the khaqanid families of teh early abbasid period

The Khāqānid Families of the Early ʿAbbasid PeriodAuthor(s): Matthew S. GordonReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 121, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 2001), pp. 236-255Published by: American Oriental SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/606563 .Accessed: 06/12/2011 04:51

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THE KHAQANID FAMILIES OF THE EARLY CABBASID PERIOD

MATTHEW S. GORDON

MIAMI UNIVERSITY, OHIO

The present article seeks to tally the known members of two prominent families of the early cAbbasid caliphate, and to identify their ethnic origins. All indications are that the family of Khaqan

CUrtuj was of Turkish origins but that the family joined the cAbbasid military voluntarily. The family of Yahya b. Khaqan, by contrast, probably was of Iranian origin, and there is compelling evidence that Yahya and his offspring were members of the Abna3 of Baghdad.

THE GOAL OF THE PRESENT ARTICLE is modest: to

survey available information on two prominent families of the early CAbbasid caliphate, those of Khaqan CUrtuj and Yahya b. Khaqan. The two men bore the name Kha-

qan, and both were public figures in Samarra, the CAb- basid capital for much of the third/ninth century. Small

wonder, then, that they and their families are often con- fused in the secondary literature.' The first task is to

provide a full tally of all known members of the two

families, duly separated. The second task is to identify the ancestry of the two men. The Khaqanid name might suggest that both families were of Turkish origin. Of

Khaqan CUrtfuj there is little doubt: he certainly was.

I am grateful to Michael Bates, Patricia Crone, and Tayeb El- Hibri for sharing ideas and information on the two families in

question and for reading drafts of this article. I owe a particular debt of thanks to Professor Crone for suggesting that the study be written.

1 Eduard von Zambaur, Manuel de genealogie et de chro-

nologie pour l'histoirie de l'Islam, 2nd ed. (Bad Pyrmont: H.

Lafaire, 1955), 12. Zambaur's lead is followed by Emel Esin, "The Turk al-CAgam of Samarra and the Paintings Attributable to Them in the 6awsaq al-Haqani," Kunst des Orients 9.1-2

(1973-74): 69 n. 107; and Joel L. Kraemer, The History of al-7abari, vol. 34: Incipient Decline (Albany: State Univ. of New York Press, 1989), 75 n. 261 (also table 2). Esin errs at least once in her dense series of references; the passage in Abu Ja'far al-Tabari, Ta'rlkh al-rusul wa-l-muluk (Annales), ed. M. J. de Goeje et al. (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1879-1901), 3: 1379, does not mention CUrtuj, only Yahya b. Khaqan, the father of CUbayd Allah and, as I am arguing here, no relation to CUrtij. Olga Pinto, "Al-Fath b. Khaqan, favorito di al-Mu- tawakkil," Rivista degli Studi Orientali 13 (1931): 133 n. 1; and Dominique Sourdel, Le vizirat abbaside, 2 vols. (Damascus: Institut Franqais de Damas, 1959-60), 1: 282, argue against any relation between the families.

Interest in the question of his ethnicity lies in the fact that some of the Turks of Samarra seem to have entered

imperial service voluntarily, that is, not as slaves nor, in some cases, as soldiers.2 The case of Yahya b. Khaqan is

2 On al-MuCtasim's famous Turkish slave guard, see Osman S. A. Ismail, "Muctasim and the Turks," BSOAS 29 (1966): 12-24; Hugh Kennedy, The Prophet and the Age of the Cali-

phates (London: Longman Group, 1986), 158-77; Helmut

Tollner, Die tiirkischen Garden am Kalifenhof von Samarra

(Bonn, 1971). CAbd al-CAziz al-Lumaylim, Nufudh al-Atrak fi al-khildfa al-CAbbdsiyya, 2 vols. (Riyadh [?], 1984) is poorly documented and mostly provides extracts and summaries from the Arabic sources. The present discussion is based on Matthew S. Gordon, "The Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of the Turkish Community of Samarra" (Ph.D. diss., Columbia

University, 1993) which, in much revised form, is scheduled for publication (SUNY Press, 2001). The Turkish guard is also treated by scholars writing on the institution of the mamluk in Islamic Near Eastern history. See David Ayalon, "Preliminary Remarks on the Mamlik Military Institution in Islam," in War, Technology and Society in the Middle East, ed. V. J. Perry and M. E. Yapp (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1975), 44-58; C. E. Bosworth, "Barbarian Incursions: The Coming of the Turks into the Islamic World," in Islamic Civilization, 950-1150, ed. D. S. Richards (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1973), 1-16; Crone, Slaves on Horses; Daniel Pipes, Slave Soldiers and Is- lam: The Genesis of a Military System (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1981). To date, few historians have raised questions of the mamluk paradigm. The arguments of Fukuzo Amabe, The

Emergence of the CAbbasid Autocracy (Kyoto: Kyoto Univ. Press, 1995), 149-51; Christopher Beckwith, "Aspects of the

Early History of the Central Asian Guard Corps in Islam," Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi, 4 (1984): 29-43; and M. A. Shaban, Islamic History: A New Interpretation (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1976), 2: 63-67, are, to my mind, unconvincing. Better, if preliminary, questions are raised by

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GORDON: The Khaqanid Families of the Early CAbbasid Period

more complicated, however. The following discussion will show that the family came from Marw, where at a certain point they became clients (mawdli) of a branch of the Azd. Compelling evidence also identifies Yahya as a descendant of one Musa b. Subayh b. Marzuq, a

participant in the CAbbasid dawla. On this basis it can be

argued that, first, the family, in all likelihood, was of Iranian origins and, second, that Yahya and his offspring were members of the Abna3 community of Baghdad.

A. KHAQAN cURTUJ AND FAMILY

1. Khdqan CUrtuj is the form of his name given by the two earliest sources.3 CUrtuj lent his name to al-Jawsaq al-Khaqani, a familiar if frequently misunderstood name for those acquainted with the history of Samarra.4 The sources indicate only that he was of Turkish origins, of noble stock, and that he was a member of al-MuCtasim's inner circle.

The earliest reference to his Turkish origins, from al-

Mascudi, is to his son: al-Fath b. Khdqdn al-Turki.5

Kennedy, Prophet, 159-60 and Jiirgen Paul, "The State and the

Military: The Samanid Case" (Papers on Inner Asia, no. 26; Bloomington: Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, In- diana Univ., 1994).

3 Al-Yacqubi, Kitab al-Bulddn, Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum 7, ed. M. J. de Goeje (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1892), 258; and Al-Isfahani, Kitab al-Aghani, ed. CAbd al-Amir CAli Mahanna and Samir Jabir (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-CIlmiya, 1412/1992), 7: 234. Later sources change the name. Ibn al- Nadim, Kitab al-fihrist, ed. Gustav Flugel (Beirut: Maktabat

Khayyat, n.d.), 116, on his son: "al-Fath b. Khaqan b. Ahmad."

Yaqut al-Hamawi, Kitdb irshdd al-arib (Mucjam al-udabd'), 7 vols., ed. Ihsan Abbas (Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami, 1993), 5: 2157: "al-Fath b. Khaqan b. Ahmad al-Qa'id" and notes that others report the name to be "al-Fath b. Khaqan b. Ghurtuj." Z. Kitabji, Al-Turkfi mu'allifat al-Jdahiz (Beirut: Dar Thaqafa, 1972), 288, opts for "al-Fath b. Khaqan b. Ahmad b. Ghurtij Abu Ahmad," which adds two generations to the family tree. Pinto, "Fath," 134, n. 6, speculates that "Khaqan" was a title and that upon CUrtij's conversion, he changed his name to Ahmad, making al-Fath, in effect, "Ibn Ahmad."

4 Alastair Northedge, "An Interpretation of the Palace of the

Caliph at Samarra," Ars Orientalis 23 (1993): 143, 152, 153, demonstrates that the palace built by Khaqan CUrtij was but

part of the caliphal complex best referred to as Dar (or Qasr) al-Khilafa and not, as is still common in modern scholarship, al-Jawsaq al-Khaqani.

5 Al-Mas'udi, Murij al-dhahab (Les Prairies d'or), 9 vols., ed. and trans. C. B. de Meynard and P. de Courteille (Paris: Imprimerie Imperiale, 1861-77), 7: 191.

Later writers, such as Ibn CAsakir and al-Dhahabi, also use the nisba "al-Turki."6 Finally, Ibn Taghribirdi refers to CUrtulj explicitly as min awlad al-Atrak.7 As for

CUr.tuj's noble origins, there is the reference by Ibn al- Nadim who, in his brief tarjama of al-Fath, describes him as having been "from among the princes" (min awlad al-muluk). He makes no mention of the family's ethnic origins, however.8

Regarding his relations with al-MuCtasim, the earliest information is contained in al-Yacqubi's account of the foundation of Samarra in approximately 221/836. The account itself, which probably dates to the mid-part of the Samarran period, indicates that CUrtuij was one of four individuals charged by al-MuCtasim with the creation of specific sites in the new imperial center. Two of the other men, Ashinas and Wasif, were among the Turks purchased in Baghdad by al-MuCtasim for his well known slave corps sometime prior to the move to Samarra.9 The fourth individual was al-Afshin, a member of the Iranian princely house of Ushrusana. The sites assigned to CUrt.uj, Ashinas and Wasif were in- habited largely if not exclusively by Turkish soldiers, that assigned to al-Afshin mostly by his compatriots from Ushrusana. The three Turkish commanders, ac-

cording to al-Yacqubi's unique report, were expected to abide by various regulations concerning the Turkish rank and file, including their physical isolation from the rest of the settlement's populace, and the distribu- tion of slave women to the soldiers.10

6 Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'rikh madlnat Dimashq, ed. CUmar b. Ghurama al-CAmrawi, 65 vols. in progress (Damascus: Dar al-

Fikr, 1415/1995-present, 48: 222; al-Dhahabi, Siyar a'ldm al-nubald', ed. S. al-Arna'ut et al., 2nd ed., 25 vols. (Beirut: Mu'assasat al-Risala, 1417-18/1996-97), 12: 82.

7 Ibn Taghribirdi, al-Nujum al-zahira, 16 vols., ed. M. H. Shams al-Din (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-CIlmiya, 1413/1992), 2: 389.

8 Fihrist, 116. Cited by Yaqut, MuCjam, 5: 2157. It would

appear that this was, in part, the basis of Pinto's description, "Fath," 134-35, of CUrtuj: "principe della famiglia regnante della Farganah." Neither of her sources, however, mentions

CUrtuij though they do refer to the notable eastern families that aligned themselves with al-Ma'mun and al-MuCtasim (see below).

9 Al-Yacqubi, Buldin, 256. 10 Al-YaCqubi, Buldan, 258-59. The wording of the text

strongly suggests that Ashinas and al-Afshin had the greater responsibilities vis-a-vis the military. The text, in their case, refers specifically to troops and officers, whereas, in reference to Wasif and CUrtuj, the inclusion of troops under their respective commands is only implied.

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Journal of the American Oriental Society 121.2 (2001)

The location of CUrtuj's area clearly suggests close relations with al-MuCtasim: it adjoined the caliphal com- pound, and, specifically, the Jawsaq palace. His close ties to the court are made explicit, however, only by Ibn Taghribirdi who says he was highly thought of by al- Muctasim (mucazzaman Cinda al-MuCtasim).l Ibn Tagh- ribirdi seems to imply that, as a result, the caliph saw to it that his son, Jacfar (the future al-Mutawakkil), and CUrtuj's son, al-Fath, became constant companions. Other writers, however, indicate that it was al-Fath himself who impressed the caliph.12

Al-Suli alone refers to CUrtfuj's deathdate in 233/847- 48.13 This appears to be the extent of the information available on 'Urtuj. Of his offspring, the sources mention three, all males: Muzahim, an unnamed brother perhaps called Jacfar, and the prominent al-Fath.

