Daggers in the Dark (Book 3 of Hanthalah)

Terms/Characters

*the first two parts are just a reference you can use if something confuses you mid-story. The info can seem overwhelming but you don't need to memorize everything since it's all in the book.*

ibn: The word is Arabic for 'son'. It can also be used interchangeably with 'bin', but I will only be using the former for simplicity. For example, Hanthalah ibn Ka'ab means Hanthalah son of Ka'b.

bint: The word means 'daughter'. Fatimah bint Muhammad means 'Fatimah daughter of Muhammad'.

Abu/Abi/Aba: The word itself means 'father', and the three variations are used according to the Arabic grammar. I will only be using Abu for simplicity. For example, Abu Bakr means 'The Father of Bakr'.

Umm: The word means 'mother'. Umm Ezra means 'The mother of Ezra'.

Banu/Bani: It is a term used to refer to a certain tribe or clan. The word itself means the sons/descendants of. For example, the Arabic word for mankind is 'bani Adam', which means the descendants of Adam, who is a prophet and the first human in Islamic theology. I will only be using 'banu' for simplicity.

Hijra: The word means migration in Arabic. It is a significant event in Islamic history and is when the Islamic calendar commences. The Hijra is when the Muslims flee their home city of Makkah after years of persecution at the hands of the local pagan tribe, the Quraysh. The Prophet Muhammad is invited to Yathrib by the native tribes, both pagan and Jewish, to settle their age-old disputes that have recently culminated in large scale battles. This is because of Muhammad's reputation for honesty and trustworthiness, traits that were held in high regard in pre-Islamic Arabia. The Muslims who partook in this mass migration were thereon referred to as 'al-muhajireen' (singular 'muhajir'), which means migrant. The natives of Yathrib who converted to Islam are referred to as 'Ansar' (singular 'Ansari'), which means supporter. The event takes place in 622 AD, and is where the story begins.

Banu Quraysh: The Quraysh were the hegemonic tribe of pre-Islamic Arabia. They resided in Makkah.

Banu Aws: They were an Arab pagan tribe that occupied the city of Yathrib. They were typically allied with two Yathribi Jewish tribes - the Banu Nadir and the Banu Qurayza.

Banu Khazraj: They were the other pagan Arab tribe of Yathrib, constantly at the Aws' throats. They were allied with one Yathribi Jewish tribe - the Banu Qaynuqa'.

Banu Nadir: A Jewish tribe native to Yathrib.

Banu Qaynuqa': A Jewish tribe native to Yathrib.

Banu Qurayza: A Jewish tribe native to Yathrib.

Hanthalah ibn Ka'b (POV): Hanthalah is a tribesman of the Jewish Banu Qurayza tribe. They are natives of the city of Yathrib, modern-day Medina. He is the protagonist of this story and it is narrated through his voice as an old man recording a chronicle of his life.

Umaymah bint Hanthalah (POV): Umaymah is Hanthalah's daughter from his first wife, Zaynab. She grew up from a young age among the Bedouin tribe Banu Asad. She has blossomed into a fine warrior striving for her father's approval.

'Abdullah ibn Hanthalah (POV): A polar opposite to his twin sister though he grew up in similar circumstances as part of the Bedouin Banu Asad tribe, 'Abdullah is sickly and frail, preferring peace to war and scholarly pursuits to the swinging of swords. He cares little for anything unrelated to religion, and even less for his father.

Ruqayya bint Hanthalah (POV): Another of Hanthalah's daughters, though from his second wife Sumayya. After her mother's death, a shocked Hanthalah abandoned her to be raised by a close friend - the Egyptian Roman merchant Andronicus, who raised in her the Christian faith. She has grown to take up her father's profession in his homeland. 

Al-Khalidun (The Immortals): A clandestine syndicate of assassins from all over the world with a sophisticated hierarchy. Members of the group have an axe to grind with Hanthalah.

Mundhir: Mundhir is a tribesman of the Jewish Banu Qurayza tribe. A childhood friend of Hanthalah's and a Muslim convert, he is also a warrior in the employ of Mu'awiyah, the governor of the Levant, serving directly under Hanthalah.

'Amr ibn Sallam (POV): 'Amr is another of Hanthalah's childhood friends, also a Muslim convert of Jewish origin.

Zayn ibn Yazid (the Crow): A prominent figure of al-Khalidun. He is the son of Hanthalah's former slave master, Yazid ibn Mas'oud, who met a less than savory fate at the former's hands.

Qasim ibn al-Aswad (the Raven): The uncle of Yazid, the brother of Mas'oud, who were both Hanthalah's slave masters. He is the great uncle of Zayn. He brought him up in the codes of al-Khalidun and a hatred of Hanthalah. 

Mu'wiyah ibn Abu Sufyan: The historical governor of the Levant/Sham region (modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Occupied Palestine and parts of northern Jordan). A member of the Banu Umayya tribe, his seat of governance is in Damascus.

'Abd al-Ka'aba/Muhammad ibn Hanthalah: Another of Hanthalah's sons. He is everything Hanthalah wished for in a son - fierce, strong and a warrior. Both his ears were cut off as a child by the al-Khalidun assassins.

'Abd al-Rahman: A troubled young man with uncertain ancestry. He is Hanthalah's half-brother.

The Nubian: Another of Hanthalah's closest companions. He has formed an unlikely romance with 'Amr.

Sumayya bint Ka'b: Hanthalah's ex-wife. Assumed to be dead.

'Uthman ibn 'Affan: The third Khalifa (ruler) of the Caliphate (the Islamic/Rashidun Empire). He is a member of the Banu Umayya clan of the Quraysh tribe, and his captial is in Madinah.

'Abdullah ibn Sa'ad ibn Abu Sarh: The unpopular governor of Egypt. He is the milk brother of the Khalifa 'Uthman.

Muhammad ibn Abu Hudhayfa: The governor of Egypt's aide. He is the foster son of the Khalifa 'Uthman. He is frustrated at his superior's mismanagement of the province and further disgruntled at his foster father's neglect of his complaints over the governor's administration. Ruqayya nudges him in the right direction.

Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr: A military man in al-Fustat, the capital of the Egyptian province. His interactions with ibn Abu Hudhayfa prove instrumental.

Tariq/Haitham/Mahmud/Sufyan/Piruzan: Members of Hanthalah's army. Tariq is Christian Arab, Piruzan in Zoroastrian Persian and a slave to Mu'awiyah himself, while the other three are Muslim Arabs.

Abu Musa (Cornelius): A Roman native of Syria and a Christian. He was an admiral during the days of the Roman Empire. He now makes use of his naval experience as quartermaster aboard Hanthalah's flagship.