Abu Muslim
Abu Muslim Khorasani | |
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Abu Muslim Abd Rahman ibn Muslim Khorasani or al-Khurasani (Template:Lang-fa Behzādān pour Vandād Hormozd,[1] in Template:Lang-ar, c. 700 – 755) was an Abbasid general of Persian origin,[2] who led the first major and organized liberal movement against the Umayyad dynasty.
Life and Origin
His original name was Behzadan, prior to his father Vandad Hurmoz's conversion to Islam, who adopted the name of 'Moslem' for himself. His birthplace remains obscure, though the oldest historical reference, the 11th century Al-Mahasin al-Isfahan written by Mafzal Ibn-Sa'd Maforukhi Esfahani, claims he was born in the town of Fereidan in the central Iranian province of Isfahan.[1] It is also claimed he was born in the village of Sanjerd or Makhowan near the city of Merv in what is now Turkmenistan.
Crushing a Shiite rebellion in Bukhara
There was an Arab by the name Sharik ibn Shaikh al-Mahri in Bukhara, who wanted to spread Shia Islam firmly and oppose anyone against him. Soon, he got the support of several local rulers and many local people.[3]
When this news reached Abu Muslim (Khorasani), he along Ziyad ibn Salih came there to find out what the details, and soon they got involved in a fight. Abu Muslim fought Sharik ibn Shaikh al-Mahri and his Shiite supporters for thirty-seven days with no victory, everyday Abu Muslim's side was loosing soldiers and several taken as prisoners.. After that, all of a sudden Sharikh ibn Shaikh (Shiite leader) died, and his supporters started to crumble & fear, but they were still hostile. The rebellion was eventually crushed and most of the Shia supporters were hanged. [3]
Rise and revolution
Abu Muslim was a major supporter of the Abbasid cause, having met with their Imam Ibrahim ibn Muhammad in Mecca, and was later a personal friend of Abu al-'Abbas Al-Saffah, the future Caliph. He observed the revolt in Kufa in 736 tacitly. With the death of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik in 743, the Islamic world was launched into civil war. Abu Muslim was sent to Khorasan by the Abbasids initially as a propagandist and then to revolt on their behalf. He took Merv in December 747 (or January 748), defeating the Umayyad governor Nasr ibn Sayyar, as well as Shayban al-Khariji, a Kharijite aspirant to the caliphate. He became the de facto Abbasid governor of Khorasan, and gained fame as a general in the late 740s in defeating the peasant rebellion of Bihafarid, the leader of a syncretic Persian sect that were Mazdaism. Abu Muslim received support in suppressing the rebellion both from purist Muslims and Zoroastrians. In 750, Abu Muslim became leader of the Abbasid army and defeated the Umayyads at Battle of the Zab. Abu Muslim stormed Damascus, the capital of the Umayyad caliphate, later that year.
His heroic role in the revolution and military skill, along with his conciliatory politics toward Shia, Sunnis, Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians, made him extremely popular among the people. Although it appears that Abu al-'Abbas trusted him in general, he was wary of his power, limiting his entourage to 500 men upon his arrival to Iraq on his way to Hajj in 754. Abu al-'Abbas's brother, al-Mansur (r. 754-775), advised al-Saffah on more than one occasion to have Abu Muslim killed, fearing his rising influence and popularity. It seems that this dislike was mutual, with Abu Muslim aspiring to more power and looking down in disdain on al-Mansur, feeling al-Mansur owed Abu Muslim for his position. When the new caliph's uncle, Abdullah ibn Ali rebelled, Abu Muslim was requested by al-Mansur to crush this rebellion, which he did, and Abdullah was given to his nephew as a prisoner. Abdullah was ultimately executed.
Relations deteriorated quickly when al-Mansur sent an agent to inventory the spoils of war, and then appointed Abu Muslim governor of Syria and Egypt, outside his powerbase. After an increasingly acrimonious correspondence between Abu Muslim and al-Mansur, Abu Muslim feared he was going to be killed if he appeared in the presence of the Caliph. He later changed his mind and decided to appear in his presence due to a combination of perceived disobedience, al-Mansur's promise to keep him as governor of Khorasan, and the assurances of some of his close aides, some of whom were bribed by al-Mansur. He went to Iraq to meet with al-Mansur's in Madain in 755. al-Mansur proceeded to enumerate his grievances against Abu Muslim, who kept reminding the Caliph of his efforts to enthrone him. Against al-Muslim were also charges of being a zindiq or heretic.[4] al-Mansur then signaled five of his guards behind a portico to kill him. Abu Muslim's mutilated body was thrown in the river Tigris, and his commanders were bribed to acquiesce to the murder.
Death
His murder was not well-received by thethe residents of Khorasan, and there was resentment and rebellion among the population over the brutal methods used by al-Mansur.[4] He became a legendary figure for many in Persia, and several Persian heretics started revolts claiming he had not died and would return;[4] the latter included his own propagandist Ishaq al-Turk, the Zoroastrian cleric Sunpadh in Nishapur, the Abu Muslimiyya subsect of the Kaysanites Shia, and al-Muqanna in Khorasan. Even Babak claimed descent from him.
Books
At least three epic romances were written about him:
- Marzubānī, Muḥammad ibn ʻImrān, Akhbār shuʻarāʾ al-Shīʻah
- Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan, Abū Ṭāhir Ṭarsūsī, Abū Muslimʹnāmah
- Zidan, Jorji, Abu Muslim al Khorasani
Trivia
- Abu Muslem FC, an Iranian football club is named after him.
See also
- Babak Khorramdin
- Sunpadh or Sinbad the Magus
- Behafarid
References
- ^ a b Abdolhossein Zarinkoob, Two Centuries of Silence. p. 110.
- ^ [1],
- ^ a b History of Bukhara by Muhammad Ibn Jafr Narshakhi (1st edition pages: 83-87), written in 900's under Samanids.
- ^ a b c Goldschmidt, Arthur (2002), A concise history of the Middle East, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, pp. 76–77, ISBN 0813338859