Abu'l-Walid Ma'n ibn Za'ida al-Shaybani () (died 769/70) was an 8th-century
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
general of the
Shayban tribe, who served both 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 the
Abbasids.
Under the Umayyads
Ma'n was a member of the nobility of the
Shayban tribe, settled 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 ( ...
, and the first member of his family to rise to prominence.
[Bianquis (1997), p. 391][Crone (1980), p. 169][Kennedy (1991), p. 345] He entered the service of the
Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
, and under the patronage of the powerful
governor of Iraq,
Umar ibn Hubayra
Umar ibn Hubayra al-Fazari ( ar, عمر بن هبيرة الفزاري, ʿUmar ibn Hubayra al-Fazārī; ) was a prominent Umayyad general and governor of Iraq, who played an important role in the Qays–Yaman conflict of this period.
Origin and ...
, was sent to command against
Abdallah ibn Mu'awiya in
Fars in 746/7.
During 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 Islamic history, by the third, the Abbasid Caliphate ...
, he returned to
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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
and fought against the Abbasids at the
Siege of Wasit, again under Ibn Hubayra's command; indeed, he was one of those who claimed to have killed the Abbasid commander
Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i.
He was spared the execution of the leaders of the Wasit garrison after their surrender, having been sent to
Kufa
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 ...
to submit to Caliph
al-Saffah on Ibn Hubayra's behalf.
Under the Abbasids
After this he remained in hiding until 758/9, when he came out of retirement to fight the
Rawandiyya rebels. He was so successful in this that 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 ...
gave him a full pardon and a place at court.
Ma'n was appointed to the governorship of
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
in 759/60, where he "pacified the country brutally but successfully".
In 768 he was recalled from Yemen and sent to govern
Sistan
Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan ( ...
. There he managed to defeat the local
Kharijite rebels, but was killed by some of their number who disguised themselves as workmen to enter his residence at
Bust
Bust commonly refers to:
* A woman's breasts
* Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders
* An arrest
Bust may also refer to:
Places
* Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France
*Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically
Media
* ''Bust'' (magazin ...
(769/70).
Ma'n acquired a lasting reputation "as a fierce warrior, but also for his extreme generosity and as a patron of poets, notably
Marwan ibn Abi Hafsa, who wrote a famous elegy on Ma'n".
At least two of his four sons rose to prominence: Za'ida succeeded him in Yemen, while Sharahil participated in
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 ...
's
invasion
An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...
of 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 ...
in 806. It was his nephews
Yazid and
Ahmad
Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet.
Etymology
The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
, however, who succeeded Ma'n in his position, both within the Shayban tribe and at court. Both assumed important provincial governorships and military commands, while Yazid's descendants in particular came to dominate the region of
Shirvan
Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...
, where they later formed a separate dynasty (the ''
shirvanshahs'').
[Crone (1980), pp. 169–170]
References
Sources
*
*
* {{EI2 , title = Maʿn b. Zāʾida , first = Hugh , last = Kennedy , authorlink = Hugh N. Kennedy , volume = 6 , page = 345 , url = http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/man-b-zaida-SIM_4899
769 deaths
8th-century Arabs
Banu Shayban
Abbasid governors of Yemen
Generals of the Umayyad Caliphate
Arab generals
Governors of Sistan
Year of birth unknown
One Thousand and One Nights characters