The amīr al-ḥajj (literally, "commander of the pilgrimage"; also amīr al-ḥājj , "commander of the pilgrim") led a state-sponsored caravan on the annual pilgrimage (ḥajj) to Mecca, bearing responsibility for the caravan's security and presiding over the various ceremonies associated with the pilgrimage. According to Muslim tradition, the office originated in 9/630, when the prophet Muḥammad named Abū Bakr to lead 300 pilgrims from Medina to Mecca to perform the ḥajj in a manner appropriate to Muslim practice. As the early Muslim empire expanded, the need