Abu'l-Fath al-Fadl ibn Ja'far ibn al-Furat () (died 938), also called with the
matronymic
A matronymic is a personal name or a parental name based on the given name of one's mother, grandmother, or any female ancestor. It is the female equivalent of a patronymic. Around the world, matronymic surnames are far less common than patrony ...
Ibn Hinzaba, was a member of the bureaucratic
Banu'l-Furat family from
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 ...
, who served twice as
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 ...
of 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 ...
.
Family
Abu'l-Fath al-Fadl ibn Ja'far ibn al-Furat was the scion of a bureaucratic dynasty, the
Banu'l-Furat, that had occupied senior posts in the fiscal bureaucracy of 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 ...
at
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 ...
since the reign of Caliph
al-Mu'tadid
Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn (), 853/4 or 860/1 – 5 April 902, better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtaḍid bi-llāh (), was the caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 892 until his death ...
() and had gone on to become one of the two major factions within the Abbasid administrative elite in the first decades of the 10th century. Fadl's father,
Abu'l-Khattab Ja'far, was head of the land department for the East and West from 908 until his death in 909/10, while his uncle was the famous
Abu'l-Hasan Ali, who served three times as
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 ...
to Caliph
al-Muqtadir
Abū’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Al-Mu'tadid, Aḥmad ibn Al-Muwaffaq, Ṭalḥa ibn Al-Mutawakkil, Jaʿfar ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn Al-Muqtadir bi'Llāh () (895 – 31 October 932 AD), better known by his regnal name a ...
.
Fadl was often called "Ibn Hinzaba" after his mother. From this the branch of the family he founded is usually called "Banu Hinzaba".
Early career
Fadl replaced his father as head of the land department for the East (''
dīwān al-mashriq''), holding the post until 911/2. He was appointed as deputy head of the same department during the first vizierate of
Ali ibn Isa ibn al-Jarrah, who would emerge as his uncle's greatest opponent and the leader of the rival Banu'l-Jarrah faction. In 917–918, when his uncle was vizier for a second time, Fadl was again head of the department.
Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn al-Furat and his son al-Muhassin were executed in 924 as a result of the unrestrained persecution of their political rivals, after which Fadl became the most senior member of his family. For a few years, he had to hide, as the reputation of the Banu'l-Furat had been tainted by bloodshed. It was Ibn al-Jarrah who brought Fadl back into government as head of the land department for the East in 927. When Ibn al-Jarrah was disgraced following the
Qarmatian invasion of 927, Fadl was one of the chief candidates to succeed him, along with
Ibn Muqla
Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muqla (; 885/6 – 20 July 940/1), commonly known as Ibn Muqla, was an official of the Abbasid Caliphate who rose to high state posts in the early 10th century. His career culminated in his own assumption of the v ...
and
al-Nayramani. However, as he was too identified with the Banu'l-Furat faction, Ibn Muqla became vizier. Fadl kept his previous post during Ibn Muqla's vizierate.
In 931, the support of the commander-in-chief
Mu'nis al-Muzaffar
Abū'l-Ḥasan Mu'nis al-Qushuri (; 845/6–933), also commonly known by the surnames al-Muẓaffar (; ) and al-Khadim (; 'the Eunuch'), was the commander-in-chief of the Abbasid army from 908 to his death in 933 CE, and virtual dictator and king ...
—another formerly staunch opponent of his uncle—secured for him the land department of the
Sawad
Sawad was the name used in early Islamic times (7th–12th centuries) for southern Iraq. It means "black land" or "arable land" and refers to the stark contrast between the alluvial plain of Mesopotamia and the Arabian Desert. Under the Umayyad ...
, before returning to the land department of the East in 931–932 under the vizier
al-Husayn ibn al-Qasim
Al-Husayn ibn al-Qasim () was a senior official of the Abbasid Caliphate who served as vizier from September 931 until May 932.
Life
Hailing from the Banu Wahb, a family of Nestorian Christian origin that had served in the caliphal bureaucracy si ...
, who employed several ministers from the faction of Abu'l-Khattab Ja'far.
First vizierate
Eventually Fadl himself was appointed vizier in May 932, after the previous incumbent
al-Husayn ibn al-Qasim
Al-Husayn ibn al-Qasim () was a senior official of the Abbasid Caliphate who served as vizier from September 931 until May 932.
Life
Hailing from the Banu Wahb, a family of Nestorian Christian origin that had served in the caliphal bureaucracy si ...
