Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Ta'i ( ar, أحمد بن محمد الطائي; died August 31, 894) was an administrative official in the service of the
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
. He held various military and financial posts in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
in the late ninth century, during the caliphates of
al-Mu'tamid (r. 870–892) and
al-Mu'tadid (r. 892–902).
Career
![Iraq Ninth Century](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Iraq_Ninth_Century.png)
Ahmad first appears in
al-Tabari's history near the beginning of 883, when he was appointed governor of
al-Kufah
Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf a ...
and its
Sawad
Sawad was the name used in early Islamic times (7th–12th centuries) for southern Iraq. It means "black land" or "arable land" and refers to the stark contrast between the alluvial plain of Mesopotamia and the Arabian Desert. Under the Umayyad a ...
. During his tenure over al-Kufah, he routed
al-Haysam al-'Ijli and confiscated his wealth and assets. He was also accused of accepting payments from
Qarmatians
The Qarmatians ( ar, قرامطة, Qarāmiṭa; ) were a militant Isma'ilism, Isma'ili Shia Islam, Shia movement centred in Al-Ahsa Oasis, al-Hasa in Eastern Arabia, where they established a Utopia#Religious utopias, religious-utopian Socialis ...
operating in the area in exchange for leaving them alone, by which he was able to collect an immense fortune.
In March 885 Ahmad received the governorships of
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
and the
Mecca Road
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
, and he appointed a
''ghulam'' named Badr to oversee the pilgrims in
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
. After arriving in the city, however, Badr was seized by
Yusuf ibn Abi al-Saj, the governor of Mecca, and put into chains. The pilgrims and a detachment of the local garrison responded by rescuing Badr and attacking Yusuf, who was bound and taken to
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
.
During a dispute between Baghdad and
Samarra
Samarra ( ar, سَامَرَّاء, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The city of Samarra was founded by Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutasim for his Turkish professional army ...
in early 886, in which the two cities implemented economic blockades against each other, Ahmad was blamed by the residents of Baghdad for a rise in
food prices
Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food.
Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing an ...
after he prohibited estate owners from threshing and distributing their crops. In late March a mob assembled outside of his residence, but they were attacked by Ahmad's troops and several of them were killed. Further violence was prevented only by the intervention of
Muhammad ibn Tahir, who rode to the area the next day and convinced the people to disperse.
In early 888 Ahmad dispatched an army against the brigand
Siddiq al-Farghani, who had attacked and plundered
Dur Samarra. Ahmad then went to Samarra himself and lured Siddiq with a guarantee of safe conduct, only to seize him, cut off one of his hands and feet, and imprison him and his followers in Baghdad. Shortly after this, he again set out against another vagabond named al-'Abdi, who had looted the area of Karkh Samarra. Ahmad was able to rout al-'Abdi and seize most of his men, but when he attempted to cross the Tigris the anchor of his vessel was seized by al-'Abdi's men, forcing him to jump into the river and swim to safety.
In January 889 Ahmad was suddenly arrested and thrown into prison on the orders of the caliphal regent
al-Muwaffaq, and according to al-Tabari this event marked the end of his career. By the time of his arrest, he had been appointed to the governorships of al-Kufah and its Sawad, the
Khurasan Road The (Great) Khurasan Road was the great trunk road connecting Mesopotamia to the Iranian Plateau and thence to Central Asia, China, and the Indus Valley.
It is very well-documented in the Abbasid period, when it connected the core of the capital ...
and Samarra, the ''
shurtah'' of Baghdad, and as revenue official of
Baduraya
Beth Daraye (meaning "land of Dara"), known in Arabic sources as Badaraya, was a region and administrative site southeast of the lower Nahrawan Canal, in the Sasanian province of Asoristan in present-day Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, transli ...
,
Qatrabbul,
Maskin and some of the private domains of the caliph (''diya' al-khassah'').
Despite Ahmad's arrest he was apparently soon restored to favor, for in the beginning of the reign of al-Mu'tadid he agreed to a
tax farming
Farming or tax-farming is a technique of financial management in which the management of a variable revenue stream is assigned by legal contract to a third party and the holder of the revenue stream receives fixed periodic rents from the contract ...
contract with the central government. In exchange for an annual obligation of 2,520,000
gold dinars, or 7,000 dinars daily, he was appointed as revenue official over several districts in central Iraq. The caliphal government also formed an operating budget based on the contract, listing in detail the expenses that Ahmad's payments would be used on.
[This budget was analyzed and translated into German by For the original Arabic version, see ]
Ahmad died in al-Kufah in 894 and was buried in Masjid al-Sahlah. Following his death, his ''ghilman'' Badr and Shibl remained in caliphal service and were appointed to various posts in Iraq.
Notes
References
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* {{The History of al-Tabari
894 deaths
Officials of the Abbasid Caliphate
Iraq under the Abbasid Caliphate
9th-century Arabs
Tayy
Abbasid governors of Medina