Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ali al-Madhara'i (871–957) was the last important representative 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. He 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 ...

under the

Tulunid dynasty 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 ...

and 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 ...

, as well as becoming

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 ...

for the Tulunid ruler

Harun ibn Khumarawayh Harun ibn Khumarawayh (; died 30 December 904) was the fourth Tulunid vassal Emir of Egypt (896–904). He succeeded his elder brother Abu 'l-Asakir Jaysh, who had been murdered by army chiefs. He left state affairs to the vizier, Abu Ja'far i ...

, and later occupying high office under the

Ikhshidids The Ikhshidid dynasty (, ) was a Turkic dynasty of governors of mamluk origin, who governed Egypt and parts of the Levant from 935 to 969 on behalf of the Abbasid Caliphate. The dynasty carried the Arabic title "Wāli" reflecting their position a ...

Life

Born in 871, Muhammad was the son of Ali ibn Ahmad al-Madhara'i and grandson of the family's founder, Abu Bakr Ahmad. Ahmad had been appointed head of finances of

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 ...

in 879, and his family were likewise appointed to senior positions in the fiscal bureaucracy. As its '' nisba'' shows, the family hailed from the village of Madharaya near

Wasit Wasit (, ) was an early Islamic city in Iraq. It was founded in the 8th century by the Umayyad viceroy of Iraq, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, to serve as the region's seat and as the garrison of the Syrian troops who enforced Umayyad rule there. It was ...

in lower

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. Muhammad came to Egypt in 885, where his father had become

to the Tulunid ruler,

Khumarawayh Abu 'l-Jaysh Khumārawayh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn (; 864 – 18 January 896) was a son of the founder of the Tulunid dynasty, Ahmad ibn Tulun. His father, the autonomous ruler of Egypt and Syria, designated him as his successor. When Ibn Tulun ...

(reigned 884–896). Ali appointed him deputy director of finances. His father was murdered along with Khumarawayh's short-lived successor, Jaysh, in 896, and Muhammad became vizier of the new Tulunid ruler,

Harun Harun (, ), also transliterated as Haroon or Haroun or Hamroun, is a common male given name of Arabic origin, related to the Hebrew name of the Prophet Aaron. Both are most likely of Egyptian origin, from '' ꜥḥꜣ rw'', meaning "warrior lion". ...

(r. 896–904). Following the overthrow of the Tulunids and the re-establishment of direct control over Egypt and

by the

in 904–5, Muhammad and many of his followers were deported to the Abbasid capital,

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 ...

, while his uncle, Abu Ali al-Husayn, thanks to his contacts in the Abbasid court, managed to survive the regime change and become financial director of Egypt. The family now became involved in factional struggles between the leading bureaucratic factions in Baghdad, siding with the opposition to 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. Its fortunes fluctuated as a result: in 913, al-Husayn was moved once more to Syria, while Muhammad departed Baghdad to take over the finances in Egypt, but both were dismissed in 917, when the Banu'l-Furat regained the vizierate in Baghdad. Muhammad then retired to private life in the Egyptian capital,

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 ...

. The family had already amassed an enormous fortune through its control of the province's finances, but Muhammad went on to increase it further. At the same time, he publicly expressed his religious piety, by going to the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

every year between 913 and 934, and distributing lavish presents to the holy cities of Mecca and

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

and their inhabitants. During the second Fatimid invasion of Egypt, al-Madhara'i corresponded with the Fatimid commander, the heir-apparent al-Qa'im, and kept him informed about the state of the Fustat garrison. As al-Qa'im did not launch an attack on the city, despite the garrison's weakness, it may be that al-Madhara'i played a double game, trying to delay an attack until fresh Abbasid troops arrived from Iraq. Al-Madhara'i was re-appointed as the director of Egyptian finances in 930, under the governorship of his friend

Takin al-Khazari Takin al-Khassa Abu Mansur Takin ibn Abdallah al-Harbi al-Khazari (; died 16 March 933) was an Abbasid commander of Khazar origin who served thrice as governor of Egypt. He grew up and became an officer under Caliph al-Mu'tadid (). He was appointe ...

, but lost it again after Takin's death in 933. In the factional strife that engulfed Egypt after Takin's death, Muhammad played a major role, and was an opponent to Takin's son Muhammad. In 935, Muhammad ibn Tughj was appointed governor of Egypt by the Abbasid vizier Abu'l-Fath al-Fadl (another member of the Banu'l-Furat). Although Ibn Tughj reached out to him and sought an amicable agreement, Muhammad refused to recognize his appointment and tried to resist his takeover of Egypt, but his troops defected to Ibn Tughj without a fight. Following Ibn Tughj's entry into Fustat in August 935, Muhammad went into hiding, but when Abu'l-Fath al-Fadl himself abandoned Baghdad and came to Egypt in 937, the al-Madhara'i were arrested, and Muhammad had to surrender much of his fortune to the treasury. After the death of Abu'l-Fath al-Fadl in 939, he was released from prison and soon regained his rank and power in the

Ikhshidid The Ikhshidid dynasty (, ) was a Turkic dynasty of governors of mamluk origin, who governed Egypt and parts of the Levant from 935 to 969 on behalf of the Abbasid Caliphate. The dynasty carried the Arabic title "Wāli" reflecting their position a ...

court. By the time of Ibn Tughj's death in 946, he was strong enough to become the ''de facto'' regent for Ibn Tughj's under-age son Unujur, but he was soon overthrown and imprisoned in a coup orchestrated by Abu'l-Fath al-Fadl's son Ja'far. He was released in 947 by the new strongman, Kafur, and retired once more into private life. His death at Fustat on 16 January 957 ended the al-Madhara'i line.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muhammad Ibn Ali Al-Madhara'i 871 births 957 deaths Muhammad Ibn Ali Al-Madhara'i Ikhshidid officials