Yazid ibn Mazyad al-Shaybani ( ar, يزيد بن مزيد الشيباني, Yazīd ibn Mazyad al-Shaybānī; died 801) 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, ...

general and governor who served 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 ...

Biography

Yazid was member of the Shayban tribe, dominant in the region of

Diyar Bakr Diyar Bakr ( ar, دِيَارُ بَكرٍ, Diyār Bakr, abode of Bakr) is the medieval Arabic name of the northernmost of the three provinces of the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia), the other two being Diyar Mudar and Diyar Rabi'a. According to the m ...

in the northern

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 ...

. The first member of his family to rise to prominence was his uncle, Ma'n ibn Za'ida al-Shaybani, under 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 ...

. Although Ma'n fought against 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 ...

, he reconciled himself with the Abbasid regime and both he and his sons, Za'ida and Sharahil held governorships and high military posts. Yazid first served under Ma'n during the latter's governorship in

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 ...

, where Ma'n fell in battle against 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 ...

in 769. Under 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 fought against

Yusuf al-Barm Yusuf al-Barm was a rebel leader against the Abbasid Caliphate in Khurasan in the 770s. Few details are known of his origin: his father was called Ibrahim, and according to Ya'qubi he was a ''mawla'' of the Banu Thaqif tribe in Bukhara. Yusuf's ...

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 ...

, and in 782 took part in the great campaign against 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 ...

under the future Caliph

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 (). Yazid accompanied al-Mahdi's eldest son and successor al-Hadi () to his governorship of

Jurjan Gorgan ( fa, گرگان ; also romanized as ''Gorgān'', ''Gurgān'', and ''Gurgan''), formerly Esterabad ( ; also romanized as ''Astarābād'', ''Asterabad'', and ''Esterābād''), is the capital city of Golestan Province, Iran. It lies appro ...

in 783/784. After al-Hadi became Caliph, Yazid supported him in his intention—ultimately cut short by his death—to remove Harun from the succession in favour of al-Hadi's own son. Yazid's loyalty was rewarded by al-Hadi with his appointment to the governorship (''

ostikan ''Ostikan'' ( hy, ոստիկան) was the title used by Armenians for the governors of the early Caliphates. In modern historiography, it is chiefly used for the caliphal governors of the province of Arminiya, which included Greater Armenia. Ara ...

'') of ''

Arminiya Arminiya, also known as the Ostikanate of Arminiya ( hy, Արմինիա ոստիկանություն, ''Arminia vostikanut'yun'') or the Emirate of Armenia ( ar, إمارة أرمينيا, ''imārat Arminiya''), was a political and geographic de ...

'' (a large province encompassing the whole of

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

), which he governed until 788/789. His rule was harsh towards the native Christian population, and he carried out large-scale colonization of the province, particularly at

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 ...

, with Arab Muslims. He was also the first of a long line of Shaybanid ''ostikans'', beginning with his sons, and hence the progenitor of the

Mazyadid dynasty The Mazyadids, named after their ancestor Mazyad al-Shaybani (also Shaybanids after their original tribe of Shayban or Yazidids after Mazyad's son Yazid), was an Arab family what came to rule over the region of Shirvan (in Azerbaijan) in the mid ...

that ruled in Shirvan as autonomous and later independent emirs (''

Shirvanshah ''Shirvanshah'' ( fa, شروانشاه), also spelled as ''Shīrwān Shāh'' or ''Sharwān Shāh'', was the title of the rulers of Shirvan from the mid-9th century to the early 16th century. The title remained in a single family, the Yazidids, a ...

''s) until 1027. After his tenure in ''Arminiya'', Yazid was sent to combat a Kharijite rebellion led by the fellow-Shaybanid al-Walid ibn Tarif (795/796). Yazid succeeded in defeating and killing the rebel leader in battle, ending the uprising. Yazid was re-appointed as ''ostikan'' in 799, in time to face the last Khazar attack on the Caliphate's Caucasian provinces, which he defeated. He died in Armenia in 801, and was succeeded by his son

Asad Asad ( ar, أسد), sometimes written as Assad, is an Arabic male given name literally meaning "lion". It is used in nicknames such as ''Asad Allāh'', one of the by-names for Ali ibn Abi Talib. People Among prominent people named ''Asad'', " ...

References

Sources

* * {{Authority control 8th-century births 801 deaths Abbasid governors of Arminiya Generals of the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Abbasid people of the Arab–Khazar wars Banu Shayban 8th-century Arabs 9th-century Arabs