Abu'l-Fadl al-Bal'ami, also known as Bal'ami the Elder (died November 14, 940), was a Samanid statesman from the al-Bal'ami family, who served as the ''

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...

'' of

Nasr II Nasr ibn Ahmad or Nasr II ( fa, نصر دوم), nicknamed "the Fortunate", was the ruler (''amir'') of Transoxiana and Khurasan as the head of the Samanid dynasty from 914 to 943. His reign marked the high point of the Samanid dynasty's fortunes. ...

from 922 to 938.

Biography

Bal'ami is first mentioned as serving under the Samanid ruler

Isma'il ibn Ahmad Abū Ibrāhīm Ismā'īl ibn-i Aḥmad-i Sāmāni ( fa, ابو ابراهیم اسماعیل بن احمد سامانی; May 849 – 24 November 907), better known simply as Ismail-i Samani (), and also known as Isma'il ibn-i Ahmad (), was the Sa ...

, and was later appointed as vizier by the latter's grandson, Nasr II. Just after Bal'ami had become the vizier of the Samanid Empire, the

Zaydids Alid dynasties of northern Iran or Alavids (). In the 9th–14th centuries, the northern Iranian regions of Tabaristan, Daylam and Gilan, sandwiched between the Caspian Sea and the Alborz range, came under the rule of a number of Arab Alid dyn ...

invaded Khorasan, but were defeated by Bal'ami''BALʿAMĪ, ABU’L-FAŻL MOḤAMMAD'', C. E. Bosworth, Encyclopaedia Iranica
/ref> and the Simjurid general

Simjur al-Dawati Simjur al-Dawati was a 10th-century Turkic general who served the Samanids. He was the founder of the Simjurid family which would play an important role in the Samanid Empire. Biography Simjur was a ''ghulam'' of Turkic origin. During his early ...

. In 929, Nasr had his commander Muhammad ibn Ilyas imprisoned after being angered by him. Muhammad ibn Ilyas was, however, shortly freed after receiving the support of Bal'ami and was sent on a campaign in

Gurgan 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 930 a revolt by Nasr's brothers broke out. They proclaimed one of their own, Yahya, as ''amir''. Bal’ami managed to quell the rebellion by turning the brothers against each other. In 933, Bal'ami, along with Simjur al-Dawati, fought against the

Dailamite The Daylamites or Dailamites (Middle Persian: ''Daylamīgān''; fa, دیلمیان ''Deylamiyān'') were an Iranian people inhabiting the Daylam—the mountainous regions of northern Iran on the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea, now comprising ...

military leader Makan ibn Kaki. In 938, Bal'ami was succeeded by Abu Ali Jayhani. After that, not much more is known about Bal'ami; he died on November 14, 940. He had a son named Amriak Bal'ami, who later also served as vizier of the Samanid Empire.''The Samanids'', R.N. Frye, The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 4, ed. R.N.Frye, (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 152.

Legacy

'' Iranica'' says the following about him:

References

Sources

*C. E. Bosworth "Bal'ami, Abu'l-Fazl Mohammad." ''Encyclopedia Iranica.'' 23 January 2014. * {{Viziers of the Samanid Empire 940 deaths Year of birth unknown 10th-century Iranian politicians Samanid viziers Bal'ami family