Al-Faḍl ibn Ṣāliḥ ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās ( ar, الفضل بن صالح بن علي بن عبد الله العباسي) (740Tabari, Hillenbrand, 1989, p.55.–789) was the

Abbasid 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 ...

governor of a number of different provinces in

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 ...

during the late 8th-century CE. He was also governor of

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 ...

for a brief period of time. He was related to the Abbasid

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

s and was part of the Banu Salih branch of the Abbasid dynasty.

Career

In 755, al-Fadl led the pilgrim caravan destined for

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 ...

and

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, ...

for the annual ''

hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

''. He became governor of

Jund Dimashq ''Jund Dimashq'' ( ar, جند دمشق) was the largest of the sub-provinces (''ajnad'', sing. ''jund''), into which Syria was divided under the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. It was named after its capital and largest city, Damascus ("Dimashq"), ...

(whose principal city was

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 = , ...

) in 766 and three years later he added

Jund Qinnasrin ''Jund Qinnasrīn'' ( ar, جُـنْـد قِـنَّـسْـرِيْـن, "military district of Qinnasrin") was one of five sub-provinces of Syria under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, organized soon after the Muslim conquest of Syria in t ...

(whose principal city was

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

) to his domain during the reign of the caliph

al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ar, أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور‎; 95 AH – 158 AH/714 CE – 6 October 775 CE) usually known simply as by his laqab Al-Manṣūr (المنصور) w ...

. In 775, he was appointed governor of the region of

al-Jazira Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to: Business *Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait Locations * Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre * Al-Jazira ( ...

north of Damascus by the Abbasid caliph

al-Mahdi Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله المنصور; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his regnal name Al-Mahdī (, "He who is guided by God"), was the third Abba ...

. He moved to al-Jazira the same year. Al-Fadl returned to Damascus following his trip to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in 780 where he accompanied al-Mahdi as part of his entourage.Cobb, 2001, pp.27-28. It was around this time when he was deposed as governor of al-Jazira and replaced by Abd al-Samad ibn Ali. Al-Fadl was sent along with a large army to quell a rebellion in

in 785. After defeating the rebels at Buwit, al-Mahdi appointed him governor of

al-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 t ...

in Egypt.Petry, 2008, p.79. He established the soldiers' barracks and the congregational mosque of al-Askar and during his tenure the cities of

al-Askar Al-‘Askar ( ar, العسكر) was the capital of Egypt from 750–868, when Egypt was a province of the Abbasid Caliphate. History Background After the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641, Fustat was established, just north of Coptic Cairo and th ...

and

merged into one large city. His governance only lasted one year and when

al-Hadi Abū Muḥammad Mūsā ibn al-Mahdī al-Hādī ( ar, أبو محمد موسى بن المهدي الهادي; 26 April 764 CE 14 September 786 CE) better known by his laqab Al-Hādī (الهادي‎) was the fourth Arab Abbasid caliph who succee ...

succeeded his father to the Caliphate in 786, he was relieved from his position. Upon his return to Syria in 789, he had the doors of the

Umayyad Mosque The Umayyad Mosque ( ar, الجامع الأموي, al-Jāmiʿ al-Umawī), also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus ( ar, الجامع الدمشق, al-Jāmiʿ al-Damishq), located in the old city of Damascus, the capital of Syria, is one of the ...

replaced and built the famed

Bayt al-Mal ''Bayt al-mal'' () is an Arabic term that is translated as "House of money" or "House of wealth." Historically, it was a financial institution responsible for the administration of taxes in Islamic states, particularly in the early Islamic Calip ...

treasury dome to house the mosque's funds. Al-Fadl was also responsible for the construction of the eastern Dome of the Clock, which was built in 780.Rudolff, 2006, p.178.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fadl Ibn Salih 740 births 789 deaths 8th-century Abbasid governors of Egypt Abbasids Abbasid governors of Qinnasrin Abbasid governors of Egypt Abbasid governors of Damascus 8th-century Arabs