2. Muzahim b. Khaqdn was a military officer, like many of his Turko-Islamic peers. He first appears in relation to Wasif's campaign against Byzantium in 248/862-63,'4 where he is said to have commanded Wasif's vanguard. He subsequently appears on several other campaigns: suppressing a revolt in an area of modern-day Jordan;'5 joining al-MustaCin in Baghdad during the civil war of 251/865;16 suppressing an CAlid revolt in Kufa in the same year;'7 and marching against the Byzantines during the reign of al-MuCtazz.18

The civil war of 251/865-66 marked a turning point in his career. The conflict pitted the reigning caliph, al- Mustacin (r. 248-52/862-66), against his first cousin, Muhammad b. Jacfar (al-MuCtazz, r. 251-55/865-69). Muzahim initially backed al-MustaCin in Baghdad. He is described, at one point, entering the city in dramatic

l Nujim, 2: 389-90. 12 See the section on al-Fath (A. 5). 13 Al-Suli, Kitdb al-awraq, ed. and trans. (Russian) V. I.

Beliaev and A. B. Khalidov (St. Petersburg: Tsentr Peterburg- skoe Vostokovedenie, 1998): 502, no. 174. Pinto, "Fath," 135 n. 5, cites the St. Petersburg ms. on which this recent edition is based.

14 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1481. 15 Al-Yacqubi, Ta'rikh (Historiae), ed. M. Th. Houtsma, 2

vols. (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1883): 2: 605. 16 Al-Tabari, Ta'rlkh, 3: 1588. 17 Al-Isfahani, Maqdtil al-Tdlibiyin, ed. Ahmad Saqr (Beirut:

Dar al-MaCrifa, n.d.): 665; al-MasC'di, Murij, 7: 345-46; al- Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1617-20.

18 Al-Yacqubi, Ta'rikh, 2: 612. A. A. Vasiliev, Byzance et les Arabes, vol. 1 (La Dynastie d'Amorium) (Brussels, 1935) 277, translates the passage but otherwise makes no comment on the campaign.

fashion, accompanied by his two sons (unnamed) and a large military force. After receiving robes of honor, he went on to serve al-MustaCin for a short period.'9 He evidently had a change of heart, however, and, for unspecified reasons, marched to Samarra where he offered his support to al-MuCtazz. His decision, remi- niscent of a similar step by CAbd Allah b. Bugha the Younger earlier that year,20 may have been a tactical decision, that is, a way to back the CAbbasid contender that looked most likely to emerge victorious from the civil war. There is, in any case, no indication of a special relationship between al-Mu'tazz and Muzahim so, presumably, the move was opportunistic.

It is tempting to consider that al-MuCtazz offered Muzahim the governorship of Egypt. In any case, he was sent to the province in 252/866 to support the resident governor against a provincial uprising. Ibn Taghri- birdi says that Muzahim was "head of the Turkish, more specifically Baghdadi, cavalry" at the time.21 Early the next year, Muzahim was himself chosen to govern the province, a position he held until his death at the end of 254/868.22 Much of his time in office was dedicated to bringing order to the Egyptian countryside.23

19 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1588, 1591, 1596. 20 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1554-55. Like Salih b. Wasif, this

CAbd Allah was a second-generation member of the Samarran Turkish elite.

21 Nujum, 2: 403. 22 Al-Kindi, Kitab al-wuldt wa-kitab al-qudat, ed. Rhuvon

Guest as The Governors and Judges of Egypt (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1912), 211 and Ibn Taghribirdi, Nujum, 2: 404. Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 2268, mentions a Sandal al-Muzahimi; according to Franz Rosenthal, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 38: The Return

of the Caliphate to Baghdad (Albany: State Univ. of New York, 1985), 170 n. 826, Ibn Taghribirdi identifies him as a mawld of Muzahim. Rosenthal's reference to "Ahmad ibn Khaqan" as Muzahim's brother seems incorrect.

23 Al-Kindi, Wulat, 208-10; Ibn Taghribirdi, Nujum, 2: 403. Muzahim's tenure in office is described as controversial; al- Kindi, 208-11; Ibn Taghribirdi, 2: 403-4. On Muzahim's orders, his lieutenant, Azjur, tampered with a number of customary practices; his measures included a ban on women in the public sphere. Al-Kindi, 210, states that Azjur forbade women from the public baths, grave sites, and the women's prison, while Ibn Taghribirdi, 2: 404, adds that he simply ordered women to remain at home. Opposition was also sparked by changes in the Ramadan prayers and other conduct within the congregational mosque (al-Kindi, 210; Ibn Taghribirdi, 2: 404) including a ban on uttering the basmala aloud (or in a loud voice); al-Kindi, 210; Ibn Taghribirdi, 2: 404. On Azjur, see the comments below.

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GORDON: The Khdqanid Families of the Early CAbbasid Period

3. Ja'far (?) b. Khaqan, an unnamed brother of Muzahim b. Khaqan, is mentioned in connection with the latter's campaign in Egypt in 252-53.24 Zambaur lists a Jacfar, as well as a son, CAbd Allah, for whom he

provides a death date of 296 A.H. The source of his information is unclear.25

4. Ahmad b. Muzahim b. Khaqan succeeded Muza- him but died only months after his father. The cause of death is not indicated. No other descendants of Muza- him are known. Ahmad, in turn, was succeeded by Azjur al-Turki who, at that point, was head of the Egyptian shurta.26

5. Al-Fath b. Khaqan was, according to our sources, the most influential of al-Mutawakkil's advisors.27 Only Ibn Taghribirdi, however, identifies the origins of their relations: he states that al-MuCtasim saw to it that al- Fath and the future al-Mutawakkil were raised together.28 Earlier accounts offer no such explanation. Al-Isfahani

provides an anecdote attributed to Ibn al-Dahhak, the

prominent poet, that treats the relationship between al- Fath-identified as a ghulam29-and al-Wathiq. It states that al-Fath was close to al-Wathiq as a young man and continues with a brief passage on an encounter between al-MuCtasim and al-Fath, a passage which later authors provide in isolation.30 In al-Isfahani's version, al-MuCtasim, impressed by the boy's quick mind, "adopts" al-Fath (wa-tabannahu). It then states that al-Wathiq

24 Al-Kindi, Wuldt, 208. 25 Manuel, 12. Kraemer, Decline, 75 n. 261, cites Zam-

baur in listing Jacfar. Zambaur cites two sources without direct reference to individuals; I have been unable to find mention of Jacfar in either.

26 Al-Kindi, Wulat, 211; Ibn Taghribirdi, Nujum, 2: 407. 27 See, for example, al-MasCidi, Muruj, 7: 191-92. 28 Nujum, 2: 389-90. As noted above, the passage implies

that the caliph acted on the basis of his close ties to Khaqan CUrtuj: fa-damma al-MuCtasim al-Fath hddhd ild ibnihi al-

Mutawakkilfa-nasha macan. 29 The term is used here, most likely, with no connotation

of slavery. The passage subsequently refers to al-Fath in his encounter with al-MuCtasim, so, in other words, at an earlier

point in his life, and uses the term sabi, "young boy, lad." Ghulam probably is used by way of contrast.

30 In it al-MuCtasim visits Khaqan CUrtuj at home. Teasing al-Fath, he asks which of their two homes is the finer, to which the boy replies, "our house when you are present within it." See Ibn CAsakir, Ta'rikh, 20: 252; Yaqut, Mu'jam, 5: 2158; and al-Dhahabi, Siyar, 12: 83. Their version indicates that the caliph rewarded al-Fath's clever remark with a large sum and says nothing of "adoption."

retained the relationship and that al-Mutawakkil en- hanced it.31

A range of anecdotal evidence indicates that al-Fath and al-Mutawakkil were inseparable.32 Little surprise, then, that al-Fath's last act of service was to place himself between the caliph and the latter's assassins in 247/861-62. The two men are said to have died within moments of one another.33

In contrast to his brother Muzahim, al-Fath devoted his efforts to political and cultural matters.34 In their sketches of al-Fath's life, the medieval biographers describe him as a poet,35 bibliophile,36 and key advisor to

31 Aghdni, 7: 234. The editor's note describes al-Fath's

origins as Persian, though nowhere in the sources is such an identification made.

32 Pinto, 134, cites the image used by Yfaqut, Mucjam, 5: 2159, that al-Fath was to al-Mutawakkil what the soul (ruh) is to the body (jasad). A number of anecdotes place al-Fath in al-Mutawakkil's company: see, e.g., (pseudo?) Ibn al-Zubayr, Kitab al-dhakhdair wal-tuhaf, ed. Muhammad Hamid Allah (Kuwait: Da'irat al-Matbuiat wa'l-Nashr, 1959), 131-17 (nos. 139, 140, 142); al-MasCudi, Muruj, 7: 220-22; al- Tanukhi, Nishwdr al-muhdadara wa-akhbar al-mudhakara, ed. CA. al-Shalji, 8 vols. (Beirut: Dar Sadir, 1391-93/1971-73), 6: 193-94.

33 Credible accounts of the assassination are provided by al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1452-65, and in the shorter version of al-Ya'qubi, Ta'rikh, 2: 601-2. That provided in al-Mas'udi, Muruj, 7: 267-72, in which the poet al-Buhturi is cited as the

single source, reads like a purely literary reconstruction, a point I owe to Michael Bates. Al-Fath and al-Buhturi were probably close associates, however.

34 A number of compilers of biographical dictionaries saw fit to include a tarjama of al-Fath in their works: al-Dhahabi, Siyar, 12: 82-83; Ibn CAsakir, Ta'rikh, 48: 222-28; Yaqut, Mu'jam, 5: 2157-63; al-Kutubi, Fawdt al-wafayat, ed. Ihsan CAbbas, 4 vols. (Beirut: Dar al-Thaqafa, 1973), 3: 177-79. There is also the shorter notice by Ibn al-Nadim, Fihrist, 116-17.

35 Kitabji, Turk, 295-98, provides fragments of poetry attributed to al-Fath. Among those who enjoyed friendships with al-Fath were al-Jahiz and al-Buhturi. The extensive poetry written by al-Buhturi for al-Fath is not treated here. Kitabji, 292, says that the poet wrote some nineteen qasidas for al-Fath. From al-Jahiz, al-Fath apparently received the two part essay on the Turks, the Manaqib al-Turk: "Risala ila al-Fath b. Khaqan fi manaqib al-Turk wa-'ammat jund al-Khilafa," in Rasa'il al-Jahiz, ed. CA. M. Harun (Cairo: Maktabat al-Khanji, 1399/1979).

36 Several sources describe al-Fath's love for books and

learning, said to have been matched only by that of al-Jahiz and

239


al-Mutawakkil. He is also said to have authored two works, Kitab al-bustdn and Kitab al-sayd wa'l-jawarih, neither of which survives.37 As is to be expected, none of these accounts treats al-Fath's life or the course of his career in any detail, preferring instead to describe his literary efforts, his splendid library, and his easy rap- port with the poets and intellectuals who pursued their livelihood in Samarra.

As Pinto points out in her study of al-Fath, he wore not only the hat of the courtier poet but also that of the diplomat.38 On at least three occasions, as she says, al- Mutawakkil assigned al-Fath sensitive political mis- sions. Twice, he was assigned to duties in Egypt, though his part in governing the province is difficult to make out. Al-Kindi states that, in the early part of 242/856- 57, al-Fath's name was proclaimed publicly in Egypt.39 Ibn Taghribirdi mentions the appointment as well but sheds little light on al-Fath's duties while seeming, in some sense, to contradict al-Kindi.40

A third and later appointment occurred in conjunction with al-Mutawakkil's somewhat puzzling trip to Damascus and his subsequent return to Samarra in the summer of 244/858. The caliph is said to have appointed al-Fath as governor of Syria.41 The nature of al-Fath's responsibilities in Syria are unclear, though some evidence indicates that he administered the prov-

Ismacil b. Ishaq, a third/ninth-century qadi. See, e.g., Ibn al-

Nadim, Fihrist, 117-18. 37 Al-Mas'Cdi, Muruj, 7: 191; Yaqut, MuCjam, 5: 2157. The

first work, according to Yaqut, was commissioned by a certain Muhammad b. CAbd Rabbihi.

38 "Al-Fath," 138, 144-45. 39 Wuldt, 202: wa-warada al-kitdb bi-l-duca' lil-Fath b.

