Rahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalhami

Rahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalahimah رحمة بن جابر بن عذبي الجلهمي أو الجلاهمة
A sketch of Rahmah ibn Jabir drawn by Charles Ellms in his 1837 book The Pirates Own Book
Born	c. 1760 Grane (now Kuwait)[1]
Died	October 1826
Piratical career
Type	Captain
Allegiance	Al Jalahma clan
Years active	19th century
Rank	Captain
Base of operations	Arabian Gulf
Commands	Al-Manowar Al-Ghatroushah
Battles/wars	Bani Utbah invasion of Bahrain Piracy in the Persian Gulf Wahhabi Raids in Persian Gulf 1805

Rahmah ibn Jabir ibn Adhbi al-Jalhami (Arabic: رحمة بن جابر بن عذبي الجلهمي; c. 1760–1826) was an Arab ruler in the Persian Gulf region and was described by his contemporary, the English traveler and author, James Silk Buckingham, as "the most successful and the most generally tolerated pirate, perhaps, that ever infested any sea."^[1]

As a pirate, he had a reputation for being ruthless and fearless. He wore an eyepatch after losing an eye in battle, which makes him the earliest documented pirate to have worn an eyepatch.^[2] He was described by the British statesman Charles Belgrave as "one of the most vivid characters the Persian Gulf has produced, a daring freebooter without fear or mercy".^[3]

He began life as a horse dealer, and used the money he had saved to buy his first ship and with ten companions began a career of piracy. He was so successful that he soon acquired a new craft, a 300-ton vessel, manned by 350 men.^[4] He would later have as many as 2,000 followers, many of them black slaves. At one point his flagship was the "Al-Manowar" (derived from English).^[5]