Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Bakra (عبيد الله بن أبي بكرة, died CE) was an

Umayyad 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 the ...

governor of

Sijistan 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 ( ...

and a military commander.

Origins

He was the son of Abu Bakra, an Abyssinian slave and ''

mawla Mawlā ( ar, مَوْلَى, plural ''mawālī'' ()), is a polysemous Arabic word, whose meaning varied in different periods and contexts.A.J. Wensinck, Encyclopedia of Islam 2nd ed, Brill. "Mawlā", vol. 6, p. 874. Before the Islamic prophet ...

'' (client or freedman) who had been a companion of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

and converted to Islam in 630. Ubayd Allah's mother was an

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, ...

. He was physically described as having "a dark and swarthy complexion".

Governorship and military activities

He was appointed the deputy governor of

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 (N ...

in 671 by the governor of Iraq and the eastern Caliphate,

Ziyad ibn Abihi Abu al-Mughira Ziyad ibn Abihi ( ar, أبو المغيرة زياد بن أبيه, Abū al-Mughīra Ziyād ibn Abīhi; – 673), also known as Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan ( ar, زياد بن أبي سفيان, Ziyād ibn Abī Sufyān), was an adminis ...

. During the early reign of Caliph Abd al-Malik () Ubayd Allah supported the pro-Umayyad faction in

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

, one of the two principal garrison towns of Iraq, against its ruler at the time

Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr Muṣʿab ibn al-Zubayr ( ar, مصعب بن الزبير; died October 691) was the governor of Basra in 686–691 for his brother, the Mecca-based counter-caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, during the Second Fitna. Mus'ab was a son of Zubayr ibn a ...

, the representative of his brother, the rival caliph

Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ( ar, عبد الله ابن الزبير ابن العوام, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām; May 624 CE – October/November 692), was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the ...

. He was reappointed over Sijistan a second time in 697/698 by Abd al-Malik's governor of Iraq and the east,

al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf Abu Muhammad al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi Aqil al-Thaqafi ( ar, أبو محمد الحجاج بن يوسف بن الحكم بن أبي عقيل الثقفي, Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī ʿAqīl al-T ...

. In 698, he was dispatched by al-Hajjaj to lead a 20,000-strong 'Army of Destruction' against the

Zunbils Zunbil, also written as Zhunbil, or Rutbils of Zabulistan, was a royal dynasty south of the Hindu Kush in present southern Afghanistan region. They ruled from circa 680 AD until the Saffarid conquest in 870 AD. The Zunbil dynasty was founded by R ...

in modern-day

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. This corresponded to a resurgence of Islamic expansionism, following the second civil war (683–692). His mission was to raid eastern Afghanistan, and restore the payment of tribute by the Zunbils. Trapped in the mountains, he was defeated through starvation and Zunbil attacks, and was forced to offer a large tribute, give hostages, including three of his sons, and take an oath not to invade Zunbil again. He then retreated, with 5,000 of his men remaining, to the city of

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 ...

Ubayd Allah died soon after the abortive campaign. He was succeeded as governor of Sijistan by his son Abu Bardha, who held the post for one or two years and is known to have minted coinage as well. Around 700, al-Hajjaj appointed an Arab noble from

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 ...

Ibn al-Ash'ath Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath ( ar, عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن الأشعث, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ashʿath; died 704), commonly known as Ibn al-Ash'ath after his grandfather, was a prominent Arab nobl ...

, was tasked by al-Hajjaj with a renewed offensive against the Zunbils. After some initial successes, he reached an agreement with the Zunbils, who agreed to return the hostages captured from Ubayd Allah and resume paying the tribute at the original rate. Afterward, he took his army back to Iraq and led a revolt against al-Hajjaj.

Coinage

Before Ubayd Allah, Arab coinage from Sijistan was remarkably consistent in respecting former

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

designs. In contrast, the coinage of Ubayd Allah is characterized by a relatively erratic design, with marked iconographical changes. This attests to the deterioration of standard Sasanian iconography.

References

{{s-end 7th-century Arabs 7th-century military personnel Generals of the Umayyad Caliphate Umayyad governors of Sijistan ar:عبيد الله بن أبي بكرة