Abdullah ibn Umar
Hananu's subordinate officers and rank-and-file fighters were all Sunni Muslims, but were ethnically heterogeneous. Hananu himself was a Kurd as were field commanders Najib Uwaid and Abdullah ibn Umar, while Umar al-Bitar was an Arab and field commander Sha'ban Agha was a Turk. The "′isabat" led by al-Bitar and al-Qassam were dominated by Arabs. The localized nature of the revolt reflected the rebels' sense of defending their homeland and community. Despite the eventual organization of the revolt and coordination between rebel commanders for major military decisions, most political decisions and military operations were local initiatives. As such, al-Sa'dun referred to the revolt in the plural as "thawrat al-Shimal" (Northern revolts) rather than the singular "thawra", and referred to the leadership of the revolt as the plural "quwwad al-thawra" rather than "qiyadat al-thawra", which refers to a central command.