Thabit ibn Nasr ibn Malik al-Khuza'i () (died 813/14) was an

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 ...

general and governor of the

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

n frontier zone ('' al-thughur al-Sha'miya'') with 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 808–813. Thabit was a native of Khurasan, and the grandson of

Malik ibn al-Haytham al-Khuza'i Abu Nasr Malik ibn al-Haytham al-Khuza'i () was an early Abbasid follower and military leader. Biography A Khurasani Arab from the Banu Khuza'a tribe, he was one of earliest followers of the Abbasid missionary effort (''da'wa'') in Khurasan, and ...

, an early

follower and military leader. He was appointed as governor of the Syrian '' thughur'' (essentially comprising

, with Tarsus as its capital) in the last year of 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 ...

(808/9).Crone (1980), p. 182 He organized a prisoner exchange with the Byzantines at

Podandos Padyandus or Podyandos (), also Paduandus, Podandos or Podandus (Πόδανδος), and appearing corrupted in ancient sources as Opodanda, Opodandum, and Rhegepodandos (Ῥεγεποδανδός) was an ancient town in Cataonia, the southernmost ...

in 808, but also led a series of raiding expeditions (''sawa'if'') against them. In one of these however, in August 812, he suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Leo the Armenian, losing 2,000 men. From ca. 810, with the outbreak of a

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 ...

between

al-Amin Abu Musa Muhammad ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو موسى محمد بن هارون الرشيد, Abū Mūsā Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd; April 787 – 24/25 September 813), better known by his laqab of Al-Amin ( ar, الأمين, al-Amī ...

and his brother al-Ma'mun, Thabit, like many other provincial governors and magnates, was able to assume virtually independent control of his province. He died or was killed shortly after the final victory of Ma'mun in 813, according to some accounts poisoned by his cousin Nasr ibn Hamza ibn Malik.Crone (1980), p. 183

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thabit ibn Nasr ibn Malik al-Khuza'i 8th-century births 810s deaths Generals of the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Abbasid governors of Tarsus 9th-century Arabs