The al-Madhara'i () were a family of officials 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 as and virtually monopolized the posts of director of finances (''‘āmil'') 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

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 ...

, 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 ...

, and the Ikhshidid dynasty, between 879 and 946. In this role, they amassed "one of the largest personal fortunes in the medieval Arab east" (

Thierry Bianquis Thierry Bianquis (3 August 1935 – 2 September 2014) was a French Orientalism, Orientalist and Arabist. His main interest was the medieval Islamic Middle East, most notably the Fatimid era of Egypt and Syria (region), Syria, which was the subject ...

). As its '' nisba'' shows, the family hailed from the village of Madharaya near Wasit in lower

. The first member to rise to prominence was Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Madhara'i, who in 879 was named controller of finances by the autonomous ruler of

and

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 ...

(reigned 868–884), a post he kept until his death in 884. He named his sons Ali and Abu Ali al-Husayn as his representatives in Egypt and Syria respectively. Ali succeeded his father and 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 ...

under Khumarawayh ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun (r. 884–896) and during the brief reign of Jaysh ibn Khumarawayh, along with whom he was murdered in 896. He was in turn succeeded as fiscal director by his son Abu'l-Tayyib Ahmad (died 915), while another son,

Abu Bakr Muhammad Abu Bakr Muhammad (died 941) was the first Muhtajids, Muhtajid ruler of Chaghaniyan (until 939) and governor of Samanid Greater Khorasan, Khurasan (933–939). He was the son of Muzaffar ibn Muhtaj. Origins The origin of the Muhtajids is u ...

served as

to the penultimate 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 ...

(r. 896–904). Following the end of the Tulunid dynasty and the re-imposition of direct

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 ...

control over their domains in 904–5, many of the family and its followers were deported to

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 ...

, but al-Husayn, who had maintained contacts with the Abbasid court, was appointed in charge of the Egyptian finances. The family now became involved in factional struggles between the leading bureaucratic factions in Baghdad, siding with the opposition to the Banu'l-Furat clan. Its fortunes fluctuated as a result. In 913, al-Husayn was moved once more to Syria, while his nephew Abu Bakr Muhammad took over in Egypt, but both were dismissed in 917. Al-Husayn again served as financial director of Egypt in 919–922, and for a third and final time (along with Syria) from 926 until his death in 929. The last important representative of the family, al-Husayn's nephew Abu Bakr Muhammad, took over the direction of Egyptian finances in 930–933, under the governorship of his friend Takin al-Khazari. In 936 he tried without success to oppose the takeover of Egypt by Muhammad ibn Tughj, and was imprisoned. Released in 939, he played a leading role in the governance of the new

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 ...

state until his dismissal in 946, after Ibn Tughj's death. He retired into private life, and died in 957.

References

Sources

* * {{EI2 , volume = 5 , title = al-Mād̲h̲arāʾī , first = H. L. , last = Gottschalk , authorlink = , page = 953 , doi =10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_4729 People from the Tulunid dynasty 10th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate