Amir al-hajj
[3][4] According to historian Thomas Philipp, "the office of amir al-hajj was an extremely important one", which brought with it great political influence and religious prestige.
[4] The procurement of supplies (water and food), and transportation (camels), were also the responsibility of the amir al-hajj, as was securing the funds to finance the pilgrimage.
[3] Some funds came from large endowments established by various Mamluk and Ottoman sultans that were mainly meant to ensure the availability of water and supplies in the cities of Mecca and Medina to accommodate incoming pilgrims.
To procure supplies and ensure safe transportation for the caravan, the amir al-hajj often maintained a network of connections to various Ottoman officials and local community leaders.
[3] An amir al-hajj brought with him an array of officials, including additional mamluk commanders to maintain order and religious functionaries, such as imams, muezzins, qadis, all of whom were typically educated Arabs.
[7] Muslim tradition ascribes the first Hajj caravan to the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who in 630 (AH 9) instructed Abu Bakr to lead 300 pilgrims from Medina to Mecca.
[1] The specific year when the amir al-hajj office was established is not definitely known, but was likely in 978 CE when al-Aziz (r. 975–996), the caliph of the Fatimids of Egypt, appointed Badis ibn Ziri to the position.
The first amir al-hajj for the Kufa caravan was likely the Seljuk emir Qaymaz, appointed by Seljuk sultan Muhammad II in 1157, and the first likely amir al-hajj for the Damascus caravan was Tughtakin ibn Ayyub, appointed by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin after the reconquest of Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187.
[8] With the virtual destruction of the Abbasid Caliphate and its capital Baghdad by the Mongol Empire in 1258, the role of Damascus and Cairo as gathering and departure points for the Hajj caravan was elevated.
[10] This was followed by a period where commanders for the Cairene caravan came from Constantinople until the early 18th century when the Mamluks of Egypt once again became the favored appointees for the office.
[14] When the Wahhabis first took control of the Hejaz in the early 19th century, they prohibited the carrying of the mahmal and the musicians, but when Muhammad Ali recovered the area in 1811, they were reinstated.
[1] The exclusivity of the amir al-hajj office enjoyed by the governors of Damascus ended at some time in the mid-19th century when the Ottomans regained control of Syria from Muhammad Ali's Egyptian forces.
