Sa'id ibn Amr al-Harashi (, ) was a prominent
Arab
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
general and governor of the
Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...
, who played an important role in the
Arab–Khazar wars.
Biography
Sa'id ibn Amr al-Harashi was a
Qays
Qays ʿAylān (), often referred to simply as Qays (''Kais'' or ''Ḳays'') were an Arab tribal confederation that branched from the Mudar group. The tribe may not have functioned as a unit in pre-Islamic Arabia (before 630). However, by the ea ...
i from
Qinnasrin,
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 ...
.
[Crone (1980), p. 144][Blankinship (1994), p. 150] He appears on the side of the
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...
prince and general
Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik in 720, when the latter was sent into
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 ...
to quell
Yazid ibn al-Muhallab
Yazid ibn al-Muhallab al-Azdi (; 672/673–24 August 720) was a commander and statesman for the Umayyad Caliphate in Lower Mesopotamia, Iraq and Greater Khorasan, Khurasan in the early 8th century. In 720, he led the last of a series of wide scal ...
's rebellion.
Umar ibn Hubayra, who was installed as the new
governor of Iraq, appointed Sa'id as governor of
Basra
Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...
, and, shortly after (in 722–723), of
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 ...
.
In this position, Sa'id was able to swiftly restore the Muslim position in
Transoxiana
Transoxiana or Transoxania (, now called the Amu Darya) is the Latin name for the region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
, which was threatened by a large-scale
Soghdian rebellion and the first attacks of the
Turgesh nomads. Sa'id rallied the Muslims and took to the offensive, crushing the Soghdian rebels near
Samarkand
Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...
and then proceeding to capture the important city of
Khujand, thereby restoring Muslim control over most of Transoxiana except for the
Fergana Valley
The Fergana Valley (also commonly spelled the Ferghana Valley) in Central Asia crosses eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan.
Encompassing three former Republics of the Soviet Union, Soviet republics, the valley is e ...
. However, his brutality in suppressing the Soghdian revolt, and his strict enforcement of the ''
jizya
Jizya (), or jizyah, is a type of taxation levied on non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,Sabet, Amr (2006), ''The American Journal of Islamic Soc ...
'' on the native population, merely reinforced their hostility towards Arab rule. Despite his oppressive measures, however, he was unable to forward enough tax revenue to Iraq, and was replaced by
Muslim ibn Sa'id al-Kilabi.
After his dismissal, Sa'id returned to
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 ...
.
He re-appears in December 730, when he was called upon to halt the unprecedented
Kazar advance into the Caliphate following their crushing victory in the
Battle of Marj Ardabil. The Caliph
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (; 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743.
Early life
Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrative capital of the Umayyad Caliphate, in AH 72 (691–692 CE). Hi ...
, close to panic, brought Sa'id to his residence at
Rusafa and appointed him to lead an army against the Khazars, but he had few troops at hand. Instead, he gave Sa'id a lance said to have been used in the
Battle of Badr
The Battle of Badr or sometimes called The Raid of Badr ( ; ''Ghazwahu Badr''), also referred to as The Day of the Criterion (, ; ''Yawm al-Furqan'') in the Qur'an and by Muslims, was fought on 13 March 624 CE (17 Ramadan, 2 AH), near the pre ...
to be his standard, as well as 100,000 silver ''
dirham
The dirham, dirhem or drahm is a unit of currency and of mass. It is the name of the currencies of Moroccan dirham, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates dirham, United Arab Emirates and Armenian dram, Armenia, and is the name of a currency subdivisi ...
s'' to recruit men as he went north.
Although the forces he could muster immediately (including survivors from Ardabil who had to be paid ten
gold dinar
The gold dinar () is an Islamic medieval gold coin first issued in AH 77 (696–697 CE) by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The weight of the dinar is 1 mithqal ().
The word ''dinar'' comes from the Latin word denarius, which was ...
s to be persuaded to fight) were small, Sa'id managed to recover
Akhlat on
Lake Van
Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...
. From there he moved north to
Bardha'a and south again to relieve the siege of
Warthan. Near
Bajarwan, Sa'id came upon a 10,000-strong Khazar army under the Khazar ''
khagan
Khagan or Qaghan (Middle Mongol:; or ''Khagan''; ) or zh, c=大汗, p=Dàhán; ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan, Khaqan, Xagahn, Qaghan, Chagan, Қан, or Kha'an is a title of empire, im ...
''s son, which he
defeated, killing most of the Khazars and rescuing the prisoners they had with them. The surviving Khazars fled north, with Sa'id in pursuit. Despite this success, Sa'id was relieved of his command in early 731 and even imprisoned for a while at
Qabala
Qabala () is a city and the administrative centre of the Qabala District of Azerbaijan. The municipality consists of the city of Gabala and the village of Küsnət, Qabala, Küsnat. Before the city was known as Kutkashen, but after the Republic o ...
as the result of the jealousy of Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik, whom Hisham now appointed as governor of
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
and
Adharbayjan and charged with command against the Khazars.
In spring 733, however, Sa'id was rehabilitated and appointed in turn as governor of Armenia and Adharbayjan, following the somewhat lacklustre performance of Maslama and another Umayyad prince, Marwan ibn Muhammad (the future
Marwan II
Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan (; – 6 August 750), commonly known as Marwan II, was the fourteenth and last caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 744 until his death. His reign was dominated by a Third Fitna, civil war, and he was the l ...
), against the Khazars over the previous years. Nevertheless, for the duration of Sa'id tenure, he remained on the defensive, possibly as a result of the exhaustion of his troops in the
long conflict with the Khazars. Due to the loss of his eyesight, Sa'id was forced to resign his post, probably in early 735.
Family
Sa'id had several sons who were active as military leaders and governors for both the Umayyads and the
Abbasids
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 i ...
: Yazid was killed in
Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna (), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia, eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (roughly western Libya). It included all of what had previously been the Byzantine province of ...
,
Nadr was Marwan II's governor of Iraq, Anbasa commanded the troops of Qinnasrin in 785/786, and another,
Yahya, served as governor 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 ...
in 779/780.
[Crone (1980), pp. 144–145]
References
Sources
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{{Authority control
7th-century births
8th-century deaths
7th-century Arab people
8th-century Arab people
Umayyad governors of Arminiya
Arab generals
Generals of the Umayyad Caliphate
Umayyad governors of Khurasan
Umayyad people of the Arab–Khazar wars