Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn was the eldest son of the founder of the
Tulunid dynasty
The Tulunids (), were a Mamluk dynasty of Turkic origin who were the first independent dynasty to rule Egypt, as well as much of Syria, since the Ptolemaic dynasty. They were independent from 868, when they broke away from the central authority ...
,
Ahmad ibn Tulun
Ahmad ibn Tulun ( ar, أحمد بن طولون, translit=Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn; c. 20 September 835 – 10 May 884) was the founder of the Tulunid dynasty that ruled Egypt and Syria between 868 and 905. Originally a Turkic slave-soldier, in 868 ...
, and heir-apparent until his failed attempt to usurp his father in 879. After a failed attempt to take over
Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna ( ar, المغرب الأدنى), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia and eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (today's western Libya). It included all of what had previously ...
, he was imprisoned in Egypt and executed shortly after the succession of his younger brother,
Khumarawayh
Abu 'l-Jaysh Khumārawayh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn ( ar, أبو الجيش خمارويه بن أحمد بن طولون; 864 – 18 January 896) was a son of the founder of the Tulunid dynasty, Ahmad ibn Tulun. His father, the autonomous ruler ...
, in May 884.
Biography
Abbas was the eldest son of
Ahmad ibn Tulun
Ahmad ibn Tulun ( ar, أحمد بن طولون, translit=Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn; c. 20 September 835 – 10 May 884) was the founder of the Tulunid dynasty that ruled Egypt and Syria between 868 and 905. Originally a Turkic slave-soldier, in 868 ...
, the son of a
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
slave who had ruled
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
since 868. By exploiting the dissensions in 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 ...
between Caliph
al-Mu'tamid
Abu’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Jaʿfar ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد بن جعفر; – 14 October 892), better known by his regnal name Al-Muʿtamid ʿalā ’llāh (, "Dependent on God"), was the Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 870 t ...
and his brother
al-Muwaffaq
Abu Ahmad Talha ibn Ja'far ( ar, أبو أحمد طلحة بن جعفر}; 29 November 843 – 2 June 891), better known by his as Al-Muwaffaq Billah (), was an Abbasid prince and military leader, who acted as the ''de facto'' regent of the Abba ...
, Ibn Tulun soon managed to establish his autonomy from the Abbasid government, and proceeded to expand his control over
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
as well. Preoccupied with the conquest of Syria, Ibn Tulun appointed Abbas as his deputy in Egypt. Within a short time, however, his entourage persuaded him to try and seize power for himself. Forewarned by the
vizier
A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...
al-Wasiti, Ibn Tulun returned from Syria in April 879 and thwarted his son's ambitions. Taking the treasury with him, Abbas and his supporters—as well as an armed force numbering some 800 cavalry and 10,000 black African infantry—fled first to
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
and then to
Barqa
Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...
. Ibn Tulun tried to persuade him to return and even offered him a pardon, but Abbas refused.
Instead, he resolved to take over
Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna ( ar, المغرب الأدنى), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia and eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (today's western Libya). It included all of what had previously ...
by invading it with his army, augmented by local contingents on the way, and deposing the local
Aghlabid dynasty
The Aghlabids ( ar, الأغالبة) were an Arab dynasty of emirs from the Najd
Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, ...
. To legitimize his move, Abbas claimed that he had received nomination as Ifriqiya's governor by al-Mu'tamid, but the Aghlabid emir
Ibrahim II responded by sending a cavalry force to meet him. Abbas defeated the local Aghlabid governor, Muhammad ibn Qurhub, sacked the town of
Labda, and marched on
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
. The
Ibadite leader and governor of Tripoli and
Jabal Nafusa
The Nafusa Mountains ( Berber: ''Adrar n Infusen'' (Nafusa Mountain), ar, جبل نفوسة (Western mountain)) are a mountain range in the western Tripolitania region of northwestern Libya. It also includes their regions around the escarpment f ...
, Ilyas ibn Mansur al-Nafusi, mobilized resistance to the invader. His 12,000–strong army defeated Abbas in winter 880/1.
Abbas, with the remnants of his army, fled east and was defeated and captured outside Alexandria by troops loyal to his father. Brought as a prisoner to the Egyptian capital,
Fustat
Fusṭāṭ ( ar, الفُسطاط ''al-Fusṭāṭ''), also Al-Fusṭāṭ and Fosṭāṭ, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, and the historical centre of modern Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by ...
, he was publicly paraded seated on a mule, and was commanded to execute or mutilate the most prominent of his followers, who were held responsible for urging him to rebel, by gouging their eyes and cutting off their arms. Ibn Tulun reportedly had hoped that his son might refuse this command, and was dismayed when Abbas complied. Weeping at Abbas's cruelty and untrustworthiness, Ibn Tulun ordered him flogged and imprisoned. His place in the succession was taken up by his younger brother
Khumarawayh
Abu 'l-Jaysh Khumārawayh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn ( ar, أبو الجيش خمارويه بن أحمد بن طولون; 864 – 18 January 896) was a son of the founder of the Tulunid dynasty, Ahmad ibn Tulun. His father, the autonomous ruler ...
in 882. When Ibn Tulun died in May 884, Khumarawayh, enjoying the backing of the Tulunid elites, succeeded him without trouble, and Abbas was executed.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbas Ibn Ahmad Ibn Tulun
884 deaths
9th-century births
9th-century executions
Egyptian rebels
Tulunids
Emirs of Ifriqiya
Executed Egyptian people
Heirs apparent who never acceded
Executed royalty