Chaibar

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Satellite image of the Harrat Chaibar

Chaibar ( Arabic خيبر, DMG Ḫaibar ) is an oasis area in what is now Saudi Arabia about 150 km north of Medina , which played an important role in the early history of Islam . It lies on a high lava plateau, the so-called Harrat Chaibar , which is criss-crossed by individual fertile valleys.

In the time of the Prophet Mohammed , the oasis was mainly settled by Jews, who grew dates, wine, vegetables and grain, ran cattle, produced textiles and were involved in the caravan trade between Arabia, Syria and Iraq. In the oasis there were several fortresses called hisn . They were partly owned by the Jewish Banu Nadir of Medina. After Mohammed drove the Banu Nadir out of Medina in 625, they moved to their fortresses in Khaibar and prepared for war against Mohammed, working together with the Arab tribes in the neighborhood.

In the summer of 628 Mohammed brought the oasis into his power during the campaign to Chaibar and killed the heads of the Banu Nadir. He allowed the Jewish inhabitants of the oasis to return to their goods on the condition that they then transfer half of their field crops to Medina.

In the year 642 marUmar ibn al-Chattāb had all those Jews who could not show a contract with Mohammed expelled from Khaibar. This was justified by the fact that Mohammed had stated shortly before his death that two religions could not coexist on the Arabian Peninsula. Furthermore, the Jews of Khaibar were suspected of having carried out an attack on ʿAbdallāh, the son of the caliph . It was alleged that after the conquest of Chaibar, Mohammed warned the population that he could drive them out at any time.

Leone Caetani questioned the authenticity of these and similar traditions and took the view that this was an attempt to legitimize Umar's actions, since it contradicted the provisions of the treaty concluded between the Prophet and the people of Chaibar. The real reason for the expulsion of the Jews to Caetani was that Khaibar was needed to settle slaves, the number of which had increased dramatically due to the Islamic expansion .

Most of the Jews from Khaibar emigrated to the Jericho area in Palestine. From there individual families settled in northern Samaria . Two documents from the Geniza of the Ben Esra Synagogue in Cairo prove the presence of Jews from Khaibar in the city of Tiberias for the 11th and 12th centuries . Some Jews still owned lands and houses in Khaibar at the end of the 11th century.

literature

Web links

Commons : Chaibar  - collection of images, videos and audio files

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c Cf. Braslavi / Bornstein-Markovetsky.
  2. ↑ Cf. William Montgomery Watt: Muhammad at Medina . Oxford University Press, 1962. pp. 217 f. and Braslavi / Bornstein-Markovetsky.
  3. ↑ a b Cf. Veccia Vaglieri 1142a.
  4. ↑ Cf. Ibn Hischām : Kitāb Sīrat Rasūl Allāh p. 779f. , Italian summary in Leone Caetani : Annali dell 'Islam . Milano 1911. p. 361 .
  5. ↑ See Norman A. Stillman: The Jews of Arab Lands. A History and Source Book . Philadelphia 1979. p. 19 and p. 148 .

Coordinates: 25 ° 42 '  N , 39 ° 18'  E