Al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra
Al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra al-Azdi | |
---|---|
Fars | |
In office 685–686 | |
Monarch | Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (r. 683–692) |
Zubayrid governor of Mosul[a] | |
In office 687–688 | |
Monarch | Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (r. 683–692) |
Preceded by | Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar |
Succeeded by | Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar |
Umayyad governor of Khurasan[b] | |
In office 698–702 | |
Monarch | Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (r. 685–705) |
Preceded by | Umayya ibn Abdallah ibn Khalid ibn Asid |
Succeeded by | Yazid ibn al-Muhallab |
Personal details | |
Born | c. 632 UAE) |
Died | 702 Marw al-Rudh, Umayyad Caliphate |
Spouse(s) | Khayra al-Qushayriyya Bahla |
Children | Abd al-Malik Habib Marwan Mudrik Al-Mufaddal Muhammad Al-Mughira Qabisa Yazid Ziyad Abu Uyayna Hind |
Parent | Abu Sufra al-Azdī |
Abū Saʿīd al-Muhallab ibn Abī Ṣufra al-Azdī (
Throughout his early military career, he participated in the Arab campaigns against the
The resurgence of the Azariqa in Ahwaz in 688/89 saw him transferred once again to that front by the Zubayrids. When the latter were ousted from Iraq by the Umayyads in 691, al-Muhallab switched allegiance to the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705), who kept him in command of the war against the Azariqa. With the key support of the powerful Umayyad governor of Iraq, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, al-Muhallab decisively defeated the Kharijites in 698. Throughout the thirteen-year conflict with the Kharijites, al-Muhallab was consistently viewed as indispensable by the Basrans and their Zubayrid and Umayyad rulers. Al-Hajjaj made al-Muhallab governor of Khurasan in 698. From there, he recommenced the Arab conquests in Transoxiana, leading a two-year-long siege of the fortress of Kish. He was ultimately compelled to withdraw to his capital in Merv and died on the way there. He was succeeded by his son Yazid.
Origins, early life and career
Al-Muhallab was born in c. 632. Most sources hold that his father, Abu Sufra, was an Arab from the
Al-Muhallab and his father were initially settled among the Azd Uman at the Arab military settlement of
Between 662 and 665, during the reign of the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680), al-Muhallab led a renewed campaign into Sistan, reaching as far as Sindh.[1] In 664, he attacked Banna and al-Ahwar (Lahore), but was countered by local forces.[6] There, he adopted the Indian tradition of trimming the tails of his war horses. After his Sistan campaign, he was transferred, for an unspecified period, to Khurasan front in 670, fighting under the command of al-Hakam ibn Amr al-Ghifari. He returned to this front under the governor of Khurasan, Sa'id ibn Uthman, in 676 and then again in 681, in the company of other reputable Basran generals recruited by the newly-appointed governor, Salm ibn Ziyad. This time he remained in the province for a further three years, after which Umayyad authority collapsed in Khurasan and most of the Caliphate. Salm consequently left the province, initially appointing al-Muhallab as his deputy governor, but the latter was quickly edged out by Abd Allah ibn Khazim al-Sulami.[1] The latter had the backing of the Banu Tamim, a powerful tribal faction in the Khurasan army, while al-Muhallab lacked tribal support as the Azd presence in the province was negligible at the time.[7]
Iraq, and Khurasan with it, ultimately came under the suzerainty of the anti-Umayyad,
First campaign against the Kharijites
Al-Muhallab was unable to take up his assignment in Khurasan due to the opposition of the Basran troops, who pressed him to lead the campaign against the
The campaign against the Kharijites "was to occupy him [al-Muhallab], on and off, for the next thirteen years", according to Crone.[1] Under his command, the Zubayrid forces ousted the Azariqa from the Tigris river valley, forcing them to regroup at a place in Ahwaz called Sillabra, where he inflicted a decisive defeat against them in 685,[9][12] in which 7,000 of their men were killed.[13] The Azariqa consequently retreated east into Fars.[9] Al-Muhallab remained in Ahwaz for a short period until Ibn al-Zubayr's brother, Mus'ab, became governor of Basra.[14] The latter appointed al-Muhallab governor of Fars.[15]
Zubayrid governor of Mosul
By 686/87, al-Muhallab had dispersed the Azariqa in the regions of Basra and Ahwaz and was called on by Mus'ab to join his campaign against
Final campaign against the Kharijites
Al-Muhallab was recalled from Mosul to confront the Azariqa's resurgence and renewed raids against Ahwaz, and Ibn al-Ashtar replaced him as governor.[1][9][19] Despite the intensified efforts of al-Muhallab, the Azariqa's defense kept him confined to the west bank of the Dujayl river.[9] In 690, eight months after he was reassigned to the war against the Azariqa, Mus'ab was defeated and killed by the Umayyad army led by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan at the Battle of Maskin.[9][20] At the time, al-Muhallab was engaged against the Azariqa in the environs of Ahwaz.[21] Upon hearing news of Abd al-Malik's victory and conquest of Iraq, al-Muhallab had his troops swear allegiance to the Umayyad caliph.[22] Abd al-Malik's kinsman and governor over Basra, Khalid ibn Abdallah, relieved al-Muhallab of command and assigned him to collect the kharaj (land tax) of Ahwaz.[1] The governor's brother, Abd al-Aziz, was appointed in al-Muhallab's place, but was routed by the Azariqa.[23] After Abd al-Malik was informed of his forces' defeat, he sent a letter reproaching Khalid for not utilizing al-Muhallab, "who is fortunate in judgment, good in management, skillful and experienced in war—a man of war, and the son of men of war".[24] Afterward, in 693/94, Abd al-Malik directly appointed al-Muhallab commander of the war against the Azariqa, but later that year, his troops deserted the field against them at Ramhormoz following news of the death of Bishr ibn Marwan, Khalid's replacement as governor of Basra.[1]
Toward the end of 694, Abd al-Malik appointed
Umayyad governor of Khurasan and death
In 697/98, Khurasan was incorporated into al-Hajjaj's governorship and he appointed al-Muhallab as his deputy governor over the province.[1][28] The Kharijite rebellions had not taken root in Khurasan and at the time of his appointment, the Tamim formed the strongest army faction in the province. According to the historian Muhammad Abdulhayy Shaban, al-Hajjaj viewed the unruly Tamim's dominance as the major impediment to his policies of centralization and expansion in the eastern half of the Caliphate. His solution was to balance the Tamim with the largely Azd–Rabi'a troops of al-Muhallab. The latter's appointment marked a departure from the Umayyad tradition of appointing a member of the (factionally neutral) Quraysh as governor of Khurasan.[29]
By dint of his battlefield reputation and al-Hajjaj's resolute support, al-Muhallab secured the loyalty of the Khurasani troops.
