Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn Fadl ibn Ahmad Isfarayini (, died 1013/14), commonly known as Abu'l-Hasan Isfarayini (), was a Persian ''

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

'' of the Ghaznavid

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Mahmud of Ghazni Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin (; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi (), was Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 998 to 1030. During his reign and in medieval sources, he is usuall ...

() from 998 to 1010.

Biography

Isfarayini was most likely from the town of Isfarayin in the northwestern part of

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

. Not much is known about his early life; he began his career as a

Samanid The Samanid Empire () was a Persianate society, Persianate Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, ruled by a dynasty of Iranian peoples, Iranian ''dehqan'' origin. The empire was centred in Greater Khorasan, Khorasan and Transoxiana, at its greatest ...

secretary ('' dabir'') under the Turkic slave-general Fa'iq. During this period the Samanid dynasty was in heavy decline and was struggling for holding control over Khurasan and

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (, now called the Amu Darya) is the Latin name for the region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

from several ambitious military leaders who had rebelled against their authority, the most dangerous ones being Fa'iq and the Simjurid Abu 'Ali Simjuri. The Ghaznavid prince and Samanid general Sebüktigin, however, managed to defeat the rebels, but soon took control over Khurasan, while the remains of the Samanid dynasty in

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

was conquered by the Kara-Khanid Khanate. Isfarayini shortly changed his allegiance to the Ghaznavids, where he rose to prominent offices. In 997, Sebüktigin died and was succeeded by his son Ismail, who soon, however, was defeated by his brother Mahmud, who crowned himself as the new ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty, and shortly appointed Isfarayini as his vizier, thus making Isfarayini become the first vizier of the Ghaznavid dynasty. Isfarayini later changed the administrate language of the Ghaznavid state from

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

to Persian. Isfarayini's main task was to find the money to finance the military campaigns of the Ghaznavids, and managed to accomplish that for a few years; he managed to raise a large sum in only two days. However, the situation became troublesome by drought and consequent bad harvest, and a plague that followed. Still in 1010/1, Isfarayini managed to raise a considerable amount in

Herat Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...

, which, however, was not enough for Mahmud, who ordered him to also use his own money to finance the Ghaznavid military campaigns. Isfarayini, however, disobeyed, and went voluntarily to prison; his property was confiscated and when he was accused of

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

, he was brutally tortured, which resulted in his death in 1013/4. Some authors mention that one of the reasons for the downfall of Isfarayini was because of a quarrel between Mahmud and Isfarayini over a Turkic slave. Isfarayini was succeeded by Ahmad Maymandi, who restored Arabic as the administrate language of the Ghaznavid state. Isfarayini had a son named Hajjaj, who became a prominent scholar, and an unnamed daughter.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abul-Hasan Isfaraini 10th-century births 1010s deaths Year of birth unknown 10th-century Iranian people 11th-century Iranian people Ghaznavid viziers Samanid officials People from Khorasan