Al-Rabīʾ ibn Yūnus ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Farwa (; – 785/6) was a

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

who became one of the leading ministers of the early

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 ...

, serving under the caliphs

al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ‎; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known ...

(),

al-Mahdi Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr (; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his regnal name al-Mahdī (, "He who is guided by God"), was the third Abbasid Caliph who reigned from 775 to his death in 785. He succeeded his ...

() and

al-Hadi Abū Muḥammad Mūsā ibn al-Mahdī al-Hādī (; 26 April 764 CE 14 September 786 CE) better known by his laqab al-Hādī () was the fourth Arab Abbasid caliph who succeeded his father al-Mahdi and ruled from 169 AH (785 CE) until his death in 1 ...

(). Al-Rabi’ was born to a slave woman near

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, ...

about 730 CE. His father Yunus, the scion of a well-to-do family, denied his paternity, and the infant was sent to another family and eventually to an estate in the desert where he was reduced to menial labour. He was however bought by Ziyad ibn Ubayd Allah al-Harithi, the governor of Medina, who in turn presented him as a gift to

al-Saffah Abu al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās (‎; 721/722 – 8 June 754), known by his laqab, ''laqab'' al-Saffah (), was the first caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, one of the longest and most impor ...

, the first Abbasid caliph. Noted by al-Mansur for his literary education and especially his ability in Arabic poetry, he rose to prominence within the Abbasid court, culminating in his appointment as (chamberlain) and eventually

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 ...

. He is often mentioned in the histories as a powerful figure, controlling access to the Caliph, and a capable administrator. He supervised the construction of

Karkh Al-Karkh or just Karkh (Arabic: الكرخ) is historically the name of the western half of Baghdad, Iraq, or alternatively, the western shore of the Tigris River as it ran through Baghdad. The eastern shore is known as al-Rusafa. Historically, ...

, the commercial extramural suburb of

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 ...

, as well as the so-called Palace of Eternity (

Qasr al-Khuld The Khuld Palace () was one of the principal caliphal palaces in Baghdad during the early Abbasid Caliphate. History Baghdad was founded in 762 by the second Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur (). The main part of the original city was the Round city of B ...

), where the Caliphs preferred to stay. Al-Rabi' even received from al-Mansur one quarter of the new city as a grant and named after him (). He was an ally of al-Khayzuran throughout the reigns of al-Mahdi and al-Hadi. He was instrumental in ensuring the smooth succession of al-Mahdi, but he was replaced as vizier by Abu Ubayd Allah, and returned to his post as , which had in the meantime been held by his son al-Fadl ibn al-Rabi'. When Abu Ubayd Allah insulted him during a visit, al-Rabi’ brought about the former's downfall in 779/780, by accusing and proving his son to be a non-believer. He did not return to the post of vizier, however, until the reign of al-Hadi, when for a short while he was vizier, and head of the chancery. Soon after however he was replaced and kept only the direction of the (the budget department). He died in early 785 or early 786. His son al-Fadl occupied a similarly influential position in the court of

Harun al-Rashid Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ar-Rāshīd (), or simply Hārūn ibn al-Mahdī (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Hārūn al-Rāshīd (), was the fifth Abbasid caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from September 786 unti ...

() after him.

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rabi Ibn Yunus 730s births 780s deaths Viziers of the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid people of the Arab–Byzantine wars 8th-century Arab people 8th-century slaves 8th-century government officials Slaves in the Umayyad Caliphate