Bishr al-Afshini () was a military commander for 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 ...

and the governor ('' wali'') of Tarsus from 912/3 until at least 918.

Life

According to

al-Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...

, he was a

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

and originally a servant of

Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj () also known as Muhammad al-Afshin (died 901), an Iranian appointed general of al-Mu'tadid, was the first Sajid amir of Azerbaijan, from 889 or 890 until his death. He was the son of Abi'l-Saj Devdad. Early career Like th ...

, who was also nicknamed "

Afshin Afshin ( fa, افشین / ''Afšīn'') is a common Persian given name, which is a modern Persian word derived from Avestan. Afshin was used by the Sogdians. Historically, it was the princely title of the rulers of Osrushana at the time of the Mu ...

". He first appears in summer 906, during a ceremony in which he was bestowed a

robe of honour A robe of honour ( ar, خلعة, khilʿa, plural , or ar, تشريف, tashrīf, pl. or ) was a term designating rich garments given by medieval and early modern Islamic rulers to subjects as tokens of honour, often as part of a ceremony of appoi ...

by Caliph al-Muktafi. A little later, in October 906, during the

Qarmatian The Qarmatians ( ar, قرامطة, Qarāmiṭa; ) were a militant Isma'ili Shia movement centred in al-Hasa in Eastern Arabia, where they established a religious-utopian socialist state in 899 CE. Its members were part of a movement that adhe ...

assault on Kufa, he is mentioned as one of the officers of the central caliphal army sent to the city's aid, but were routed before the city by the Qarmatian rebels. In the year 912/3 he was appointed as governor of Tarsus and the

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

n borderlands ('' thughur'') with the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, succeeding

Rustam ibn Baradu Rustam ibn Baradu () or Rustum ibn Bardu, surnamed al-Farghani ("from Farghana"), was a military commander for the Abbasid Caliphate and the governor (''wali'') of Tarsus from August 905 to 912/3. Life Rustam was appointed to the post of govern ...

. In summer 914 he received the assistance of an army of 2,000 horsemen sent from

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 ...

under Abu Umayr Adi ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Baqi for one of the customary summer raids (''ṣā’ifa'') into Byzantine territory, but the two commanders were unable to carry out the raid, instead postponing it until winter. In his report to the Caliph after the raid, Bishr claimed that he had captured no less than 150 Byzantine commanders and some 2,000 captives in all. In autumn 917 he oversaw, along with the Abbasid commander-in-chief

Mu'nis al-Muzaffar Abū'l-Ḥasan Mu'nis al-Qushuri ( ar, ابوالحسن مؤنس ابوالحسن; 845/6–933), also commonly known by the surnames al-Muẓaffar (; ) and al-Khadim (; 'the Eunuch'), was the commander-in-chief of the Abbasid army from 908 to his ...

, a prisoner exchange with the Byzantines at the

Lamos River The Limonlu River ( grc, Λάμος ''Lamos''; Latin: ''Lamus''), also known as ''Gökler Deresi'', is a river of ancient Cilicia, now in Mersin Province, Turkey. The river rises at Yüğlük Dağı in the Taurus mountains and flows through deep ...

. In 918, he launched another raid into Byzantine territory, capturing a few forts and taking booty. He may also be identified with Bishr al-Khadim ("the Eunuch") who was named governor of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

and

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

in 933 and was killed in the same year by

Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Ṭughj ibn Juff ibn Yiltakīn ibn Fūrān ibn Fūrī ibn Khāqān (8 February 882 – 24 July 946), better known by the title al-Ikhshīd ( ar, الإخشيد) after 939, was an Abbasid commander and governor who becam ...

References

Sources

* * {{s-end 9th-century births 10th-century deaths Abbasid governors of Tarsus Eunuchs of the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid people of the Arab–Byzantine wars