Khdqdn ... fa-ducia la-hu. 40 Nujim, 2: 376. He has al-Fath chosen to replace al-Muntasir,

al-Mutawakkil's son, as governor. Al-Kindi, however, states that both resident governors of Egypt in this period represented al-Muntasir. Unless it is that the governorship was contested late in al-Mutawakkil's reign, then Sourdel may be right in

suggesting, Vizirat, 1: 282, that al-Fath was sent on a short- term mission, which would then explain the proclamation of his name. Sourdel ads: "[o]n connait mal la part qu'il prit a la

politique g6enrale." 41 Ibn CAsakir, Ta'rikh, 20: 251; YaqOt, Mucjam, 5: 2157.

The indications are that al-Fath designated his own resident

governor, one Kalbatekin al-Turki. Paul Cobb, "Al-Mutawakkil's Damascus: A New CAbbasid Capital?," JNES 58 (1999): 241-57, includes al-Fath among those who accompanied the caliph. Cobb cites the work of the little-known third/ninth century scholar, al-Khattabi (d. 244/858?), which is preserved in Ibn 'Asakir's Ta'rlkh.

ince for a time. Al-Tabari reports that "one of the associates of al-Fath" (rajul min ashab al-Fath b. Khdqdn) played a part in crushing a revolt in Hims, and, citing verse by al-Buhturi, Pinto states that al-Fath marched successfully against Arab tribes in Syria.42 If this was indeed the case, it was one of the few occasions in which al-Fath served in a military capacity.

Only somewhat less vague are the indications that al- Fath held administrative positions in Samarra. Among the positions referred to as having been assigned to him (by al-Mutawakkil) are: personal secretary to the caliph, responsible in particular for the royal seal;43 head of the dlwdn al-kharij, this in 233/847-48;44 and wazir.45 It seems unlikely that al-Fath held the last of these posts; Sourdel and T6llner point out that the wazir from 236/ 850 on was CUbayd Allah b. Yahya b. Khaqan (see B. 13).46 There is also no indication in the sources that he was assigned the dlwan al-tawqlc (official documents).47 There is good evidence, however, that he was head of the intelligence services within Samarra.48

A consideration of al-Fath's official positions may be beside the point: as Sourdel suggests, the more appro- priate way to consider al-Fath's influence is to weigh his personal relationship with al-Mutawakkil.49 The sources

42 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1423; Pinto, "al-Fath," 145. 43 Yaqut, Mucjam, 5: 2157: wa-kana Cald khatim al-Mutawakkil. 44 Ibn Taghribirdi, Nujum, 2: 326. 45 Al-Kutubi, Fawat, 3: 177; Ibn Taghribirdi, Nujum, 2: 390. 46 Sourdel, Vizirat, 1: 282; Tollner, Garden, 66. 47 Pinto, "al-Fath," 134, apparently misread her source,

Miskawayh, Tajarib al-umam, ed. M. J. de Goeje, as Pars sexta

operis Tadjaribo 'l-Omami, FHA 1 (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1871), 552. The passage mentions the diwan but says nothing about al-Fath.

48 Miskawayh, Tajdrib, ed. de Goeje, 546, states that in

236/850-51, al-Fath was assigned a series of positions (acmal)

by al-Mutawakkil, among them that concerning intelligence (akhbar) about both the elite (khassa) of Samarra and the

surrounding area as well as the broader populace (Camma). Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1406, probably Miskawayh's source, is more specific. He quotes his source, al-Qasim b. Ahmad al- Kufi, directly; the latter reported that he had been in al-Fath's service in 235/849-50, and that al-Fath had earlier been as-

signed by al-Mutawakkil various positions, including that con-

cerning intelligence about elite and commoners alike. Sourdel, Vizirat, 1: 282, argues plausibly that al-Fath probably took over

responsibilities previously held by Itakh, a Turkish leader de-

stroyed by al-Mutawakkil in 235/849. 49 Vizirat, 1: 282-83. Pinto, "al-Fath," 134, suggests, in

reference to al-Fath, the apt term consigliere. Ibn CAsakir, Ta'rikh, 20: 251, and Yaqut, Mucjam, 5: 2157 state that al-Fath

240


indicate that al-Fath had greater success than any other member of the court in shaping the caliph's opinions.50 The relationship, and the opportunities it afforded al- Fath in political life, probably resembled that between al-Fadl b. Yahya al-Barmaki and Harun al-Rashid, to cite but one example.51

A final point concerns al-Fath's standing at the time of his and al-Mutawakkil's assassination. Given al-Fath's role in imperial decision-making, it may be that he was as much a target of the assassination plot as the caliph himself. In his somewhat elusive account, al-Tabari re-

ports that al-Mutawakkil's decision to transfer to al-Fath lands controlled by Wasif may have precipitated the murder.52 Caliphs are not killed so precipitously, how-

ever; the rest of the account indicates that the killings had more to do with court intrigue, particularly that

involving Muhammad b. JaCfar (al-Muntasir).53 The passage regarding Wasif's lands might be read, however, as reference to two abiding issues confronting the Sa- marran caliphate: the influence of the Turkish military

and al-Mutawakkil were seated in the same litter upon their arrival in Damascus, a sign of distinction clear to all onlookers.

50 Al-YaCqubi, Mushakalat al-nds li-zamdnihim, ed. Muham- mad Kamal al-Din CIzz al-Din (Cairo: CAlam al-Kutub, 1980

[?]), 44, says that "al-Fath ... was the person most influential over him and the one most preferred by him." Similarly, al-

MasCidi, Muruj, 7: 191: wa-kdna al-Fath ibn Khaqan al- Turki mawlahu aghlab al-nds Calayhi wa-aqrabahum ilayhi wa-aktharahum taqadduman Cindahu. This only suggests the title Mawla amir al-mu'minin for which I know of no clear evidence for al-Fath. Sourdel (Vizirat 1: 282-83) suggests that al-Fath was able to moderate al-Mutawakkil's behavior toward both the Christian and CAlid communities. Citing al-Isfahani, Maqitil, 608-9, he mentions al-Fath's support for Muhammad b. Salih b. CAbd Allah, a leading cAlid of the period.

51 The sources do not compare al-Fath and al-Fadl, however. Al-Fath's standing probably overlapped with that of the nadim, a medieval Near Eastern social category discussed by Anwar

Chejne, "The Boon-Companion in Early CAbbasid Times," JAOS 85 (1965): 327-35. Regarding the Barmakids, Bosworth, "Abu Hafs," 269-70 (and see n. 13), indicates that the family entered caliphal service as ordinary mawdli. Their rise to prominence came, in other words, over the course of time (and several generations). There is only one reference to al-Fath as mawla (see preceding note).

52 Ta'rikh, 3: 1452. 53 Al-Tabari describes al-Mutawakkil's humiliation of his

son, himself the apparent champion of the Turkish military, or, at least, an influential clique therein. According to al-Tabari's account, Ta'rikh, 3: 1453, 1457, al-Fath participated in al- Muntasir's humiliation.

command, and the closely related factionalism between the Turkish officers and their civilian allies. Al-Fath,

along with CUbayd Allah b. Yahya, was a close ally of al-Mutawakkil and, for this reason alone, no doubt earned the enmity of the caliph's opponents, among them influential Turkish officers. The transfer to him of lands (read: sources of income and influence) previously controlled by such an officer (Wasif) can only have exacerbated matters.

There is no sign that al-Fath's death had any impact upon his brother's standing. Muzahim retained his position within the imperial officer corps and later became

governor of Egypt.54 Nor is there evidence that the rest of al-Fath's family suffered as a result of his death.

6. Abu al-Futuh Muhammad b. al-Fath is the only known son of al-Fath. He may have accompanied his

sister, Khadija, to Egypt where she was to wed Ahmad b. Tulun, an affair arranged by al-MuCtamid. Ibn Tuilun is said to have appointed Ibn al-Fath over Diyar Mudar for an unspecified period.55

Yaquit preserves an anecdote concerning an unnamed

singing girl given to al-Fath by al-Mutawakkil. She is said to have become al-Fath's most cherished concubine and to have died of grief following his assassination.56 As it was commonplace for elite members of CAbbasid

political circles-the royal princes included-to bear children with their female companions, al-Fath may have had children by her as well.

B. THE FAMILY OF YAHYA B. KHAQAN

1. Yahya b. Khdqan, a bureaucrat of the early CAbbasid

period, was a figure of modest standing.57 In reference to his appointment (233/848) over the diwdn al-kharaj, al- Tabari provides the nisba "al-Khurasani," and describes

54 Muzahim may have been tied to Wasif himself: al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1481, reports that he led the vanguard of Wasif's

army against the Byzantines in early 248/862, only a few months after his brother's assassination.

55 Ibn Sacid al-Andalusi, al-Mughrib fi hula al-Maghrib, ed. Zaki Muhammad Hasan et al. (Cairo: Matbacat Jamicat Fuad al-Awwal, 1953), 123; al-Balawi, Sirat Ahmad b. Tulun, ed. Muhammad Kurd CAli (Damascus: Matbacat al-Turqi, 1358/ 1939), 173.

56 MuCjam, 5: 2162-63. The woman is identified only as a

wasifa. Two sets of verse attributed to her, including one

composed to mourn al-Fath, are preserved here. For a vaguely similar anecdote, see al-Tanukhi, Nishwar, 6: 193-94.

57 Al-Jahiz, "Dhamm akhlaq al-kuttab," in Rasd'il al-Jahiz, ed. CA. M. Haruin, 3 vols. (Cairo: Maktabat al-Khanji, 1399/ 1979), 2: 197-99, dismisses him as "submissive and wretched"

241


Yahya as "a mawla of the Azd."58 The members of his

family were prominent principally in the civilian sector. Like other kuttdb, Yahya is the subject of comment in the adab literature. One story, preserved by al-Jahshiyari, and collected by al-Tanukhi, places Yahya in the company of the Barmakids urder Harin al-Rashid. This is Yahya's first appearance in the sources.59 Several references then

place him in the reign of al-Ma'mun, and, specifically, in association with al-Hasan b. Sahl, to whom he was

secretary, according to al-Tanukhi. The reference occurs in an anecdote in which he is fined by al-Ma'mun.60 An otherwise close relationship between Yahya and al- Ma'mun is suggested by references in Ibn Abi Tayfur,61 Ibn Qutayba,62 and al-Tabari.63

Yahya's career reached its peak under al-Mutawakkil when he was appointed to the diwdn al-khardj follow-

ing the disgrace of the current office holder, al-Fadl b.

(wa-Yahya b. Khaqanfi al-dhull wa'l-faqa) in an anecdote relat-

ing a tense (if unexplained) encounter between Yahya and the

poet, Abu al-CAtahiya. A slightly different text is contained in

al-Isfahani, Aghani, 4: 89-90. 58 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1379. 59 Al-Jahshiyari, Kitab al-wuzara' wa'l-kuttdb, ed. Mustafa

al-Saqa et al. (Cairo: Matbacat Mustafa al-Babi, 1938), 183-86; al-Tanukhi, al-Faraj baCd al-shidda, 4 vols., ed. CA. al-Shalji (Beirut: Dar Sadir, 1398/1978), 3: 243-46 (no. 326). The anecdote narrates a story recounted by Yahya b. Khalid al-Barmaki to his son al-Fadl.

60 Sourdel, Vizirat, 1: 273, n. 3; al-Tanukhi, Faraj, 3: 53- 55. The anecdote occurs, in somewhat different form, in al-

Jahshiyari, Nusuis ddaia min kitdb al-wuzarad wa'l-kuttab, ed. Mikha'il CAwwad (Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-Lubnani, 1964/ 1384), 23-26. The earlier version mentions Ibn Sahl but makes no reference to Yahya holding office.

61 Ibn Abi Tayfufr, Kitab Baghdad, ed., Muhammad Zahid b. al-Hasan al-Kawthari (Cairo: Maktabat al-Khanji, 1368/ 1949), 139: Yahya introduces Ibn Aktham to al-Hasan which is explained as the first step in Ibn Aktham's rise to influence. See Sourdel, Vizirat, 1: 238-39. Yahya (ibn Khaqan) is mentioned in passing in al-WakiC, Akhbdr al-qudadt, 3 vols. (Beirut: 'Alam al-Kutub, n.d.), 2: 162, as further evidence of a relation-

ship between the two Yahyas. 62 Ibn Qutayba, CUyun al-akhbar, ed. Yusuf CAli Tawil, 4

vols., (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-CIlmiya, 1985), 1: 455-56. Ibn Khallikan, Kitdb wafaydt al-acydn, 8 vols., ed. CIhsan CAbbas (Beirut: Dar al-Sadir, 1968-77), 2: 121-22, provides a close variant of the anecdote. In it Yahya carries out a request by Ibn Sahl.

