Al-Abbas Ibn Al-Ma'mun
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Al-Abbas ibn al-Ma'mun () (died 838 CE) was an
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 ...
prince and general, the son of the
Abbasid caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came ...
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 ...
(). A distinguished military leader in the
Arab–Byzantine wars The Arab–Byzantine wars or Muslim–Byzantine wars were a series of wars from the 7th to 11th centuries between multiple Arab dynasties and the Byzantine Empire. The Muslim Arab Caliphates conquered large parts of the Christian Byzantine empir ...
, he was passed over in the succession in favour of his uncle
al-Mu'tasim Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd (; October 796 – 5 January 842), better known by his laqab, regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim biʾllāh (, ), was the eighth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, ruling from 833 until his death in 842. ...
(). In 838, he was arrested for his involvement in a failed
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
against al-Mu'tasim, and died in
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...
.


Biography

Abbas was the son of al-Ma'mun by the
concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...
Sundus. In 828–829, al-Ma'mun appointed him as governor of
Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia constitutes the Upland and lowland, uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the regio ...
and the Mesopotamian military frontier zone ('' thughur'') with the
Byzantine Empire 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 History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
. Abbas distinguished himself in the expeditions against Byzantium for his bravery. In the summer of 830, Abbas led an expedition against the Khurramite rebels of Babak Khorramdin in
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
. The campaign was accompanied by a contingent of Byzantine captives under the renegade general Manuel the Armenian, who, given Abbas's relative inexperience, may have been the actual commander of the army. Abbas's force met with some success against the Khurramites, and began its return. As it passed near the Byzantine frontier at Hadath, Manuel, having earned the confidence of Abbas and his Arab officers, persuaded Abbas to cross the nearby passes and raid Byzantine territory. Once there, Manuel took advantage of a hunt to disarm Abbas and his entourage and defect back to the Empire, along with some of the other Byzantine captives. Abbas with his men were left behind and after rejoining their army, they retreated back over the mountains into the Caliphate. In the next year, Abbas accompanied his father and uncle in a major expedition into Byzantine
Anatolia 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 ...
. After the Arab army crossed the
Cilician Gates The Cilician Gates or Gülek Pass is a pass through the Taurus Mountains connecting the low plains of Cilicia to the Anatolian Plateau, by way of the narrow gorge of the Gökoluk River. Its highest elevation is about 1000m. The Cilician Gates ...
and took
Heraclea Cybistra Heraclea Cybistra (), or simply Heraclea or Herakleia (Ἡράκλεια), also transliterated as Heracleia, was a town of ancient Cappadocia or Cilicia; located at the site of modern Ereğli in Konya Province, Turkey. History Middle Bronze ...
in early July, it divided in three corps, headed by the Caliph, al-Mu'tasim and Abbas, and proceeded to raid across
Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...
. The other two forces achieved little of consequence in the already repeatedly devastated area, but Abbas met with more success: he forced the town of Tyana to capitulate and razed it, and met and defeated the Byzantine army under the emperor Theophilos () in a minor skirmish. Al-Ma'mun kept up the pressure on Byzantium in 832, with his army capturing the strategically important fortress of
Loulon Loulon (), in Arabic known as Lu'lu'a (), was a fortress near the modern village of Hasangazi in Turkey. The site was of strategic importance as it controlled the northern exit of the Cilician Gates. In the 8th–9th centuries it was located on t ...
, and in late 832 the Caliph began gathering a huge army and announced that he intended to conquer and colonize Anatolia step by step, and finally subjugate the Empire by capturing
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
itself. Consequently, on 25 May 833, Abbas with the advance force marched into Byzantine territory and began creating a military base at the site of Tyana. The site had been fortified and awaited the arrival of the Caliph's army, which in early July crossed into Anatolia. At this juncture al-Ma'mun fell ill and died, although some modern scholars speculate that his death may have been the result of a coup. On receiving news of the Caliph's illness, Abbas abandoned his army and sped to his father's encampment, where he joined his uncle al-Mu'tasim at al-Ma'mun's deathbed. As al-Ma'mun's son, and given his prominent role in his father's last campaigns, Abbas was considered a contender for the succession, although it is unclear if he was ever formally appointed heir apparent, as
al-Dinawari Abū Ḥanīfa Aḥmad ibn Dāwūd Dīnawarī (; died 895) was an Islamic Golden Age polymath: astronomer, agriculturist, botanist, metallurgist, geographer, mathematician, and historian. Life Of Persian stock, Dinawari was born in the (now ...
claims. His main rival was his uncle al-Mu'tasim, who according to the account of
al-Tabari Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present- ...
was named heir by al-Ma'mun on his deathbed. Whatever the true events, al-Mu'tasim was ascendant, as demonstrated by the fact that he performed the funerary prayer for his brother. Abbas swiftly and publicly swore allegiance to al-Mu'tasim, thereby moving to assuage the troops, many of whom were displeased at Abbas being passed over, and wanting to proclaim him caliph instead. Nevertheless, al-Mu'tasim's hold on the throne was still shaky, and he abandoned Ma'mun's campaign; the new base at Tyana was razed, and the still restive army returned to the Caliphate. Despite his acceptance of his uncle's succession, Abbas was removed from his governorship of the frontier lands, but retained the support of several leading figures in the Abbasid court. He soon became the focus of the factions opposed to al-Mu'tasim, and in particular his increasing reliance on, and favour shown to, his Turkish slave-soldiers (''
ghilman Ghilman (singular ',Other standardized transliterations: '' / ''. . plural ')Other standardized transliterations: '' / ''. . were slave-soldiers and/or mercenaries in armies throughout the Islamic world. Islamic states from the early 9th cent ...
''). This discontent resulted in an alleged conspiracy led by the general Ujayf ibn Anbasa which aimed to kill al-Mu'tasim and place Abbas on the throne. The plot was reportedly uncovered while al-Mu'tasim was campaigning against the Byzantines in 838, with the Caliph informed of it just after the celebrated
Sack of Amorium The siege of Amorium by the Abbasid Caliphate in mid-August 838 was one of the major events in the long history of the Arab–Byzantine Wars. The Abbasid campaign was led personally by the Caliph al-Mu'tasim (), in retaliation to a virtually uno ...
. The resulting investigation, headed by al-Mu'tasim's trusted Turkish general
Ashinas Abu Ja'far Ashinas (; died 17 or 19 December 844) was a general of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mu'tasim. One of the earliest and most prominent members of al-Mu'tasim's Turkic guard, he rose to become one of the leading figures of the empire under al- ...
, resulted in the execution of most conspirators. This was broadened into a virtual purge of the army, in which the hitherto dominant
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 ...
i element was replaced with al-Mu'tasim's favoured Turks. According to al-Tabari, Abbas confessed to knowing of the plot while drunk. He was imprisoned at
Manbij Manbij (; ; ) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, west of the Euphrates. The 2004 census gives its population as nearly 100,000.
by another of al-Mu'tasim's lieutenants, al-Afshin, who executed him by a slow and torturous way: Abbas was fed very salty food, denied water, and exposed to the sun wrapped in a felt blanket, until he died. His four brothers by Sundus were imprisoned by the Turkish commander Itakh in the latter's basement, and were never seen again, while Abbas' male descendants were imprisoned and executed by Ashinas.


References


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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbas Ibn Al-Mamun 838 deaths 9th-century births 9th-century Arab people Sons of Abbasid caliphs Generals of the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Prisoners and detainees of the Abbasid Caliphate Year of birth unknown Torture victims 9th-century executions by the Abbasid Caliphate