Abdallah al-Battal

Nothing is known of Abdallah al-Battal's origin or early life. Much later accounts claim that he hailed from Antioch or Damascus, and that he was a of the Umayyad family. He is also given various , Abu Muhammad, Abu Yahya, or Abu 'l-Husayn, by which he is usually known. The use of the of ("of Antioch") rather than a tribal affiliation suggests that he may not have been of Arab origin; in this context, his name "Abdallah" further suggests that he was a convert to Islam, as this name (meaning "servant of Allah") was often given to new converts in early Islamic times. Arab accounts from the 10th century place al-Battal alongside Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik during the latter's unsuccessful siege of Constantinople in 717–718, but as the Arab accounts of the siege are semi-legendary, it is impossible to know if this report contains any truth. Blankinship considers that al-Battal's capture of Gangra ranks as one of the greatest successes of Umayyad arms against the Byzantines in this period, along with the capture of Caesarea by Maslama in 726. Al-Battal himself commanded another raid in AH 114 (731–732), of which little is known. It most probably was a failure, and is remembered only for the death in battle of another Arab hero, Abd al-Wahhab ibn Bukht. In the next year, AH 115 (732–733), al-Battal campaigned again alongside Mu'awiya ibn Hisham, raiding as far as Akroinon in Phrygia. A Byzantine army under a certain Constantine tried to confront the Muslims, but al-Battal defeated Constantine and took him prisoner. Al-Battal's next and last appearance is in 740, when a major campaign involving several tens of thousands of men was launched by the Umayyads against Byzantium. Along with Malik ibn Shu'ayb, deputy governor of Malatya, al-Battal commanded a 20,000-strong cavalry force while Sulayman ibn Hisham led the main force behind them. Al-Battal and Malik's force reached as far as Akroinon, but there they were confronted and defeated by the Byzantines under Emperor Leo III the Isaurian () in person. Both Arab generals and two thirds of their army perished. == Legend ==

Although his military career was "not particularly distinguished" according to Marius Canard, Abdallah al-Battal quickly became the subject of popular tales and his fame grew, so that by the 10th century he was well established as one of the heroic figures of the Arab–Byzantine Wars: al-Mas'udi (The Meadows of Gold, VIII, 74–75) ranks him among the "illustrious Muslims" whose portraits were displayed in Byzantine churches as a mark of respect. Both romances place al-Battal in the mid-9th century and associate him with the epic cycle of Malatya and its emir, Umar al-Aqta (died 863), with the result that he became particularly associated with the city of Malatya and its region. In the Delhemma, his own role in the Umayyad wars with Byzantium is taken over by the Kilabite hero al-Sahsah. In these tales al-Battal is presented as an Islamic analogue to Odysseus, to the extent that his name became a byword for cunning. The Turks adopted al-Battal following the Danishmendid conquest of Malatya in 1102, and he became prominent as a Turkish national hero, as a symbol of the revived frontier spirit of the of early Muslim times, and of the Turkish conquest of Asia Minor. His stories (Battalname) were reworked throughout the Seljuk and Ottoman periods, and he became the subject of a considerable body of folk tales. Thus, according to the 14th-century geographer Abu'l-Fida, based on the 13th-century work of Ibn Sa'id, the river Dalaman çayı, which formed the boundary between the lands of the Seljuk Turks and the Empire of Nicaea, was known as the "River of Battal". A cult developed around him as a saintly figure (""), especially among the Alevi and Bektashi sects, and his supposed tomb at Seyitgazi became a major centre of pilgrimage until the early 20th century, drawing pilgrims from as far as Central Asia. == References ==