Battle of the Barges The Battle of the Barges or Day of the Barges ( ) was fought on October 24 , 869 near Basra . It was one of the first major engagements of the Zanj Rebellion , taking place less than two months after the outbreak of the revolt . The battle was the culmination of several weeks of fighting between the Zanj rebels and local defenders in the villages and canals of southern Iraq . A large army of volunteers from the city of Basra that had set out to quell the Zanj was ambushed and defeated by the insurgents . Almost all of the Basran soldiers , together with a number of civilians that had accompanied them , were killed during the fighting . The battle was a major victory for the Zanj , and it forced the Abbasid government to take a more direct role in the campaign against the rebels . Background . The Zanj Rebellion had begun in early September 869 , in the region of southern Iraq . It was led by one ' Ali ibn Muhammad , who had previously led failed attempts against the government in al - Bahrayn and Basra . ' Ali was able to quickly gather a major following , especially among the black slaves who had been employed to cultivate the lands in the area of the modern Shatt al - Arab . Soon after the proclamation of the rebellion , the Zanj spread out among the districts of the lower Tigris and Karun rivers and advanced against several of the villages in the region . Some villages secured agreements with the Zanj ; others resisted and were attacked and plundered as a result . In the early stages of the rebellion , the defense of the towns of lower Iraq was largely handled by provincial garrisons , local volunteers and slaves , with the central government in Samarra initially contributing little or no troops to stop the Zanj . Militia groups composed of men from Basra , al - Ubullah and other towns were soon organized , and set off to fight off the Zanj in an attempt to protect their communities and property . Over the course of late September and early October , these groups engaged the Zanj in several battles , but they were usually defeated by the rebels . At the same time , ' Ali ibn Muhammad ' s forces continued to grow , and soon numbered in the thousands . Zanj advance toward Basra . By mid - October , the rebels had gathered sufficient strength to attempt an advance on Basra . Approaching the city from the southeast , the Zanj soon encountered two regiments consisting of soldiers , Arab tribesmen and men from the factions of Basra . ' Ali ibn Muhammad divided his forces , sending ' Ali ibn Aban with a large contingent to fight the first group near the Riyahi canal , while Muhammad ibn Salm was dispatched to fight the second regiment at the village of al - Ja ' fariyyah . Both ' Ali ibn Aban and Muhammad ibn Salm engaged the enemy troops and emerged victorious ; they forced the government loyalists to retreat and inflicted numerous casualties on them . ' Ali ibn Muhammad and the Zanj next advanced to the salt flats near al - Ja ' fariyyah . On the morning of October 22 he gathered his followers and warned them not to make a premature attack on Basra . Despite this , several of his men enthusiastically pressed on ahead , but they were met by a large group of Basrans . Upon receiving this news , ' Ali sent reinforcements and set up camp near them . The Basran army then attacked the Zanj , and after some heavy fighting inflicted a severe defeat upon them . Many Zanj , including several commanders , were killed and the rest were forced to flee . Cut off from his men , ' Ali ibn Muhammad was unable to reestablish order and only narrowly avoided being killed himself . Following the rout , ' Ali ibn Muhammad retreated to a place called al - Mu ' alla on the Shaytan canal . There he took a headcount and discovered that only five hundred of his men had returned ; the rest had fled . He stayed at al - Mu ' alla overnight , and in the following morning he inspected the troops again , finding that a thousand more men had returned during the night . After reprimanding one of the men who had failed to immediately return to the camp , he dispatched Muhammad ibn Salm to speak to the Basrans and attempt to garner support among them . This proved to be unsuccessful ; when Muhammad began to speak to the hostile Basran crowd , the latter immediately attacked and killed him . Battle . Encouraged by their success against the Zanj , the Basrans organized a fresh army to fight the insurgents again . The force consisted of archers and volunteers from the various city factions ; Hammad al - Saji , a veteran sailor , was appointed to lead the expedition . The archers were loaded onto three river barges which set out for the Zanj camp on the Shaytan canal on October 24 . They were accompanied by a number of galley s , together with a large group of people traveling on foot along the canal banks . Some of the crowd were armed with weapons , but others were unarmed and merely intended to watch the upcoming battle . The advance of the Basran army was quickly reported by ' Ali ibn Muhammad ' s scouts , who returned to the Zanj camp to deliver the news . After being apprised of the situation , ' Ali deployed his forces , intending to set up an ambush for the enemy . A detachment under the command of Zurayq and Abu al - Layth al - Isbahani was sent ahead along the east bank of the Shaytan canal , while a second group under Shibl ibn Salim and Husayn al - Hammami advanced along the west bank . The remaining troops were put under the command of ' Ali ibn Aban and were ordered to face the enemy head on . The two detachments along the canal banks were to remain in hiding and allow the Basrans to pass by them ; once ' Ali ibn Aban ' s men had engaged the enemy , they were to attack the Basrans from behind . The Zanj women were ordered to gather rocks and supply them to the men during the fighting . The Basran army soon appeared in sight of the Zanj , the large size of the force causing consternation among the troops . Nonetheless the Zanj remained in position and prepared to fight the enemy . ' Ali ibn Aban ' s men were under orders to refrain from attacking the Basrans until the enemy was close enough to brandish their swords at them . They remained in a crouching position facing the Basran army and hid behind their shields as they approached . When the Basrans came close enough to ' Ali ibn Aban ' s troops , the Zanj initiated their attack . The ambushers then emerged from their hiding places and fell upon the enemy from the rear , indiscriminately attacking the foot soldiers and unarmed people alike . Attacked from all sides , the Basrans were soon overwhelmed . The barges and one of the galleys were overturned , causing the fighters on them to drown . A number of men attempted to stand their ground against the attackers , but they were soon defeated and killed . Faced with the Zanj onslaught , many of the people on shore attempted to flee into the canal , but were either slain or drowned . The battle continued until almost the entire Basran force was annihilated ; only a few managed to escape the rout . Aftermath . Following the battle , ' Ali ibn Muhammad ordered the Zanj to collect the heads of the slain . He put them on display , and allowed the families of the dead to collect the heads of their kin . The remaining heads were then put on a boat , which was cast off to float back to Basra . Several of the Zanj were eager to follow up on their victory and urged ' Ali ibn Muhammad to march on Basra itself . ' Ali , however , rejected this advice as imprudent and counseled his followers that they should instead force the enemy to seek them out . He then withdrew to a safe area and ordered his men to build huts for a camp . The Zanj resumed their raiding activities , attacking the surrounding villages and stealing property . News of the battle reportedly provoked outrage among many Muslims . Not only were a large number of Basrans killed , but several notable people , including Hashimites and veteran fighters , were among the dead . Several poets commemorated the battle in their works . Al - Tabari , who was a contemporary of the rebellion , appears to have been personally shocked by the massacre of the Basrans . In his narrative of the revolt , he had previously referred to ' Ali ibn Muhammad simply as the Zanj leader ; after his account of the battle , however , he abruptly changes his tone , and subsequently refers to the Zanj leader primarily with pejorative terms such as " the abominable one , " " the enemy of God " and " the cursed one . " The victory over the Basrans proved that the Zanj were too strong to be defeated by local regiments and volunteers alone . Following the battle , the Basrans ceased their campaigns against the rebels . The alarmed residents of the city decided to write to the caliph al - Mu ' tamid in Samarra , urging him to send government troops to the region . The caliph responded by sending Ju ' lan al - Turki with reinforcements to the Basra area , thereby expanding the involvement of central government in the effort to combat the Zanj .