Have you heard of the Zanj rebellion?
When tens of thousands of enslaved Black laborers rebelled against the ruling class and took matters into their own hands?
It took place in present-day Iraq, in the 9th century.
In reality, there were three Zanj rebellions.
The first two rebellions did not last very long, and information about them is scarce.
The third rebellion is the one that scholars have remembered and written about the most:
It was in 869 AD. The Black laborers declared themselves free and took up arms against the ruling powers. They were strengthened by others coming to their cause – including Persians and Arabs who also recognized the corruption and injustices of their society.
Ultimately, after 15 years of fighting and independence, the Zanj rebellion was crushed.
Historians have pegged the rebellion as one about class, and the increasing divide in living conditions between the ruling class and those of the enslaved laborers.
Others have analyzed it in terms of religion, since the rebellion was led by a religious dissident against the Abbasid Caliphate.
But what if we used this as a lesson to think about coming together to imagine our future – what would it look like if Black protestors were joined by non-Black people to recreate a society shaped by justice and free of corruption? What are the possibilities then?
Produced with:
Creative Direction: priscillia kounkou hoveyda
Historian: Prof. Beeta Baghoolizadeh
Artist: Mina M. Jafari
Many thanks to Tanvir Ahmed
Note: The Collective understands that there are little to no visual representations from the Zanj rebellion. However, we find power in visualizing narratives that existed, to bring to life the many faces of history, including stories of Black people from all over the world rising.