63 Ta'rikh, 3: 1406: Yahya is among several men who settle debts owed to merchants by Ibn Sahl following his death in 236/851.

Marwan.64 Only al-Yacqubi states that Yahya was released from prison at this point; the passage explains that he was placed there by Ishaq b. Ibrahim, a Tahirid family member, who suspected him of skimming revenue while

governor of Fars. The suggestion is that he was already working in the diwdn al-khardj at the time of his appointment, which occurred in 233/848. Yahya, according to al-YaCqubi,65 died sometime later in al-Mutawakkil's

reign after being appointed over the mazalim probably in 236/851-52.66 Al-Suli gives a deathdate of 240/854-55.67

Much information places him in al-Mutawakkil's court. Al-Isfahani refers to a panegyric written for Yahya by Dicbil b. Ali,68 and cites a short passage in which Ibn

al-Zayyat, a prominent wazir, describes Yahya in the most derogatory terms.69 An anecdote, provided by al- Shabushti, has CUbayd Allah serve wine (on orders from the caliph) to his pious father.70 Another, from al- Tanukhi, recounts that Yahya, then head of the khardj bureau, passed up cUbayd Allah for a crucial appointment, a decision that sparked antagonism between the two men.71 The suggestion is that Yahya was on poor terms with his more illustrious son.

Only three of Yahya's brothers are mentioned. Two had scholarly interests, but there are no indications that either served in the bureaucracy or army. A third, CAbd

al-Rahman, occurs only in passing. 2. CAbd al-Rahman b. Khaqan is identified as the

uncle of CUbayd Allah. The latter, as wazir, appointed his father, Yahya, as head of the mazdlim, then, follow-

ing Yahya's death (240/854-55), selects CAbd al-Rahman

64 Al-Yacqubi, Ta'rikh, 2: 592; al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1379. 65 Ta'rikh, 2: 597, no date provided. 66 Al-Yacqubi, Ta'rikh, 2: 597, reports that the appointment

came in conjunction with the dismissal of Ibn al-Fadl (al- Jarjara'l). Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1407, dates the appointment to 236/851-52.

67 Awraq, St. Petersburg, 498-99, no. 180.

68 Aghani, 20: 146 (no examples are cited): Yahya sends the

poet, in return, a horse said to have been in the possession of CAbd al-Rahman b. Khaqan, Yahya's brother (see B. 2).

69 Al-Isfahani, Aghani, 23: 57, citing al-Suli. Ibn al-Zayyat is quoted as saying: "[Yahya] is poorly spoken, has few ideas, is dim-witted, carries out his duties badly, is indecisive, and

[altogether] rather stupid (huwa mahzil al-alfaz Calll al-maadni sakhlf al-'aql daCif al-uqda wahi al-'uzm ma'fun al-rady)."

70 Al-Shabushti, Kitab al-diyarat, ed. G. CAwwad (Baghdad: Matbacat al-MaCfrif, 1951), 99-100; Ibn al-Zubayr, Dhakha'ir, 117-19 (no. 145), 139-40 (no. 145). The passage refers to

Yahya as among the notables of the administration (min mashayikh al-kuttab) and as having never drunk wine.

71 Nishwar, 8: 51 (no. 17).

242

GORDON: The Khdaqnid Families of the Early CAbbasid Period

for the post.72 A certain CAbd al-Rahman b. Khaqan appears on a single coin minted in Armenia and dated to 218/833, apparently to the caliphate of al-Ma'mun.73 There is no further evidence to show that this was CUbayd Allah's uncle though the identification seems plausible.

3. Ahmad b. Khaqan b. Musd Abu al-Hasan is identified in a brief tarjama as the uncle of CUbayd Allah b. Yahya (see B. 13) and as a traditionist.74 He transmitted material from his brother, Muhammad, and was cited, in turn, by Yahya b. Zakariya, the teacher (shaykh) of Abu Muzahim al-Khaqani (see B. 14).

4. Muhammad b. Khaqan b. Misa b. Subayh b. Mar-

zuq is also identified as a traditionist and as having been associated with Ibn al-Mubarak (d. 181/797).75 He is said explicitly to have been from Marw (Marwazi al-asl) and to have been the uncle of CUbayd Allah b. Yahya.76 He is of interest mainly for giving us more of the family's genealogy; this matter is discussed below. The "Ahmad b. Khaqan" mentioned in Egyptian sources was probably his son (B. 5).

5. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Khaqdn's identity is somewhat in question. Ibn al-Daya cites an Ahmad b. Khaqan as his source for information on Ahmad b. Tulun's tenure as governor of Egypt (254-70/868-84).77 One reference identifies him as Ibn Tiuln's companion (sadlq). The same author, however, also mentions an "Ahmad b. Mu- hammad b. Khaqan" in the company of Ibn Tulun. The passage, most of which contains first-person narration from this Ibn Khaqan, describes the participation of the two men in the jihad against the Byzantines, this

72 Al-Yacqubi, TaVrikh, 2: 597. As noted above, CAbd al- Rahman occurs briefly in al-Isfahani, Aghdni, 20: 146.

73 Tayeb El-Hibri, "Coinage Reform under the CAbbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun," Journal of the Economic and Social

History of the Orient 36 (1993): 74; Kh. A. Mousheghian, "A Chronology of CAbbasid Dirhams struck in Armenia," Arme- nian Numismatic Journal 4 (1978): 143.

74 Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ta'rikh Baghdad, 24 vols., ed. Mustafa CAbd al-Qadir CAta (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-cIlmiya, 1417/1997), 4: 360, no. 2134.

75 I wish to thank Michael Bates for bringing this individual to my attention.

76 Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ta'rikh Baghdad, 2: 307 (no. 795). On Ibn al-Mubarak, see EI2 s.v. "Ibn al-Mubarak" [Robson]. Michael Bonner, Aristocratic Violence and Holy War: Studies in the Jihad and the Arab-Byzantine Frontier (New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1996), 119-25, provides a more recent discussion.

77 Ibn Sacid, Mughrib, 75, 83, 107.

at a point prior to Ibn Tulun's appointment to Egypt.78 Further evidence suggests ties between the two men. Al-Suli identifies Ahmad b. Khaqan as khalifa to Ba- yakbak, a member of the Samarran Turkish elite.79 It was Bayakbak who appointed Ibn Tulun as his resident governor over Egypt in 254/868.80 Ahmad b. Khaqan is later placed among the officials in the company of al- Muctamid (r. 256-79/870-92) at the time of the latter's attempted passage to Egypt (around 269/882-83) where he sought Tulunid protection from his brother, al-Muwaffaq.81

There is good reason to think, in other words, that the references are to the same individual, a son of Muham- mad b. Khaqan named Ahmad. First, it was common to omit links in a genealogy. Ibn al-Daya cites the full name in the initial mention, then shortens it in subsequent references. Second, while it is not implausible that this same "Ahmad b. Khaqan" was Yahya b. Kha- qan's brother, he would have had to be some decades younger in order to have participated in the events described here. All indications are, in other words, that Ahmad b. (Muhammad b.) Khaqan and Ibn Tulun were of the same generation. It should be noted that Ahmad b. Khaqan was involved at the highest level of politics both in Baghdad and Samarra; Hassan, in his history of the Tulunids, speculates that Ibn Khaqan represented Ibn Tulun's interests in Iraq, hence his appearance in the company of al-MuCtamid.82

This brings us to the children of Yahya b. Khaqan, of whom four, and possibly five, are known, and their male offspring. Yahya's sons appear to have been prominent members of their generation, and several were clearly wealthy (see B. 8). Only one, CUbayd Allah, achieved great prominence.

6. Ahmad b. Yahya b. Khaqan's identity is question- able. He is known only from the name of a "Khaqan b. Ahmad b. Yahya b. Khaqan" that is provided by Misk- awayh, who places him in the entourage of Abu al- Qasim CAbd Allah b. Muhammad b. CUbayd Allah (see

78 Ibn Sacid, Mughrib, 74. 79 Awrdq, St. Petersburg, 393, no. 401. 80 Ibn Sacid, Mughrib, 76; al-Balawi, Sira, 42; and al-

YaCqubi, Ta'rikh, 2: 615. Also see EI2 s.v. "Tulunids" [Gordon]. 81 Al-Kindi, Wulat, 225; al-Balawi, Sira, 290-92; al-

Maqrizi, Kitab al-muqaffd al-kabir, 8 vols., ed. Muhammad al-Yaclawi (Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami, 1991), 2: 446. Zaky Mohamed Hassan, Les Tulunides (Paris: lftablissements Busson, 1933), 214, speculates on the ties between Ibn Tulun and Ahmad b. Khaqan.

82 Tulunides, 29, 214.

243


B. 17) around 312-13/924-25.83 Apparently the same individual is listed elsewhere for the same period.84 If indeed a family member, and there is no such explicit identification, this Khaqan would be his son.

7. Khaqdn b. Ahmad b. Ya.hyi b. Khqadn (see B. 6) appears here only because of the coincidence of his ancestor's names, and because of his association with CAbd Allah b. Muhammad b. CUbayd Allah.

8. CAbd Allah b. Ya.hyd b. Khaqan is the son that

Yahya appointed to a diwan to the consternation of CUbayd Allah.85 CAbd Allah figures, along with his brothers CUbayd Allah and Zakariya', among ten men from whom it was suggested that al-Mutawakkil should ex- tort money to pay for a new palace in 245/859-60.86 As Sourdel explains,87 CAbd Allah is named by two man- uscripts of al-Tabari's Ta'rikh as having died in 252/866, a reference that the editor of the Annales "corrected" to read CUbayd Allah despite the fact that the latter individual appears in subsequent years (see B. 13) and is reported by al-Tabari to have died in 263/877.88

9. Zakariyad b. Yahyd b. Khaqan was a minor figure.89 10. CAbd al-Rahman b. Yahyd b. Khdqdn Abu CAli is

identified as a Baghdad traditionist who transmitted masdail (legal problems) from Ibn Hanbal. He was apparently much given to sexual intercourse.90

11. Abu Muzahim b. Yahya b. Khdqdn is known only from the fact that he had a son (see B. 12).

12. Son of Abu Muzahim only occurs among the individuals who defected from al-MustaCin (in Baghdad) to

83 Tajarib, 143. 84

Miskawayh, Tajdrib, 130; Hilal al-Sabi, al-Wuzara', ed. CAbd al-Sattar Ahmad Faraj (Cairo: Dar Ihya' al-Kutub al-

CArabiya, 1958), 62. Both authors refer to Khaqan b. Ahmad b. Yahya.

85 Al-Tanukhi, Nishwar, 8: 51, no. 17. 86 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1443-44. 87 Vizirat, 1: 306, n. 5. 88 The error appears in the Ta'rikh, 3: 1658, and remains in

the Cairo edition, ed. M. A. F. Ibrahim, 10 vols. (Cairo: Dar al- Macarif, 1960-69), 9: 354, and the translation, George Saliba, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 35: The Crisis of the CAbbdsid Caliphate (Albany: State Univ. of New York Press, 1985), 122. The reference to CUbayd Allah's death appears in the Ta'rikh, 3: 1915.

