His family belonged to the Banu Taghlib tribe, established in the Jazira since before the Muslim conquests. The tribe was particularly strong in the region of Mosul, and came to dominate the area during the decade-long Anarchy at Samarra (861–870), when the Taghlibi leaders took advantage of the collapse of the authority of the central Abbasid government to assert their autonomy.[1] Hamdan himself appears for the first time in 868, fighting alongside other Taghlibis against the Kharijite Rebellion in the Jazira.[2]