qssas.com/story/5333 |archive-date=2019-10-20 }}</ref> The Lakhmid ruler at the time, [[Al-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir]], had promised the Banu Abs rewards if they successfully protected his caravans.<ref name=":3" /> This led to the envy of the Banu Dhubyan, and further escalated the conflict.<ref name=":3" />
=== End of conflict ===
Two merchants, [[Al-Harith ibn Awf|al-Harith]] and [[Ibn Sinan]] from neighboring tribes intervened and offered to pay the blood money for both the Banu Abs and Banu Dhubyan as well as all the lives of the chiefs that were taken during the conflict.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Nicholson |first=R. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5yQlpRMJWCYC&dq=dahis+and+ghabra+war&pg=PA61 |title=A Literary History of the Arabs |date=2010-01-01 |publisher=Cosimo, Inc. |isbn=978-1-61640-340-9 |language=en}}</ref> A truce was formed between the Banu Abs and Banu Dhubyan, ending the conflict.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" />
== Time period ==
The conflict happened a few years after the [[Basus War]], which occurred in circa 494–534 CE.<ref name=":0" /> This would indicate that the conflict happened in the 6th century. [[William Muir|Sir William Muir]] dates the conflict to take place around 568–609 CE.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Muir |first=William |title=The Life Of Mahomet: From Original Sources |publisher=Hardpress Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=978-1314678871 |publication-date=11 December 2013}}</ref>
== See also ==
*[[Fijar Wars]]
*[[Yawm al-Buath]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:6th-century conflicts]]