Yusuf ibn Abi Sa'id al-Marwazi

Yusuf ibn Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Marwazi ( ar, يوسف بن محمد بن يوسف المروزي) was a ninth century governor of Adharbayjan and Arminiyah for the Abbasid Caliphate, serving there from 851 until early 852, when he was killed during an Armenian revolt.

Career

Yusuf was the son of Abu Sa'id Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Marwazi, a Khurasani army commander. Following Muhammad's death in June 851, the caliph al-Mutawakkil assigned Yusuf his father's officers as head of security and governor of the Adharbayjan and Arminiyah. Yusuf accordingly set out for Arminiyah and dispatched his administrative officials throughout the province.

Upon his arrival in Arminiyah, Yusuf was forced to deal with the rebellion of the Armenian prince Bagrat II Bagratuni, who sought to gain control of the country. He was able to neutralize Bagrat by seizing him and sending him to the caliph in Samarra, but this act greatly angered the Armenian '' patrikioi'', who swore to kill him in retaliation. The ''patrikioi'' proceeded to wipe out the garrisons that Yusuf had stationed in the rural districts of the province and sent encouragement and aid to the mountain dwellers of Sasun to attack the governor.

In late February or March 852 the Armenians caught up to Yusuf at Mush in Tarun following a heavy snowfall and surrounded the town. Following a siege lasting several days, Yusuf went to the town gate and fought against the rebels, but was killed along with all of those at his side. The Armenians then plundered his camp, while the noncombatants were ordered strip naked and set out in the snow; most of these soon died from the cold or lost their fingers to frostbite.

In response to the death of Yusuf, al-Mutawakkil dispatched Bugha al-Kabir to Arminiyah, who defeated the rebels and reestablished caliphal control over the province.; ; ;

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852 deaths
Abbasid governors of Arminiya
9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate
People killed in action
9th century in Armenia
9th-century Arabs