89 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1444; Sourdel, Vizirat, 1: 274 n. 5. 90 Al-SamCani, al-Ansab, 5 vols., ed. CAbd Allah CUmar

al-Barudi (Beirut: Damr al-Janan, 1408/1988), 2: 310. Quoting Musa b. CUbayd Allah b. Yahya (B. 14), the passage states that CAbd al-Rahman fathered a hundred and six children as a result but that, ultimately, his fondness for sex was his undoing.

al-MuCtazz (in Samarra) during the civil war of 251/ 865-66. He is listed among the secretaries in this group without reference to his ism.91

13. CUbayd Allah b. Yahyd b. Khaqan probably be- gan his career as a secretary.92 Al-Tanukhi's pair of anecdotes purport to explain his rise to prominence. One relates that 'Ubayd Allah won notice under al- Mutawakkil because of his favorable treatment of a group of Armenian notables. After having been slighted by his father in favor of his brother CAbd Allah (B. 8), he offers his services free of charge to the head of the diwan al-diydc, al-Fadl b. Marwan. The Armenians, seeking ratification of a lucrative concession (muqataca), and, encountering opposition from al-Fadl, turn to CUbayd Allah who pleads their case successfully. In appreciation they provide him with gifts valuable

enough to win al-Mutawakkil's attention; hearing the story, he approves of the young secretary's conduct. At a later point, seeking to fill a high level position, the caliph selects CUbayd Allah who subsequently rises to the post of wazir.93

The second anecdote elaborates, in part, on the first. It portrays a solicitous CUbayd Allah courting favor with al-Mutawakkil who, drawn to the young man, assigns him clerical duties. CUbayd Allah is then confronted

by Itakh al-Turki, an influential Turk, who orders him beaten. In response, the caliph, already inclined against Itakh, assigns new, high-level responsibilities to CUbayd Allah, and eventually the trappings and, finally, title of wazlr.94

Both stories credit CUbayd Allah's emergence and, ultimately, his appointment to the post of wazir to his relationship with al-Mutawakkil. His experience was similar, in this sense, to that of al-Fath b. Khaqan.95 His

91 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1615. 92 The identification by Samir Shamma, Ahddth Casr al-

Ma'mun ka-md tarwihd al-nuqid (Irbid: Yarmouk University, 1995), 537-39, of CUbayd Allah with an CUbayd Allah b.

Yahya listed on coins from Aran between 209 and 212 A.H. seems incorrect. Michael Bates (private correspondence) points out that CUbayd Allah was probably but a child at that point; his death date was 262/876.

93 Al-Tanukhi, Nishwdr, 8: 51-53. 94 Al-Tanukhi, Nishwdr, 8: 12-16. Typical of the Adab genre

is the blend here of apocryphal and "historical" elements. Sour- del, Vizirat, 1: 275-77, notes information in both anecdotes which is inconsistent with that provided by other sources.

95 Sourdel, Vizirat, 1: 282, 286. Al-Yacqubi, Ta'rikh, 2: 602, lists the two men as the preeminent members of al-Mutawakkil's administration. On the appointment itself, see below. In addition

244


father was an established member of the bureaucracy and, presumably, had laid the way open for CUbayd Allah and his brothers. Caliphal patronage, however, will have allowed CUbayd Allah to exercise authority earlier than expected. There is little question, in any case, that he owed his standing to al-Mutawakkil's back-

ing. Al-Yacqubi indicates, it seems, that CUbayd Allah switched his ties of wala' to the caliph. After noting that al-Mutawakkil directed him to identify himself as Mawla amir al-mu'minin, the passage notes that CUbayd Allah's ties had been to the Azd.96

All indications are that CUbayd Allah came to wield an impressive degree of authority under this caliph.97 Sourdel speaks of 'Ubayd Allah as having "restored" the office of the wazir, a view I have not attempted to consider here. He also suggests that CUbayd Allah's

experience makes clear that the authority of the office had everything to do with the abilities of a given appointee rather than with the office itself.98 As Sourdel

points out, his path to the post of wazir came in rapid steps, from head of the bureau of tawqic to control over a range of key offices at the height of his influence.99

Alongside direct references, there are other, more sub- tle ways in which to measure his standing in this period. There are indications, for example, that he was well connected in both political and intellectual circles. His ties to the caliphal family are clear.100 Of particular in-

to material cited there, a number of passages portray CUbayd Allah in his capacity as wazir, and often on behalf of al- Mutawakkil: al-Balawi, Sira, 35-36; Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat, 1: 351-55; Ibn Sacid, Mughrib, 74; al-Isfahani, Aghdni, 22: 162; al-MasC'di, Muruj, 7: 258, 268, 8: 125; al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1424-25 (includes a letter from 'Ubayd Allah); and al-Tanukhi, Faraj, 1: 389-492.

96 Ta0rikh, 2: 597. 97 See preceding note. Al-YaCqiubi indicates that after assum-

ing control of the bureaus of the khardj, diydc, qu.dd, barid, and maC'win, CUbayd Allah resigned as head of the tawqic.

98 Vizirat, 1: 281, 285-86. 99 Sourdel, Vizirat, 1: 277 and n. 3, in reference to al-

Ya'cqbi, Ta'rikh (the citation should read 2: 597). The passage, as Sourdel points out, never refers to the post of wazir directly. In addition to the sources cited by Sourdel that do refer to him as wazir, see al-MasCudi, Muruj, 8: 39.

100 In addition to his relationship with al-Mutawakkil, and later, al-MuCtamid, al-MasCOdi, Kitab al-tanbih wa-l-ishraf, ed. M. J. de Goeje (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1894), 362-63, reports that al-MuCtazz was "under [cUbayd Allah's] protection/tutelage" (wa kdnafi hujrihi), a relationship that explains CUbayd Allah's involvement in the conflict over succession to al-Mutawakkil (see below).

terest to modern historians are his ties to al-Baladhuri, Ibn Qutayba and al-Tabari.0l? Al-Tabari is reported to have worked, early in his career, as tutor to CUbayd Allah's son, Abu Yahya.'02 Ties to al-Baladhuri appear to have been rather strained.103 No less interesting are two anecdotes that are plausibly read as an attempt, either by CUbayd Allah or his partisans, to link him to the legacy of the Barmakids.'04

Given the fractured politics of Samarra, it comes as little surprise that CUbayd Allah became involved in a series of controversies. His conflicts with rival bureaucrats are well attested, both in the chronicles and works of adab. His most bitter rivalries were those with Najah b. Salama, and, somewhat earlier, with Ahmad b. al- Mudabbir and his brother Ibrahim.105 'Ubayd Allah also

101 Ibn Qutayba is reported to have dedicated his Adab al- katib to CUbayd Allah; see Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat, 3: 43, and Sourdel, Vizirat, 1: 307 and n. 7. Ibn Khallikan gives his kunya as Abu al-Hasan.

102 See Ibn CAsakir, Ta'rikh, 52: 193 (= al-Tabari, Annales, Introductio, LXIX-XCVI; the reference in question occurs on

LXXV) and al-Dhahabi, Siyar, 14: 271. See Franz Rosenthal, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 1: General Introduction and From the Creation to the Flood (Albany: State Univ. of New York Press, 1989), 21-23. Al-Tabari apparently maintained contact with the family; Ibn CAsakir, ibid., 52: 200; Yaqfit, Mu'jam, 6: 2465; al-Dhahabi, 14: 275, report an encounter with a second son, Muhammad b. CUbayd Allah al-Khaqani, following the latter's accession to the post of wazir in 299/912

(see B. 16). See Rosenthal, 14, 36. 103 See al-Jahshiyari, Nusis, 81, and Yaqut, MuCjam, 2:

531-32: the historian and poet embarrasses CUbayd Allah in

public in one anecdote, and mocks him (in verse) in a second. As noted by Sourdel, Vizirat, 1: 307 n. 8, in yet a third anecdote in Yaqut's tarjama of the historian (534, for which al-Suli is cited as the source), the historian speaks of the close ties (hurma) between him and the wazir.

104 The one anecdote, preserved in al-Isfahani, Aghani, 14: 197, and copied partially by al-Tanukhi, in D. S. Margoliouth, The Table-talk of a Mesopotamian Judge, pt. I (London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1922), 12-13, describes a majlis held by 'Ubayd Allah in which one Abu al-Shibl (CAsim ibn Wahb) al-

Burjumi (?), after hearing various comments in praise of the famous family, recites a couplet lauding his host as superior to al-Fadl and Yahya b. Khalid. For his pains, he was rewarded with a cloak, horse, and bag of dirhams. The other anecdote, in

al-Jahshiyari, Wuzara', 254, citing CUbayd Allah, has him

query a colleague about the reasons for al-Rashid's destruction of the Barmakid family.

105 Sourdel, Vizirat, 1: 278-79 [the Mudabbir brothers], 280- 81 [Ibn Salama]. Al-Isfahani, Aghani, 16: 396 and 22: 162,

245


took part in the struggle, late in al-Mutawakkil's reign, over the question of succession to the caliph. He is

portrayed by al-Tabari, among other authors, as having supported the future al-MuCtazz against his brother Mu- hammad (al-Muntasir bi-llah). The latter had been chosen as primary heir probably in 235/849-50; the struggle was sparked by attempts by supporters of al-MuCtazz, among them CUbayd Allah, to oust al-Muntasir.106 Sub-

sequent tensions played a key part in al-Mutawakkil's assassination.107 The evidence implies that, following the killings of al-Mutawakkil and al-Fath, with whom he was so closely associated, CUbayd Allah stood as the

regime's principal bulwark against its opponents. The assassination was carried out by younger Turkish

officers. It is clear that close ties joined al-Muntasir to leaders of the Turkish military, and, by extension, to the killers themselves, which provides an important per- spective on the regicide.'08 It is worth noting, however, that the sources, including al-Tabari, say precious little

regarding relations between the Turks and al-Mutawak- kil's court (e.g., CUbayd Allah and al-Fath). As noted earlier, however, there is every reason to think that the Turkish leadership deeply distrusted al-Fath and probably CUbayd Allah as well, both of whom were key members of al-Mutawakkil's regime. At a critical juncture, CUbayd Allah was placed in command of a military force created by the caliph expressly, it appears, to counter the authority of the Turks.'09 All indications are,

treats the rivalry between CUbayd Allah and the two brothers. On the demise of Ibn Salama, in which CUbayd Allah played a key part, al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1440-46, provides two

conflicting accounts. 106 See al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1453, 1457, 1461, on the parts

played by CUbayd Allah and al-Fath b. Khaqan. Al-Tabari, 3: 1462-63, indicates that CUbayd Allah sought out al-MuCtazz

immediately upon receiving news of the assassination of al- Mutawakkil.

107 In "The Breaking of a Thousand Swords," 93-100, I concentrate on the caliph's relations with the Turkish military as the key factor. Bates (private correspondence) argues that by killing al-Mutawakkil, however, al-Muntasir and his supporters were assured of the prince's succession; the emphasis here, in other words, is upon the power struggle between powerful cliques, each backing one of the royal princes.

108 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1461, for example. 109 See Gordon, "Thousand Swords," 87-89; T6llner, Gar-

den, 72-74. The key reference occurs in al-MasC'di, Tanbih, 361-62: the force was assigned to 'Ubayd Allah, it was composed of roughly twelve thousand Arabs and others, it was "intended for" (bi-rasm) al-Muctazz, and it was part of the

however, that despite the urging of his (and the dead

caliph's) partisans, CUbayd Allah accepted the accession of al-Muntasir."0l Al-Tabari describes him, in fact, as

having been present during the swearing-in ceremony of the new caliph."' Shortly thereafter, having set out on the pilgrimage, he was detained, then exiled to Barqa."l2

The length of CUbayd Allah's absence is not made

explicit. The measure of his continued influence is his

reappearance in Iraq in 251/865-66. He is said to have carried out a sensitive mission (perhaps on behalf of al- Muctazz) aimed at bringing an end to the conflict between the seated caliph, al-MustaCin, located at that time in Baghdad, and his opponents, chief among them the Turkish forces of Samarra.1"3 Al-Tabari makes clear that

CUbayd Allah was working to have al-Mu'tazz recog- nized as the sole caliph. From that point, CUbayd Allah remains largely in the background, if one can judge on the basis of silence as to his whereabouts, until his second appointment to the post of wazir, this time by al-MuCtamid in 256/869-70.14 He remained in the post until his accidental death six years later."15

caliph's efforts against the Turks. The same passage clarifies al-MuCtazz' relationship as proteg6 of the wazir; one can therefore assume that al-MuCtazz was but titular head of the force. On these troops, also see al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1463, and al- Tanukhi, Nishwar, 8: 16, who states that CUbayd Allah was

placed in command over the troops. I have argued (op. cit.) that the troops were to be housed in Balkuwara, a new cantonment built by al-Mutawakkil expressly for this reason. On the cantonment itself, see Alastair Northedge, "Creswell, Herzfeld, and Samarra," Muqarnas 8 (1991): 78. There is evidence that the regiment remained in place despite the death of al- Mutawakkil and his own exile (see below). See references to

CUbayd Allah's soldiers in al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1662, 1664. 110 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1463. CUbayd Allah, on being

pressured by his "companions" (ashdb), argues that because al-MuCtazz was "in their hands" (that is, the hands of the Turks), they should do nothing.

