Abdallah ibn Malik al-Khuza'i () was Arab senior military leader and provincial governor of the early

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...

Biography

Abdallah's father,

Malik ibn al-Haytham al-Khuza'i Abu Nasr Malik ibn al-Haytham al-Khuza'i () was an early Abbasid Caliphate, 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' ...

, was one of the earliest and most important leaders of the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

movement in

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

, and of the Abbasid Revolution that overthrew the Umayyads. As senior members of the privileged ''Khurasaniyya'', the Khurasani army that formed the main pillar of the new regime, Malik's family enjoyed access to positions of power. Thus Abdallah served first, according to

Khalifa ibn Khayyat Abu Amr Khalifa ibn Khayyat al-Usfuri (777–854) was an Arab Islamic scholar and historian. His family were natives of Basra in Iraq. His grandfather was a noted muhaddith or traditionalist, and Khalifa became renowned for this also. Among the g ...

, as governor of Khurasan under Caliph

al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ‎; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known ...

(r. 754–775), and then succeeded his brother

Hamza The hamza ( ') () is an Arabic script character that, in the Arabic alphabet, denotes a glottal stop and, in non-Arabic languages, indicates a diphthong, vowel, or other features, depending on the language. Derived from the letter '' ʿayn'' ( ...

(who in turn had succeeded the eldest brother Nasr) as commander of the caliphal ''

shurta ''Shurṭa'' () is the common Arabic term for police. Its literal meaning is that of a "picked" or elite force. The ''shurṭa'' or police force were established in the early days of the Caliphate, perhaps as early as the caliphate of Uthman (644 ...

'' towards the end of the reign of

al-Mahdi Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr (; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his regnal name al-Mahdī (, "He who is guided by God"), was the third Abbasid Caliph who reigned from 775 to his death in 785. He succeeded his ...

(r. 775–785).Kennedy (1986), pp. 80–81Crone (1980), p. 181 He retained the post under

al-Hadi Abū Muḥammad Mūsā ibn al-Mahdī al-Hādī (; 26 April 764 CE 14 September 786 CE) better known by his laqab al-Hādī () was the fourth Arab Abbasid caliph who succeeded his father al-Mahdi and ruled from 169 AH (785 CE) until his death in 1 ...

(r. 785–786), during whose reign he was "one of the most prominent figures" (

Hugh N. Kennedy Hugh Nigel Kennedy (born 22 October 1947) is a British medievalist and academic. He specialises in the history of the early Islamic Middle East, Muslim Iberia and the Crusades. From 1997 to 2007, he was Professor of Middle Eastern History at th ...

). During this period, he supported al-Hadi in his intention to remove his younger brother,

Harun al-Rashid Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ar-Rāshīd (), or simply Hārūn ibn al-Mahdī (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Hārūn al-Rāshīd (), was the fifth Abbasid caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from September 786 unti ...

(r. 786–809), from the succession in favour of his own son, and urged al-Hadi to execute

Yahya ibn Khalid ibn Barmak Yahya ibn Khalid (; died ) was the most prominent member of the Barmakid family, serving as provincial governor and all-powerful long-time vizier (Abbasid Caliphate), vizier to Caliph Harun al-Rashid before his abrupt fall in 803. Origin and ear ...

.Kennedy (1986), p. 81Crone (1980), p. 182 Consequently, Abdallah's power diminished when Harun rose to the throne and during the period of the

Barmakids The Barmakids ( ''Barmakiyân''; ''al-Barāmikah''Harold Bailey, 1943. "Iranica" BSOAS 11: p. 2. India - Department of Archaeology, and V. S. Mirashi (ed.), ''Inscriptions of the Kalachuri-Chedi Era'' vol. 4 of ''Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum' ...

' dominance of the government, although he served as governor of

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

in 789–791. After the fall of the Barmakid family in early 803, Abdallah once again assumed high offices: he served as commander of Harun's ''shurta'', and in 805 became governor of

Tabaristan Tabaristan or Tabarestan (; ; from , ), was a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. It corresponded to the present-day province of Mazandaran, which became the predominant name of the area from the 11th-century onward ...

Hamadan Hamadan ( ; , ) is a mountainous city in western Iran. It is located in the Central District of Hamadan County in Hamadan province, serving as the capital of the province, county, and district. As of the 2016 Iranian census, it had a po ...

, and other western

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian provinces. He participated in Harun's large-scale invasion of

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

in 806. In the next year, he fought against the

Khurramites The Khurramites ( , meaning "those of the Joyful Religion") were an IranianW. Madelung, "Khurrammiya" in ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianchi, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2009. Brill Online. ...

, and in 808 he accompanied Harun to Khurasan for the suppression of the rebellion of

Rafi ibn al-Layth Rāfiʿ ibn al Layth ibn Naṣr ibn Sayyār () was a Khurasani Arab noble who led a large-scale rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate in 806–809. Background He was the grandson of the last Umayyad governor of Khurasan, Nasr ibn Sayyar. His ...

. After Harun's death in Khurasan in early 809, Abdallah remained in the province, joining the court of Harun's second heir,

al-Ma'mun Abū al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Hārūn al-Maʾmūn (; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name al-Ma'mun (), was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. His leadership was marked by t ...

(r. 813–833), at

Marw Merv (, ', ; ), also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium BC until the ...

. In the subsequent civil war between al-Ma'mun and his half-brother, Caliph

al-Amin Abū Mūsā Muḥammad bin Hārūn al-Amīn (; April 787 – 24/25 September 813), better known by just his laqab of al-Amīn (), was the sixth Abbasid caliph from 809 to 813. Al-Amin succeeded his father, Harun al-Rashid, in 809 and ruled unt ...

(r. 809–813), he remained largely on the sidelines at Marw. He was one of several military leaders who refused to head al-Ma'mun's government, a post which eventually fell to

Fadl ibn Sahl Fazl () is an Arabic word meaning ''grace'' or ''virtue''. It may also be transliterated as Fadl, or with the addition of an extra vowel. It is used as a given name, and also as a constituent of several compound names.{{cite book, title=A Dictionar ...

. His relations with al-Ma'mun were strained, but he accompanied him westwards and was with him when he entered Baghdad in 819. Abdallah had two sons, Abbas and Muttalib. Abbas served governor of

Rayy Shahre Ray, Shahr-e Ray, Shahre Rey, or Shahr-e Rey (, ) or simply Ray or Rey (), is the capital of Rey County in Tehran Province, Iran. Formerly a distinct city, it has now been absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran as the 20t ...

but was dismissed by al-Ma'mun because of his support for al-Amin, while Muttalib played a "very tortuous role" (Kennedy) in the civil war and served twice as governor of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdallah ibn Malik al-Khuzai 8th-century births 9th-century deaths Generals of the Abbasid Caliphate Governors of the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid people of the Arab–Byzantine wars 8th-century Arab people 9th-century Arab people Abbasid governors of Mosul Abbasid governors of Tabaristan