After crossing the Oxus, al-Muhallab reached his main target, the fortress of
Legacy
The historian Hugh Kennedy describes al-Muhallab as "a figure of almost legendary prowess on the battlefield and a man with a great reputation as a commander", which he gained in "hard, unrewarding campaigning" against the Azariqa in the unfavorable terrain of Fars and Ahwaz.[25] According to Julius Wellhausen, though al-Muhallab's career in Khurasan "did not add to his renown in war", it brought about a development of "great importance" in the province: the influx of the Azd. A small number of Azdi tribesmen had already been present, but it was only under al-Muhallab that the Azd gained prominence in Khurasan. Together with their allies from the Rabi'a, they counted 21,000 soldiers out of the 40,000-strong Arab army of Khurasan, and ended the previous dominance of the Tamim–Mudar alliance; a balance of power was thenceforth established, tilted only by support from the governor to either side.[32] Al-Muhallab was succeeded by his son Yazid as governor.[1] During this period, the Muslim conquest of Makran was consolidated and the Azd, the predominant Arab faction in this region, gained considerable wealth.[33] The Azd held al-Muhallab in high esteem and commemorated him and his accomplishments in legendary tales and song.[34]
The descendants of al-Muhallab and his father Abu Sufra, known as the
Notes
- ^ Khurasan was attached to the Iraqi governorship of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, who appointed al-Muhallab as his deputy governor over Khurasan
- Kitab al-aghani held the original names of Abu Sufra, his father and grandfather were Shunas, Mardadha and Fashkhara. The sources claiming Azdite lineage for Abu Sufra name him Zalim ibn Sarraq.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Crone 1993, p. 357.
- ^ a b Fishbein 1990, pp. 110, 118.
- ^ Wellhausen 1927, p. 404, note 1.
- ^ Hinds 1990, pp. 187–188, note 615.
- ^ a b Strenziok 1960, p. 812.
- ^ Wink 2002, p. 121.
- ^ Wellhausen 1927, p. 417.
- ^ Hawting 1989, pp. 165–166.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Rubinacci 1960, p. 810.
- ^ Hawting 1989, p. 167.
- ^ Hawting 1989, pp. 167–168.
- ^ Hawting 1989, p. 168.
- ^ Hawting 1989, p. 175.
- ^ Hawting 1989, p. 172.
- ^ a b Fishbein 1990, p. 86.
- ^ Fishbein 1990, pp. 87, 92.
- ^ Fishbein 1990, p. 110.
- ^ Fishbein 1990, p. 123.
- ^ Fishbein 1990, pp. 133–134.
- ^ Fishbein 1990, p. 198.
- ^ Fishbein 1990, p. 182.
- ^ Fishbein 1990, p. 199.
- ^ Fishbein 1990, p. 200.
- ^ Fishbein 1990, pp. 202–203.
- ^ a b c d e Kennedy 2007, p. 243.
- ^ Kennedy 2007, pp. 61, 243.
- ^ Rubinacci 1960, pp. 810–811.
- ^ Shaban 1971, p. 109.
- ^ Shaban 1970, pp. 54–55.
- ^ a b c Shaban 1970, p. 55.
- ^ a b Shaban 1970, p. 56.
- ^ Wellhausen 1927, pp. 427–428.
- ^ Wink 2002, p. 53.
- ^ Kennedy 2007, pp. 226, 243.
- ^ Crone 1993b, p. 358.
- ^ Crone 1993b, p. 359.
- ^ Crone 1993b, pp. 358–359.
Bibliography
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- Crone, P. (1993b). "Muhallabids". In ISBN 978-90-04-09419-2.
- Fishbein, Michael, ed. (1990). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXI: The Victory of the Marwānids, A.D. 685–693/A.H. 66–73. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-0221-4.
- ISBN 978-0-88706-855-3.
- ISBN 978-0-88706-721-1.
- ISBN 978-0-306-81585-0.
- Rubinacci, R. (1960). "Azārika". In OCLC 495469456.
- Shaban, M. A. (1970). The Abbasid Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29534-3.
- Shaban, M. A. (1971). Islamic History: Volume 1, AD 600-750 (AH 132): A New Interpretation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-08137-8.
- Strenziok, Gert (1960). "Azd". In OCLC 495469456.
- OCLC 752790641.
- Wink, André (2002). Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World. Boston and Leiden: Brill. ISBN 0-391-04173-8.