, had been deposed due to his inability to manage the dismal finances. Fadl himself had been instrumental in disclosing that Ibn al-Qasim had only managed to balance the budget with revenue that was no longer available, thus precipitating his downfall. With the support of al-Muqtadir's influential cousin,
Harun ibn Gharib, he now became vizier. His tenure lasted only for a few months, being plagued by multiple problems. The
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 ...
attacks on the
frontier districts continued, as did the attacks of
Mardavij
Mardavij ( Gilaki/, meaning "man assailant") was an Iranian prince, who established the Ziyarid dynasty, ruling from 930 to 935.
Born to a Zoroastrian family native to Gilan, Mardavij sought to establish a native Iranian Zoroastrian empire akin ...
in
Persia
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 ...
. The refugees fleeing both often rioted in Baghdad, and even attacked the vizier in his own residence; Fadl only escaped death by leaping into his barge and rowing away. At the same time,
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 ...
was in the hands of Mu'nis al-Muzaffar, now hostile to the Caliph, while much of southern Iraq was being controlled or raided by the
Qarmatians
The Qarmatians (; ) were a militant Isma'ili Shia movement centred in Al-Ahsa in Eastern Arabia, where they established a religious state in 899 CE. Its members were part of a movement that adhered to a syncretic branch of Sevener Ismaili ...
. Food became scarce in Baghdad, and the resulting famine led to an outbreak of plague in the city.
Harun ibn Gharib and Fadl encouraged al-Muqtadir to reconcile with Mu'nis al-Muzaffar, and invite the latter back to Baghdad, against the counsel of
Muhammad ibn Yaqut Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Yaqut () was an official who played a major role in the tumultuous political affairs of the Abbasid Caliphate in 930–935, particularly during the reign of al-Qahir (932–934) and the early months of the reign of ar-Radi, whe ...
and the sons of Ra'iq, who remained utterly opposed to Mu'nis. The Caliph hesitate between the two opinions, but finally listened to the latter. When Mu'nis marched on Baghdad, the Caliph rode out to confront him and was killed in the ensuing battle. Mu'nis thus emerged as the undisputed king-maker and dictator of the Caliphate. A new caliph,
al-Qahir
Abū al-Manṣūr Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Qāhir bi'Llāh (), usually known simply by his regnal title al-Qahir bi'Llah (), was the nineteenth caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 932 ...
, was installed, and Ibn Muqla became vizier.
Second vizierate, retirement and death
It was not until the caliphate of
al-Radi
Abu'l-Abbas Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Muqtadir (; 1 January 909 – 23 December 940), usually simply known by his regnal name al-Radi bi'llah (), was the twentieth Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from 934 to his death. He died on 23 Decemb ...
() that Fadl again occupied high office, being appointed inspector 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 ...
. In that capacity, he confirmed
Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid
Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Ṭughj ibn Juff ibn Yiltakīn ibn Fūrān ibn Fūrī ibn Khāqān (8 February 882 – 24 July 946), better known by the title al-Ikhshīd () after 939, was an Abbasid commander and governor who became the autonomous ru ...
's rule over Egypt. In 937 (
AH 325), the ''
amir al-umara
The office of (), variously rendered in English as emir of emirs, prince of princes, chief emir, and commander of commanders, was a senior military position in the 10th-century Abbasid Caliphate, whose holders in the decade after 936 came to super ...
''
Ibn Ra'iq appointed him again to the vizierate, and married his daughter to Fadl's son
Ja'far. He retired later in the same year (AH 326), and retired to Egypt. He died in 938, and was buried at
Ramla
Ramla (), also known as Ramle (, ), is a city in the Central District of Israel. Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with significant numbers of both Jews and Arabs.
The city was founded in the early 8th century CE by the Umayyad caliph S ...
.
His son Ja'far became
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 ...
of the
Ikhshidid dynasty of Egypt, remaining in office from 946 until the
Fatimid conquest of Egypt
The Fatimid conquest of Egypt took place in 969 when the troops of the Fatimid Caliphate under the general Jawhar (general), Jawhar captured Medieval Egypt, Egypt, then ruled by the autonomous Ikhshidid dynasty in the name of the Abbasid Caliph ...
in 969. He was also a prominent traditionalist and transmitter of ''
hadith
Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
''.
References
Sources
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{{s-end
9th-century births
938 deaths
10th-century Arab people
10th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate
Fadl
Viziers of the Abbasid Caliphate