Abstract:

The issue of the safety of the pilgrimage routes is one of the issues that goes back to pre-Islamic times and is closely related to the people of the region. The Arabs, who lived in the deserts by plundering and robbery, regarded the pilgrimage caravans as a means of livelihood and looted these caravans whenever they had the opportunity. Therefore, Arabs tried to overcome this problem by declaring four of the twelve months as haram. As Islam gained power in the region, the majority of Arabs preferred Islam. Most of the Bedouin Arabs, who made their living in the deserts by raids and robberies before becoming Muslims, were included in the Islamic army. This practice kept them busy with conquests. Thus, Muslims were able to go on pilgrimage safely for many years. However, with the deterioration of political stability after the first century of the Abbasids, the security of the pilgrimage routes gained importance again. In particular, the convoys departing from Khorasan and Iraq had to risk a long and arduous journey. When the attacks of looting groups are added to this, this road has become even more dangerous. There are Bedouin Arabs belonging to various tribes among the groups that attacked the pilgrimage convoys by taking advantage of the authority vacuum in the Abbasid period. The Qarmatians, who emerged for religious, political and economic reasons, are another group that targets pilgrimage convoys. Most of these attacks resulted in serious loss of life and property. In this study, the attacks on Iraqi pilgrimage convoys during the Abbasid period are discussed. The reasons behind these attacks and the measures taken against them were also evaluated within the scope of our study. It was observed that attacks on pilgrimage convoys increased in periods when political and economic stability was lost; In this process, it has been determined that some Bedouin tribes and rebel groups consider pilgrimage convoys as a source of livelihood.

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