Abu Ali Al-Husayn Ibn Ahmad Al-Madhara'i
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Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Ahmad al-Madhara'i, also known as Abu Zunbur ("the hornets' man"), was a member of the bureaucratic
al-Madhara'i The al-Madhara'i () were a family of officials from Iraq who served as and virtually monopolized the posts of director of finances (''‘āmil'') of Egypt and Syria for the Tulunid dynasty, the Abbasid Caliphate, and the Ikhshidid dynasty, between ...
dynasty of fiscal officials, and served as director of finances 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 ...
and
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
for the
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 ...
in the first decades of the 10th century.


Life

Al-Husayn was a son of Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Madhara'i, who in 879 founded the family's fortunes when he was named controller of finances by the autonomous ruler 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 ...
and
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
,
Ahmad ibn Tulun Ahmad ibn Tulun (; c. 20 September 835 – 10 May 884) was the founder of the Tulunid dynasty that ruled Egypt in the Middle Ages, Egypt and Bilad al-Sham, Syria between 868 and 905. Originally a Turkic peoples, Turkic slave-soldier, in 868 Ibn ...
. Abu Bakr held the post until his death in 884, and eventually named al-Husayn as his representative in Syria, while another son,
Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...
, fulfilled the same role in Egypt. Ali succeeded his father until his own death in 897, and was in turn succeeded by his son
Ahmad Ahmad () is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other English spellings of the name include Ahmed. It is also used as a surname. Etymology The word derives from the root ( ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from ...
. Al-Husayn remained in charge of the finances of Syria throughout the
Tulunid The Tulunid State, also known as the Tulunid Emirate or The State of Banu Tulun, and popularly referred to as the Tulunids () was a Mamluk dynasty of Turkic origin who was the first independent dynasty to rule Egypt, as well as much of Syria, s ...
regime, but as it began to weaken, he took up contacts with 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 ...
court in
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
. Consequently, when the Tulunid domains were brought once more under direct Abbasid control in 904–5, and many of the family were deported to Baghdad, he replaced his nephew Ahmad as director of finances of Egypt. From this post he became involved in the factional struggles between the leading bureaucratic factions in Baghdad, the
Banu'l-Furat The Banu'l-Furat () were a Shia family of civil functionaries of the Abbasid Caliphate in the late 9th and early 10th centuries, several of whom held the office of vizier. In the sources, the members of the family are often simply designated as Ibn ...
clan and their opponents, the al-Madhara'i steadfastly siding with the latter. During the second
vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
ate of
Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah ʿAlī ibn ʿĪsā ibn Dā'ūd ibn al-Jarrāḥ (Dayr Qunna, 859 – Baghdad, 1 August 946), was an official of the court of the Abbasid Caliphate. Descended from a family with long history of service in the Abbasid government, he rose to power i ...
(913–917), al-Husayn was once more appointed to Syria, while another nephew,
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
, took over in Egypt. When Ali ibn Isa fell and was replaced by his arch-rival
Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn al-Furat Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Musa ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Furat (; 855 – 18 July 924) was a senior official of the Abbasid Caliphate who served three times as vizier under Caliph al-Muqtadir. Ali emerged into prominence as an able fiscal admini ...
, the al-Madhara'i were dismissed and imprisoned. Al-Husayn was recalled to Baghdad, where he remained until May 919, when he was once more assigned to the post of financial director of Egypt. He kept the post until 922, when he was dismissed by Ali ibn Isa. Recalled to Baghdad in 923, he was forced to pay a huge fine of five million ''
dirham The dirham, dirhem or drahm is a unit of currency and of mass. It is the name of the currencies of Moroccan dirham, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates dirham, United Arab Emirates and Armenian dram, Armenia, and is the name of a currency subdivisi ...
s''. Nevertheless, in 926 he was again sent to Egypt with his remit extended to Syria as well. He died in office at
Fustat Fustat (), also Fostat, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, though it has been integrated into Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by the Rashidun Muslim general 'Amr ibn al-'As immediately after the Mus ...
in 929.


References


Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Ahmad al-Madhara'i 9th-century births 929 deaths Year of birth unknown Al-Madhara'i family Tulunid officials