Khazim ibn Khuzayma al-Tamimi () () was a
Khurasani Arab military leader. One of the early supporters of 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 ...
''
da'wa
Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات).
Etymology
The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...
'' in Khurasan, he played a major role in the Abbasid Revolution against the
Umayyads Umayyads may refer to:
*Umayyad dynasty, a Muslim ruling family of the Caliphate (661–750) and in Spain (756–1031)
*Umayyad Caliphate (661–750)
:*Emirate of Córdoba (756–929)
:*Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خ ...
, and then spent the next two decades suppressing revolts across the Caliphate. As one of the main figures of the ''Khurasaniyya'', the main power base of the Abbasid regime, he cemented his family in a position of power and influence: his sons would play an important role in the affairs of the Caliphate over the next decades.
Biography
His family hailed from the Nahshal branch of the
Banu Tamim
Banū Tamīm ( ar, بَنُو تَمِيم) is an Arab tribe that originated in Najd in the Arabian Peninsula. It is mainly present in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, and has a strong presence in Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia ...
, which had settled at
Marw al-Rudh
Marw-Rud ( fa, مرورود, also fa, مروروذ ''Marw-Rudh'') or Marw al-Rudh (from ar, مرو الروذ; "Marw on the river"), locally used to be known by the older variants Marwarudh () and Marrudh (),"مرورود" in Dehkhoda Dictionary ...
in
Khurasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plate ...
, probably during the early days of the Muslim conquest of the region. The family had apparently become
Persianized
Persianization () or Persification (; fa, پارسیسازی), is a sociological process of cultural change in which a non-Persian society becomes "Persianate", meaning it either directly adopts or becomes strongly influenced by the Persian ...
to some extent; Khazim is recorded as preferring to use
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
to address his followers, and his sister had married an Iranian.
[Kennedy (2001), p. 100] Khazim was one of the earliest supporters of 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 ...
missionary cause (''
da'wa
Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات).
Etymology
The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...
'') in Khurasan; he secured his native city for the Abbasids in the early days of the
Abbasid Revolution
The Abbasid Revolution, also called the Movement of the Men of the Black Raiment, was the overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE), the second of the four major Caliphates in early History of Islam, Islamic history, by the third, the A ...
, and then commanded the city's contingent in the Abbasid army that marched west to topple the
Umayyads Umayyads may refer to:
*Umayyad dynasty, a Muslim ruling family of the Caliphate (661–750) and in Spain (756–1031)
*Umayyad Caliphate (661–750)
:*Emirate of Córdoba (756–929)
:*Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خ ...
in 749–750.
[Kennedy (2001), pp. 100–101] He participated in the siege of
Wasit
Wasit ( ar, وَاسِط, Wāsiṭ, syr, ܘܐܣܛ) is an ancient city in Wasit Governorate, south east of Kut in eastern Iraq.
History
The city was built by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in c. 702 CE on the west bank of the Tigris across from the hist ...
in 750,
and in 751–752 he was dispatched to
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
to suppress the local
Kharijites
The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the ...
.
[Crone (1980), p. 180] He returned north in 755–756 to fight against another Kharijite uprising in the
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 (c ...
and against the rebellion of the Abbasid
Abdallah ibn Ali
Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī (; – 764 CE) was a member of the Abbasid dynasty, and played a leading role in its rise to power during the Abbasid Revolution. As governor of Syria, he consolidated Abbasid control over the province, eli ...
in Syria.
In 758–759 he accompanied the Caliph's son and future 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 ...
(
reign
A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism, N ...
ed 775–785) to Khurasan, where the local governor, Abd al-Jabbar al-Azdi, had launched a revolt. Khazim was tasked with suppressing the rebellion, but the people of Marw al-Rudh, upon hearing of his appointment, rose up against the rebellious governor, defeated and captured him, and handed him over to Khazim.
In the same period he also campaigned against the ''
ispahbadh
''Spāhbed'' (also spelled ''spahbod'' and ''spahbad'') is a Middle Persian title meaning "army chief" used chiefly in the Sasanian Empire. Originally there was a single ''spāhbed'', called the , who functioned as the generalissimo of the Milita ...
''
Khurshid
Khorshīd or Khorshēd ( , meaning ''the Sun'' or the "Radiant Sun"), also spelled as ''Khurshed'' and ''Khurshid'', is a Persian given name. In the modern day as well as historical Iran, Turkey, and Azerbaijan, but also in Iraqi Kurdistan, Egypt, ...
, the Persian ruler of
Tabaristan
Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...
.
With the exception of a swift expedition west to retake
Ahwaz
Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is home ...
during the
Alid revolt of 762–763
The Alid revolt of 762–763 or Revolt of Muhammad the Pure Soul was an uprising by the Hasanid branch of the Alids against the newly established Abbasid Caliphate. The Hasanids, led by the brothers Muhammad (called "the Pure Soul") and Ibrahim ...
, he seems to have remained in Khurasan, where he also faced and defeated the rebellion of
Ustadhsis
Ustadh Sis (also spelled: Ustad Sis, or Ostad Sis, fa, استاد سیس) was a Persian heresiarch and anti-Arab rebel leader.
They write that he was once a governor of Khorasan and Alleged father to Ma'mūn’s Iranian mother, Marjil, which ...
in 768. Nothing more is known of him thereafter, and it is assumed that he died there.
Unlike his sons, Khazim does not appear to have held any provincial governorships.
Assessment
Khazim was one of the leading military commanders of the early ''Khurasaniyya'', the Khurasani Arab army that brought and then maintained the Abbasids to power. Indeed, as the Islamic scholar
Hugh N. Kennedy
Hugh Nigel Kennedy (born 22 October 1947) is a British medieval historian and academic. He specialises in the history of the early Islamic Middle East, Muslim Iberia and the Crusades. From 1997 to 2007, he was Professor of Middle Eastern Histor ...
remarks, "after the death of
Qahtaba b. Shabib, he was probably the most successful commander of the first generation of the ''Khurasaniyya''".
[Kennedy (2001), p. 102] According to Kennedy, he was a cautious general, but also capable of "quick and surprising decisions" during battle, his favourite tactic being to detach a part of his army to attack the enemy from the rear.
He also displayed a sophistication, rare for the time, in his use of "exotic" weapons, e.g. petrol-soaked torches against the Omanis and
caltrop
A caltrop (also known as caltrap, galtrop, cheval trap, galthrap, galtrap, calthrop, jackrock or crow's foot'' Battle of Alesia'' (Caesar's conquest of Gaul in 52 BC), Battlefield Detectives program, (2006), rebroadcast: 2008-09-08 on History Ch ...
s against the Kharijite cavalry.
Family
His sons,
Abdallah,
Ibrahim
Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam.
For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam.
Ibrahim may also refer to:
* Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people ...
,
Shu'ayb and especially
Khuzayma
This family tree is about the relatives of the Islamic prophet Muhammad known as a family member of the family of Hashim and the Qurayshs tribe which is ‘Adnani. "The ‘arabicised or arabicising Arabs’, on the contrary, are believed to be ...
, remained prominent in the Abbasid court after his death, and played a major role in the reign of
Harun al-Rashid
Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar
, أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...
(r. 786–809).
[Crone (1980), pp. 180–181] Like most of the original ''Khurasaniyya'' families, however, his descendants lost their privileged position during the
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
that followed Harun's death.
References
Sources
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khazim ibn Khuzayma al-Tamimi
8th-century deaths
Generals of the Abbasid Caliphate
History of Oman
Khurasan under the Abbasid Caliphate
Year of birth unknown
8th-century Arabs
Banu Tamim