
Sa'id ibn Hamdan () was an early member of the
Hamdanid dynasty
The Hamdanid dynasty () was a Shia Muslim Arab dynasty that ruled modern day Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib tribe of Mesopotamia and Arabia.
History Origin
The Hamdanids hailed ...
who served as provincial governor and military leader under 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 ...
. He was the father of the celebrated poet
Abu Firas al-Hamdani
Al-Harith ibn Abi’l-ʿAlaʾ Saʿid ibn Hamdan al-Taghlibi (932–968), better known by his pen name Abu Firas al-Hamdani (), was an Arab prince and poet. He was a cousin of Sayf al-Dawla and a member of the Hamdanid dynasty, who were rulers in ...
.
Biography
Sa'id was a son of the
Hamdanid
The Hamdanid dynasty () was a Shia Muslim Arab dynasty that ruled modern day Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib tribe of Mesopotamia and Arabia.
History Origin
The Hamdanids hailed ...
family's patriarch,
Hamdan ibn Hamdun
Hamdan ( ') is a name of Arab origin of aristocratic descent and many political ties within the middle east and the Arab World, controlling import/export mandates over port authorities.
Among people named Hamdan include:
Given name
* Hamdan Mo ...
. His family belonged to the
Banu Taghlib
The Banu Taghlib (), also known as Taghlib ibn Wa'il, were an Arab tribe that originated in Jazira. Their parent tribe was the Rabi'a, and they thus traced their descent to the Adnanites. The Taghlib were among the most powerful and cohesive no ...
tribe, established in the
Jazira
Jazira, al-Jazira, Jazeera, al-Jazeera, etc. are all transcriptions of Arabic language, Arabic meaning "the island" or "the peninsula".
The term may refer to:
Business
*Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait
Locations
* Al-Jazir ...
since before the
Muslim conquests The Muslim conquests, Muslim invasions, Islamic conquests, including Arab conquests, Arab Islamic conquests, also Iranian Muslim conquests, Turkic Muslim conquests etc.
*Early Muslim conquests
** Ridda Wars
**Muslim conquest of Persia
*** Muslim co ...
. In a pattern repeated across 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 ...
, the Taghlibi leaders took advantage of the collapse of central caliphal authority during the decade-long
Anarchy at Samarra
The Anarchy at Samarra () was a period of extreme internal instability from 861 to 870 in the history of the Abbasid Caliphate, marked by the violent succession of four caliphs, who became Puppet ruler, puppets in the hands of powerful rival milit ...
(861–870) to assert increasing control over their particular area, centred on
Mosul
Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...
. Despite the subsequent re-assertion of caliphal authority under
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 ...
(), the family was able to retain and consolidate its influence in the area thanks to Sa'id's brother
Husayn ibn Hamdan, who became a distinguished general in Abbasid service. Husayn rebelled in after quarrelling with the vizier, and was executed in 918, but his brothers remained loyal to the Abbasid government and were entrusted with senior positions. In 927/8, Sa'id and his brothers served in the caliphal army
sent to stop 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 ...
of
Bahrayn from reaching
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 ...
.
Along with his brother Abu'l-Sarja Nasr, Sa'id vied with his nephew Hasan, the future
Nasir al-Dawla, for control of Mosul. In 931, following the conquest of the
frontier emirate of
Melitene by the
Byzantines under
John Kourkouas
John Kourkouas (, ), also transliterated as Kurkuas or Curcuas, was one of the most important generals of the Byzantine Empire. His success in battles against the Muslim states in the East reversed the course of the centuries-long Arab–Byzant ...
, 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 ...
() appointed him governor of Mosul, with the task of recovering the city. Setting out in October, Sa'id managed to break the Byzantine siege of
Samosata
Samsat (, Ottoman Turkish صمصاد ''Semisat''), formerly Samosata () is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.[Melias
Melias () or Mleh (, often ''Mleh-mec'', "Mleh the Great" in Armenian sources) was an Armenian prince who entered Byzantine service and became a distinguished general, founding the theme of Lykandos and participating in the campaigns of John K ...]
, panicked and massacred many of the inhabitants for fear of an uprising against them; they then destroyed as much of the city as they could and abandoned it. Sa'id took over control of the city, appointed one of his lieutenants as governor, and returned to Mosul. From there he launched a raid into Byzantine territory in November. Hasan regained Mosul in 934, but again Sa'id's intrigues at court caused him to lose it. As a result, Hasan had his uncle assassinated and fled to
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 ...
, whence he returned in late 935 to become once more Mosul's governor. Consolidating his position, Hasan founded the practically independent Hamdanid emirate of Mosul, and ruled it until 967.
Through a
Byzantine Greek
Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic; Greek: ) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the F ...
slave concubine (an ''
umm walad
In the Muslim world, the title of ''umm al-walad'' () was given to a Concubinage in Islam, slave-concubine who had given birth to a child acknowledged by her master as his. These women were regarded as property and could be sold by their owners, ...
'', freed after giving birth to her master's child), Sa'id was the father of the distinguished general and poet
Abu Firas al-Hamdani
Al-Harith ibn Abi’l-ʿAlaʾ Saʿid ibn Hamdan al-Taghlibi (932–968), better known by his pen name Abu Firas al-Hamdani (), was an Arab prince and poet. He was a cousin of Sayf al-Dawla and a member of the Hamdanid dynasty, who were rulers in ...
. Another son,
Husayn, served as a general under Nasir al-Dawla and
Sayf al-Dawla
ʿAlī ibn ʾAbū'l-Hayjāʾ ʿAbdallāh ibn Ḥamdān ibn Ḥamdūn ibn al-Ḥārith al-Taghlibī (, 22 June 916 – 8 February 967), more commonly known simply by his honorific of Sayf al-Dawla (, ), was the founder of the Emirate of Aleppo, ...
, while his daughter Shakinah became the wife of Sayf al-Dawla and the mother of his successor,
Sa'd al-Dawla.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sa'id ibn Hamdani
934 deaths
Year of birth unknown
10th-century Arab people
Governors of the Abbasid Caliphate
Abbasid people of the Arab–Byzantine wars
Hamdanid dynasty
Assassinated people of the medieval Islamic world
History of Malatya
Abbasid governors of Mosul