111 TaVrikh, 3: 1471. 112 Al-MasCudi, Muruij, 7: 296, 325; al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3:

1506; al-YaCqubi, Ta'rikh, 2: 606. 113 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1637-38, makes no such reference,

though he does state that CUbayd Allah pushed the Tahirid leader not to support al-MustaCin (and, therefore, to back al-MuCtazz).

114 Al-MasCidi, Murtuj, 8: 39; al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1839; al-YaCq0bi, Ta'rikh, 2: 619.

115 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 1915. Also see Ibn Sacid, Mughrib, 115, who describes Ahmad ibn Tiuln's delight at hearing the news of his death. The reason for this reaction is unclear; the report also mentions his same reaction to the deaths of two

246


Every indication is that CUbayd Allah's authority as the new chief minister was but a dim reflection of that he enjoyed under al-Mutawakkil. Sourdel appears to

suggest that CUbayd Allah, much like al-MuCtamid himself, was unable to challenge the influence exerted

by al-Muwaffaq."6 Information regarding CUbayd Al- lah's activities at this stage is thin. The writers of adab provide only the occasional reference, as do al-Tabari and other chroniclers.l7 It may be that the significance of this last phase of CUbayd Allah's career lay principally with the opportunities that it provided to the

younger members of his extended family. 14. Abu Muzahim Musa b. CUbayd Allah b. Yahya

was a respected traditionist of Baghdad. His relationship to the one wazir, his father CUbayd Allah, and to the second, his brother, Muhammad b. CUbayd Allah (see B. 16), is stated explicitly. His death occurred in 325/936-37. 18

15. Ahmad b. CUbayd Allah is little known. He is cited briefly in a ShiCi biographical work."9 He is also mentioned in 306/918-19 when he is dismissed by CAli b. CIsa, the prominent bureaucrat, as feeble-minded and rash (ahmaq mutahawwir).'20

16. Al-Khaqani Muhammad b. CUbayd Allah was the eldest of CUbayd Allah's sons. Usually known as al- Khaqani, he emerged into public life under al-MuCtamid. Though one report says that he succeeded his father as wazir for a week,'21 it is more likely that under CUbayd Allah's successors, he held the diwan zimdm al-khardj wa'l-diyac al-sulftniya,'22 followed by two lesser posts. The period included a brief stint under house arrest.'23 He won appointment as wazir in 299/912. This followed the arrest and dismissal by al-Muqtadir (r. 295-320/908-

influential Turkish commanders of Samarra, both of whom had

opposed him directly. 116 Vizirat, 1: 305-9. On al-Muwaffaq, see Hugh Kennedy,

The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates (London: Longman Group, 1986), 175-81.

117 Sourdel, Vizirat, 305-9. 118 Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ta'rikh Baghdad, 13:60, no. 7035;

al-Sam'ani, al-Ansab, 2: 310; al-Dhahabi, Siyar, 15: 94-95, no. 54.

119 Al-Tusi, Fihrist kutub al-Shica, ed. A. Sprenger and CAbd al-Haqq, Tusy's List of Shycah Books (Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press, 1853), 32. See Sourdel, Vizirat, 1: 283 n. 5.

120 CArib al-Qurtubi, Silat Ta'rikh al-Tabari (Tabari contin- uatus), ed. M. J. de Goeje (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1897), 73.

121 Sourdel, Vizirat, 2: 394. 122 Al-Sabi, Wuzard', 284. 123 Al-Sabi, Wuzard3, 284; see Sourdel, Vizirat, 2: 394.

32) of the better known Ibn al-Furat, from whom Mu- hammad was in hiding.'24 Following the ceremony of investiture, in which his sons, CAbd Allah (B. 17) and CAbd al-Wahid (B. 18), played a prominent part, Mu- hammad took steps to consolidate his position. The effort consisted largely, it appears, of measures taken against Ibn al-Furat and his supporters.'25

Muhammad was thus among the small circle of men

appointed to the post of wazir by al-Muqtadir, and whose careers, we are told, were largely defined by court

intrigue.'26 Like his son, Abu al-Qasim CAbd Allah, at a subsequent point, Muhammad would occupy the top minister's post for only a brief period. Sourdel refers to "second rung" figures who moved through the position, among whom these last two members of Yahya b. Khaqan's family are to be included.'27

The sources are unanimous in decrying Muhammad's performance as wazir.128 Al-Sabi says he performed so poorly that the standing of the office itself was tarnished.129 We are given a detailed record of his incom-

petence, maladministration, and corruption: correspondence ignored, bills left unpaid, provincial offices filled by multiple appointees.130 The image is of an individual overwhelmed and heedless in equal measure. Miska- wayh, noting that previously al-Khaqani had been but a minor provincial official, says that his experience as wazir was due to a lack of knowledge and experience.'31 There is a sad quality to the man: in response to requests, Muhammad is said to have invariably responded with a hearty reply in the affirmative, and a loud thump of the chest, for which he earned the nickname Daqqa sadrahu.'32 An exhausted public treasury and growing

124 CArib, Sila, 37; Miskawayh, Tajdrib, 1: 20-21; al-Sabi, Wuzara', 284; Sourdel, Vizirat, 2: 394-95.

125 CArib, Sila, 37-38; Miskawayh, Tajarib, 21-23; al-Sabi, Wuzara', 285. These provide extended descriptions of the in-

terrogation of Ibn al-Furat. 126 Sourdel, Vizirat, 2: 387-469; Harold Bowen, The Life

and Times of CAll ibn Isc (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1928).

127 Vizirat, 2: 387 ("personnages de seconde zone"). 128

Miskawayh, Tajarib, 23, referring to al-Khaqani's administration, says that all went to wrack and ruin (fa-fasadat al-umur bi-wilayat Abi 'Ali al-Khaqani wa-ddait).

129 Wuzara', 286: fa-sakhufat al-wizdra wa-akhlaqat al-hayba; Sourdel, Vizirat, 2: 399.

130 Miskawayh, Tajarib, 23-24; al-Sabi, Wuzara', 285-86. 131 Tajarib, 1: 27. 132 Al-Sabi, Wuzarad, 286. Muhammad is also said to have

been given to extending his prayers so to avoid receiving

247


resentment, particularly from the military, infuriated with

delays in the payment of salaries, led to al-Khaqani's ouster in 301/913.133 He died in 312/924-25.'34

17. Abu al-Qasim CAbd Alldh b. Muhammad comes off little better than his father. By all accounts, he worked closely with the older man throughout the latter's career, and, like him, is described as careless and inept. Prior to his appointment by al-Muqtadir in 312/924, he had also been closely aligned with the influential family of kuttab, the Banu al-Jarrah.135 He is said to have held two positions, one in the diwdn al-ashraf, the other with the diwan al-jaysh, in association with Muhammad b. Dawiud b. al-Jarrah (d. 296/908). He then gained experience during his father's tenure in office; the sources relate that Muhammad al-Khaqani often turned matters over to his son.136 CAbd Allah was, therefore, a likely target: on the collapse of his father's administration, and like his father and brother, CAbd Allah suffered the humiliation of arrest and the inevitable extortion of money and property.137

He apparently learned little from his father's example. CArib's comment that CAbd Allah assumed a certain gravity as an older man may be slightly mocking.'38 Al- Muqtadir's remark, on being pressed to appoint CAbd Allah by Mu'nis, a dominant military figure, was that the son was "even more wretched than his father" (abu- hu kharab al-dunya wa-huwd sharr min abihi).139 On taking office, CAbd Allah faced not only the hostility of his rivals in the bureaucracy, but the continued depreda- tions of the Qaramita, rising social unrest throughout Iraq, and the persistent involvement of the military command in imperial decision-making.140 For the sources, his undistinguished tenure in office was largely colored by the trial, torture, and execution of Ibn al-Furat and his

urgent messages and to convey an aura of piety; see al-Sabi, 288; Miskawayh, Tajirib, 24.

133 See al-Sabi's despairing comments in summing up his wazirate; Wuzarad, 304.

134 See E12 s.v. "Ibn Khaqan (3)" [Sourdel]. On his con- dition by that point, see Miskawayh, Tajarib, 1: 127.

135 Al-Sabi, Wuzard3, 284. 136

Miskawayh, Tajarib, 23. 137 Al-Sabi, Wuzarda, 306; CArib, Sila, 41; Sourdel, Vizirat,

2: 398-99. 138 Sila, 120; Sourdel, Vizirat, 2: 436. 139

Miskawayh, Tajcrib. 1: 127. 140 Sourdel, Vizirat, 2: 436-38. On developments late in

al-Muqtadir's reign, including a discussion of the Qaramita, see

Kennedy, Age of the Caliphates, 193-95, 287-92.

son, al-Muhassin.'41 Toward the end of 313/925, CAbd Al- lah was replaced.142 His death came the following year.143

18. CAbd al-Wahid b. Muhammad was CAbd Allah's brother. He appears in the ceremony marking the appointment of their father as wazir in 299/912.144 Im-

plicated with CAbd Allah in the corruption of his father's administration,145 he was also arrested and jailed by CAli b. CIsa in 301/916 but released, like his father and brother, after paying a moderate fine.146 He, too, was a member of the bureaucracy.

19. CAbd al-Wahhab b. CAbd Allah, also a katib, appears only briefly. He is mentioned in connection with his father's administration, as the head of the diwan al- azimma.'47 He escaped arrest upon his father's fall from office by going into hiding.148 The mysterious Khaqan b. Ahmad b. Yahya (B. 7) appears in the same passage. Sourdel, citing Miskawayh, mentions CAbd al-Wahhab on one further occasion.149

THE TWO FAMILIES

We have then two families of roughly the same period who both trace their descent to a Khaqan, appear to have been fond of the name Muzahim, were prominent in the army and administration, and were closely linked with al-Mutawakkil. Al-Fath b. Khaqan, the best-known member of the first family, was killed along with the caliph; 'Ubayd Allah b. Yahya b. Khaqan, the best-known member of the second family, disappeared from public view for some time after the killings. In contrast to the first family, the second remained prominent for a longer period and its members seem to have been more numer- ous, but it is not surprising that the two families are mixed up in the secondary literature.150 Were they related? And, whether related or not, were they both of Turkish ancestry?

141 Miskawayh, Tajarib, 1: 127-35; al-Sabi, Wuzarad, 61-72; 'Arib, Sila, 120-21; Sourdel, Vizirat, 2: 432-34.

142 Miskawayh, Tajdrib, 1: 142-43; CArib, Sila, 126; Sour-

del, Vizirat, 2: 438. 143 E12 s.v. "Ibn Khakan (4)" [Sourdel]. 144 Al-Sabi, Wuzara', 284-85; Sourdel, Vizirat, 2: 295. 145 Al-Sabi, Wuzari', 302. 146 Al-Sabi, Wuzard', 306; Miskawayh, Tajdrib, 26; Sourdel,

Vizirat, 2: 398-99. 147 Al-Sabi, Wuzarda, 140. On the azimma, see Sourdel,

Vizirat, 1: 112-13. 148 Miskawayh, Tajarib, 143. 149 Vizirat, 2: 278. 150 See note 1.

248


The first question is easily answered: there is nothing in the sources to indicate that they were related. While the sources may not be fully consistent in this regard, generally they will indicate family ties between individ-

uals, as the evidence marshalled above for members of the two families bears out. The silence of the sources on connections between the families is significant, for if the two families were one, they would have represented a formidable presence in the period's political history. Surely some indication of this would have been given as, for example, in the case of the Barmakids.

THE QUESTION OF ANCESTRY

The origins of the two families is the more complicated question. It might be assumed that both families had Turkish roots, given their respective descent from a

Khaqan. This was a traditional Central Asian title used to designate individuals of high socio-political stand-

ing. It appears to have made its way from early proto- Mongolian peoples through the Juan-juan (Joujan) to the Turks.151 In the Arabic sources it is often applied to Turkish chiefs.'52 It generally appears without the

151 C. E. Bosworth, "Abu cAbdallah al-KhwSrazmi on the Technical Terms of the Secretary's Art: A Contribution to the Administrative History of Mediaeval Islam," JESHO 12 (1969): 9; Sir Gerard Clauson, An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-

Thirteenth-Century Turkish (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), 611; Gerhard Doerfer, Tirkische und Mongolische Elemente im

Neupersischen (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1967), 141-79; Peter Golden, An Introduction to the History of the Turkic

Peoples (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1992), 146-49; and Ren6 Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes, tr. Naomi Walford (New Brunswick, N. J.: Rutgers Univ. Press, 1970), 60-61. On relations between the Juan-juan and the early Turks, also see Thomas Barfield, The Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China (Cambridge: Basil Blackwell, 1989), 120-38; Denis Sinor, "The Establishment and Dissolution of the Turk Empire," in The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, ed. Sinor

(Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1990), 291-301. 152 It occurs in al-Tabari's Ta'rikh most often in reference to

the leader of the Turkish forces opposing the Arabs/Muslims in Khurasan in the early second/eighth century. There he identifies

Khaqan as sahib al-Turk (Ta'rikh, 2: 1593), and goes on to gloss the kunya Abu Muzahim, the name assigned the Turk- ish leader by the Arabs (2: 1594), as a reference to the costs inflicted upon the Arabs by the Turks (Abu Muzfhim = "he who would so plague us"?). As Khalid Yahya Blankinship, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 25: The End of Expansion (Albany: State Univ. of New York Press, 1989), 131 n. 69, points out, the

definite article suggesting that it was viewed as a proper name (on a par, for example, with afshin).l53 It certainly came to be used as a personal name within the Islamic world,154 and not only by people of Turkish descent.155

ruler in question was Si-lii, leader of the Turgesh or Western Turks. See also Christopher Beckwith, The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia (Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1987), 84-124 (Su-lu). Al-Tabari uses the term less often for the individual

leading Khazar (Turkish) forces against the Muslims in the Caucasus region; see, e.g., 2: 1531. In this sense, Blankinship's rendering ("the Khaqan") is misleading; see Expansion, 14, among many other occurrences. Khalifa b. Khayyat, Ta'rikh, ed. Akram Diya' al-'Umari, 2d ed. (Damascus: Dar al-Qalam, 1397/1977), uses the term in reference to individuals on both

military fronts. He refers twice to an "Ibn Khaqan" leading the Khazars (265, 267), once to the same person both as Ibn

Khaqan and as the Khazar tyrant (taghiyat al-Khazar-269) and twice to simply "Khaqan" (270, 275). In his first reference (265), he seems to provide a name for Ibn Khaqan, that is, "Martik (?)." Only once (270) does he refer to the Turkish leader on the Khurasan front. Also see al-Baladhuri, Kitab

futiih al-buldan, ed. M. J. de Goeje (Liber expugnationis regionum) (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1866), 196, 204, 428-29, who refers to both fronts as well.

153 Al-MasCidi (d. 345/956), perhaps reflecting the perspec- tive of a later generation of chroniclers, but certainly his interest in "non-Muslim nations," comments on the term. See Ahmad M. H. Shboul, Al-MasCudi and his World (London: Ithaca Press, 1979), 151. In the Muruj, 1: 288-89, 2: 12-13, 6: 32, note, in particular, al-MasCidi's reference to "the Khaqan of khaqans" (1: 288). On the use of Afshin, see C. E. Bosworth and G. Clauson, "Al-Xwarazmi on the Peoples of Central Asia," JRAS (1965): 7-8.

154 Consider, for example, the various individuals listed by Ibn Makila, al-lkmdl, 17 vols., ed. CAbd al-Rahman b. Yahya al-MaClami al-Yamani (Hyderabad: Matbacat Majlis Dafirat al-MaCarif al-cUthmfniya, 1962-70), 2: 12, cf. al-Khatib al-

Baghdadi, Ta'rikh Baghdad, 8: 340, no. 4453, on Khaqan Abu CAbd Allah, min kubdr sufiya al-Baghdadiya; al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 416, 435, 602, transmitting from a certain al-Sabbah b.

Khaqan al-Tamimi, cf. Yaqut, MuCjam, 2: 613 (al-Sabbah b.

Khaqan al-Minqari); al-Azdi, Ta'rikh al-Mawsil, ed. A. Habiba (Cairo: al-Majlis al-A'la lil-Shu'un al-Islamiya, 1387/1967), 147, where one Khaqan b. Yazid is mentioned as one of the victims of a massacre in 133/750-51 in Mosul by partisans of the CAbbasid movement. Al-Azdi also refers to a neighborhood known as "Sikkat Khaqan."

155 Al-Samcani, Ansab s.v. al-khaqani, 2: 309-10, lists a

"Khaqan" among the descendants of a companion of the Prophet.

249


It also occurs as a nisba, al-Khaqani.'56 In other words, the appearance of the name Khaqan in a genealogy cre- ates a presumption of Turkish descent (and a much weaker one in favor of noble Turkish descent), but it does not suffice to prove it. We are told explicitly that the family of Khaqan CUrtuj was of Turkish (and princely) descent; in this case, the presumption may be seen as corroborated (see A. 1). The family of Yahya b. Khaqan, however, is Turkish only by a presumption that clearly is open to challenge.

According to al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, the Khaqan from whom Yahya's family was descended was the son of Musa b. Subayh b. Marzuq (see B. 4). He was not a Turkish chief, then, but the scion of a family that had been Muslim for three generations. The unknown Kha- qan could hardly have invented these names: though it is not uncommon to encounter Muslim names in a genealogy before that of the convert, it is certainly uncommon to encounter a string of three. In any case, Musa b. Subayh is a figure familiar to the sources. He was one of the "well-known commanders" (al-quwwad al-maCrifun) found in Abi Muslim's trench at Marw during the CAbbasid revolution. His kunya was Abu Nucaym, implying that he had a son by that name (hy- pothetically included in the tree as B. ?).'57 According to al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, he was from Marw and moved from there to Baghdad, where he had a rabad (settlement).158 No nisba is provided for him, but presumably he was a non-Arab. The presumption must be that he was an Iranian rather than a Turk.

We know that Yahya b. Khaqan's family was from Marw; al-Khatib al-Baghdadi says so explicitly, in connection with Yahya's brother, Muhammad.159 Other sources merely say that Yahya was a Khurasani and a mawla of the Azd.'60 They say the same about his son CUbayd Allah,161 and, specifically in connection with the latter's son Muhammad, that the precise tribe in

156 See, for example, al-SamCani in the preceding note. The term came to be used by the minor Persian dynasty, the Shar- wanshahs, from whom came the sixth/twelfth-century poet, al-

Khaqani (d. 595/1199); see EI2 s.v. "Khakalni" [Reinert]. I am

grateful to Julie Meisami for bringing this information to my attention.

157 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 2: 1957. 158 Ta'rikh Baghdad, 1: 102; see Jacob Lassner, The Topo-

graphy of Baghdad in the Early Middle Ages: Text and Studies (Detroit: Wayne State Univ. Press, 1970), 66.

159 Ta&rikh Baghdad, 2: 307, no. 795. 160 Al-Tabari, TaDrikh, 3: 1379. 161 Al-YaCqiibi, Ta'rikh, 2: 597: wa-kana walduhufi al-Azd.

question was the Banu Washih of Azd.162 If this does not clinch the claim that the family descended from a participant in the CAbbasid dawla (Musa b. Subayh), it is compatible with the claim that they came from Marw, which had a large Azdi population.'63

On the basis of this evidence, it can be concluded that Yahya b. Khaqan was a member of the Abna--a Ba- nawi-of Iranian descent.'64 The question arises of why the family is never characterized in this way. The recent discussion by Patricia Crone provides a plausible explanation: as a result of the fourth civil war-which took place between al-Ma'mun and al-Amin from 193/809 to 198/813-the label became politically awkward. A good number of the Abnad, in other words, had dis- graced themselves by fighting in support of al-Amin in

162 Al-Samcani, Ansdb, 2: 310: that this was the subtribe (raht) of Sulayman b. Harb (d. 224/838-39), a prominent traditionist. See al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ta'rikh Baghdad, 9: 34-38, no. 4622.

163 On the settlement of the Azd in and around Marw, see Elton Daniel, "The 'Ahl al-Taqadam' and the Problem of the Constituency of the Abbasid Revolution in the Merv Oasis," Journal of Islamic Studies 7.2 (1996): 157 n. 20; EIr, s.v. "'Arab III. Arab Settlements in Iran," 213-15 [Daniel]; and Moshe Sharon, Black Banners from the East (Jerusalem: Magnes Press; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1983), 66-67). A map in Sharon 59 indicates, without explanation, the spread of Azdi settlement around Marw. Sourdel, Vizirat, 2: 238, points out that the

prominent Baghdadi judge, Yahya b. Aktham, originated from Marw and is reported to have been introduced to al-Hasan b. Sahl by Yahya b. Khaqan.

164 On the Abna', that is, the descendants of those who participated in the CAbbasid revolution, see Albert Arazi and Amikam El'ad, "L'lpitre a l'Arm6e: al-Ma'mun et la Seconde Da'wa," SI 66 (1987): 1: 52-61; David Ayalon, "The Military Reforms of Caliph al-MuCtasim: Their Background and Con-

sequences," in his Islam and the Abode of War (Brookfield, Vt.: Variorum, 1994): 5-12; Elton Daniel, The Political and Social History of Khurasan under Abbasid Rule (Minneapolis: Biblio- theca Islamica, 1979), 59, 165; Gerhard Hoffman, "Al-Amin, al-Ma'mun und der 'Pobel' von Bagdad in den Jahren 812/13," ZDMS 143.1 (1993): 27-44; Jacob Lassner, The Shaping of CAbbasid Rule (Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1980), 129- 36. Arazi and El'ad discuss the individuals and families that remained in Khurasan after the revolution. The arguments in Mohsen Zakeri, Sdsdnid Soldiers in Early Muslim Society (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1995), 265-89, regarding the origins of the Abna>, have been challenged by Patricia Crone, "The CAbbasid Abna' and Sasanid Cavalrymen," JRAS 3, 8: 1 (1998): 1-19.

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GORDON: The Khdqanid Families of the Early CAbbasid Period

the civil war so that no supporter of al-Ma'mun wished to be known as a Banawi, however much his ancestors might have taken part in the revolution.'65 Yahya's family achieved prominence precisely from the reign of al-Ma'mun' onwards.

There is a last question to consider. Two biographical dictionaries list a traditionist by the name of Mansur b. Abi Muzahim who was a mawla of Azd min saby al-turk (a Turkish captive). The passage adds that he was en- rolled in the diwan, only to abandon it.166 Was this man a member of Yahya b. Khaqan's family? He would have been a son of either Abu Muzahim b. Yahya (see B. 11) or Abu Muzahim Musa b. CUbayd Allah b. Yahya (see B. 14). The latter is ruled out, since the name of Man- sur's father is given as Bashir. Of the former we know

only that he had a son who was active as a secretary in 251/865-66. This fits al-Khatib al-Baghdadi's information that Mansur was himself a secretary (which suggests that the diwdn he abandoned was not military but rather an office of the bureaucracy to which he had been assigned). It is also not entirely incompatible with Mansur's dates: we are told that he died in 235/849 at the age of eighty or more. This is a bit strained, however, since even if we assume that the defector of 251/ 865-66-who would be Mansur's brother-was a man in his sixties (which, it seems, would normally not be the case), that individual (see B. 12) still would have been over twenty years older.

The fact that Mansur was the son of one Abu Mu- zahim probably shows no more than that Muzahim/Abu Muzahim was a popular name among people of Turkish descent in the Near Eastern environment. The Khaqan with whom the Arabs fought in Central Asia during the reign of the Umayyad caliph Hisham was apparently dubbed Abui Muzahim by them, for reasons probably unknown.'67 The name Muzahim figures in the family of Khaqan CUrtij too. Mansur b. Abi Muzahim cannot be a member of that family, because the sources would undoubtedly have said so explicitly if this had been the case, and moreover because he was a captive. There is not a single assertion in the sources to indicate captivity for the members of Khaqan CUrtuj's family. It is just possible that Mansur was a member of Yahya b. Kha- qan's family, but it seems more likely that he was an otherwise unknown Turkish freed-man who (or, whose

165 Crone, "'Abbasid Abna'," 9-11. 166 Ibn Sacd, al-Tabaqat al-kubrd, 9 vols. (Beirut: Dar al-

Kutub al-'Ilmiya, 1418/1997), 7: 249, no. 3543 and al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ta'rlikh Baghdad, 13: 80 no. 7054.

167 See above.

father) claimed noble origins for himself by means of the kunya Abu Muzahim. It was probably because the family of Yahya b. Khaqan had a Khaqan in their genealogy that they sported the kunya too, though they were not even Turks. Like Khaqan, Abu Muzahim will have been a prestigious name in Khurasan.

CONCLUSION

Al-MuCtasim is indelibly associated with the introduction of Turkish slave soldiers into the Islamic Near East, and Samarra is remembered above all as the city he built to house them. His military establishment, however, was not as monolithic as is sometimes thought, nor were the Turks an exclusively military presence in the third/ninth century. It will be noted that by no means was the Samarran armed forces made up solely of Turks. Again, the Turkish troops originated as al-MuCtasim's personal guard during the reign of al-Ma'mun, and, for that early phase, one has two references that indicate a force of four thousand soldiers.'68 The sources offer a confusing range of numbers, however.'69 Kennet's recent attempt, using archaeological evidence, provides an ap- proximate means by which to contrast the numbers of Turks with the total number of troops in Samarra, probably at an early point in the history of the city as the imperial capital. Kennet posits, first, that for the entire Samarran military, a "suggested total" for the period of the initial settlement is roughly 102,000 troops and for the post-MuCtasim period, 156,000 and, second, that the count of Turkish troops, while complicated by the issue of whether one counts here the Ushrusani and, in particular, the Farghani, troops as "Turks," can be estimated at between 74,000 and 90,000 heads.'70

168 Al-Kindi, Wulat, 188; al-YaCqubi, Bulddn, 255-56. 169 Ibn Taghribirdi, Nujim, 2: 285; e.g., says that "[al-

MuCtasim] devoted himself to the purchase [of Turks] such that their number reached 8000 mamluks; the number is also reported as 18,000, which is the more widely known [of the two numbers]."

170 Derek Kennet, "The Form of the Military Cantonments at Samarra, and the Organization and Size of the Abbasid Army," in A Medieval Islamic City Reconsidered: An Inter-

disciplinary Approach to Samarra, ed. Chase F Robinson (Ox- ford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2001). Kennet points out that Tollner, Garden, 45-48, made a careful attempt to quantify the numbers of soldiers in Samarra, but argues his conclusions are too conservative. Kennet's totals come to roughly four to five times higher than those proposed by Tollner. It should be noted that Kennet and T6llner, with their very different results, find the

251


The rest of the army in Samarra consisted of the Khurasani Jund that al-Mu'tasim inherited from his predecessors; the mysterious Shakiriya, which is often mentioned in tandem with the Jund;l7' the Maghariba which, according al-MasCudi, was the corps shaped by al-MuCtasim of Arab tribesmen in Egypt;'72 and regiments such as the Ushrusaniya and Faraghina, forces recruited in eastern Iran during the reigns of both al- Ma'mun and al-MuCtasim, probably by Iranian poten- tates who normally commanded them.173

Also, the Turks themselves were not a monolithic entity. Most of them owed their presence in Samarra to enslavement, probably the result of capture in raids or battle. But some were purchased by al-MuCtasim in Baghdad, others imported directly from Central Asia, while others, most importantly, had never been slaves at all.174 The importance of Khaqan CUrtufj's family lies in its demonstration of the fact that among his Turkish forces were free Turkish allies.

same numbers provided by the written sources more reliable than is often thought. I am grateful to Derek Kennet for sending me a copy of his study.

171 See Bosworth, "Abu Hafs," 279. Al-Tabari mentions the two units frequently: Ta'rikh, 3: 1336-37, 1380, 1383, 1385, 1398, 1400, 1430-31, 1479, 1481, 1484, 1489-95, 1534, 1599.

172 Muriij, 7: 118: "[Al-MuCtasim] had shaped/trained (istanaca) a group from the two 'districts' (min hawfa Misr) of

Egypt, [that is] from the 'district' of Yemen, and from the 'district' of Qays. He called them the Maghariba." Ibn al-Athir, al- Kamil fi'l-ta'rlkh, reprint of original ed. by C. J. Tornberg, 13 vols. (Beirut: Dar Sadir and Dar Beirut, 1965-67), 6: 452, probably borrowed directly from this passage: "Al-MuCtasim

'groomed' a group from the people of al-Hawf (qawman min ahl

al-Hawf) in Egypt and pressed them into service and called them the Maghariba." It should be pointed out that neither al- Kindi or Ibn Taghribirdi, both of whom were Egyptian authors, make reference to the regiment.

173 On the Jund, Shakiriya and the Iranian regiments, see C. E. Bosworth, The History of al-Tabarl, vol. 33: Storm and Stress along the Northern Frontiers of the CAbbdsid Caliphate (Albany: State Univ. of New York Press, 1991), 49 n. 159, 179 n. 506; Bosworth, "Abu Hafs," 278-79.

174 Of the passages referring to the purchases, the most valuable is al-YaCqubi, Buldan, 255-59; further references are provided in Gordon, "Thousand Swords," 28-35. There is a correlation between the Turks acquired in Baghdad and the

subsequent makeup of the Turkish leadership in the Samarra period; see Gordon, 362-66. It is plausible that the Baghdadi group was tapped for positions of responsibility because of its members' exposure to cultural and political patterns in Islamic

Iraq.

It is clear that al-Ma'mFin and al-MuCtasim pursued a systematic policy of courting noble families in eastern Iran and Central Asia.'75 Most of these families were Iranian; many of their members appear in the armies of al-Ma'min,176 and perhaps the most famous of them was al-Afshin, the Ushrusani prince who was executed after a famous trial for apostasy under al-MuCtasim.177 Khaqan 'Urt.uj was the Turkish counterpart of al-Afshin. Being a prince of some kind, it is plausible that he led a Turkish force that he brought to Baghdad, or perhaps directly to Samarra. His son Muzahim, if this is correct, would have been a commander of such a force. We never get the name of the corps (such as the CUrtujiyya, for example), nor do we learn of the corps' fortunes following the disappearance of the family from the public sphere. The assumption that Khaqain Urtuij was a free Turkish ally does much to explain the esteem in which al-Mu'tasim seems to have held him, judging from the location of the area allotted to him in Samarra, and the unusual favor shown by the caliph to his son, al-Fath.

Contrary to what might have been thought at first sight, Yahya b. Khfqan's family is not a parallel case, but there were at least two others in the Samarra period. One such family was that of Ultgh Tarkhan, a Turk who "came to" (qadima) Baghdad, presumably at the time of either al-Ma'min or al-MuCtasim, where his son Azjur/Arkhuz was born. The latter went on to become a leading commander of the CAbbasid state (wa-nasha'a Arkhuiz hatta sdra min kibdr umara' al-dawla al-CAb- basiyya).'78 It might be presumed that Ulugh was a noble: tarkhan was a traditional Turkish title of nobility.179 If Ibn Taghribirdi is right that he qadima 'l-Baghdad, he came to the city of his own accord. He felt free, in any case, to give his son a Turkish rather than an Islamic name.

Azjur is described as the "lieutenant" (khalifa) of Muzahim b. Khaqan 'Urtuij. He came with Muzahim to Egypt and served with him up to Muzahim's death in 254/868. Muzahim was succeeded by his son, Ahmad, who died only months after his father. Ahmad appointed

175 Al-Baladhuri, Futiih, 431; Ibn Khallikan, Wafaydt, 5: 56; al-Istakhri, Kitdb al-masalik, ed. M. J. de Goeje (Viae Reg- norum) (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1967), 291-92; al-YaCqubi, Ta'rikh, 2: 550; Gordon, "Thousand Swords," 20-22.

176 Patricia Crone, Slaves on Horses: The Evolution of the Islamic Polity (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1980), 76-78.

177 See EI2 s.v. "Afshin" [Barthold/Gibb]. 178 Ibn Taghribirdi, Nujum, 2: 409. 179 See Bosworth and Clauson, "al-Xwarazmi," 11-12.

252


Azjur head of the Egyptian shurta,'80 and, upon Ahmad's

death, the latter was appointed as governor of the province, a position he held until the appointment of Ahmad b. Tulun in that same year (254/868). According to Ibn

Taghribirdi, Azjur returned to Iraq where he was warmly welcomed by the caliph and assumed his place within the officer corps.'81 Al-Kindi says only that Azjur left

Egypt to take part in the hajj.'82 The second family was that of Juff b. Yaltekin, and

his son Tughj. Juff was among the eastern nobles recruited by al-Ma'mun and al-MuCtasim. The sources do not appear to support the view that Juff was ever enslaved by the CAbbasid caliphate.183 On the contrary, they say either that he was among "a large number" from

Farghana that "flocked" to al-MuCtasim,184 or that he "went from" the province to the caliph.'85 Once in Iraq, he and his colleagues were honored by al-MuCtasim with

positions and land grants (qatd'ic).186 His family achieved

prominence in Egypt in the early part of the fourth/tenth

century, when Juff's grandson, Abu Bakr Muhammad, established the Ikhshidid house.'87 The sources indicate that Juff and Tughj b. Juff were leading officers in the CAbbasid military; their personal names, and, possibly, the reference to a descendant named Khaqan, indicate Turkish origins. In other words, while Ibn Khallikan and other authors offer only the nisba "al-Farghani,"'88 al-Safadi, who adds "al-Turki," must be correct.189

180 Al-Kindi, Wulat, 208-11; Ibn Taghribirdi, Nujim, 2: 403-10. The editions have two versions of his name: "Azjur (al-Kindi) and "Arkhuz" (Ibn Taghribirdi).

181 Nujum, 2: 409. 182 Wulat, 212. 183 Contra Jere L. Bacharach, "The Career of Muhammad

ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid, a Tenth-Century Governor of Egypt," Speculum 50 (1975): 588.

184 Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat, 5: 56, and Ibn Taghribirdi, Nujum, 3: 268: qadjalabu ilayhi min Farghdnajamdaa kathira.

185 Ibn Sacid, Mughrib, 149: qad sara min Farghina ila al-Mu'tasim.

186 Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat, 5: 56; Ibn Taghribirdi, Nujtim, 3: 268-69.

187 See Kennedy, Age of the Caliphates, 313-15. The title ikhshid was of Persian derivation while the family in question was Turkish. See Bosworth and Clauson, "al-Xwarazmi," 6-7.

188 Ibn Khallikan: asluhu min awldd mulik Farghana. Note the use of both malik and khdqdn in the same passage. Also see Ibn Asakir (Ta'rikh madlnat Dimashq, 25: 4-5) and al-Maqrizi (Muqaffa, 4: 17).

189 Al-Safadi, al-Wafi fi'l-wafayat, ed. Helmut Ritter et al., 22 vols. (Istanbul: Deutsche Morgenlandische Gesellschaft, 1931-in progress), 5: 56.

It is noteworthy that only one of Khaqan CUrtuij's sons became an officer. The other, al-Fath, was a confidant of, and secretary to, al-Mutawakkil, as well as keeper of his seal. Like all high-ranking members of the civil administration, he might have commanded troops in the field as well. But he cannot possibly be classified as a member of the Turkish troops in Samarra by whom he was killed along with his patron. If we can trust al-Khatib

al-Baghdadi, Mansur b. Abi Muzahim, a Turkish captive or the descendant of one, was also a secretary rather than a soldier.190 Turks in this period, then, were not

always soldiers.

Still, it has to be granted that al-Fath's career was unusual. Turks did not normally become bureaucrats within a generation of their arrival in Iraq. There were, of course, other families of Turkish origin in the civil administration, notably that of Ibrahim b. al-CAbbas al-Suli, an influential third/ninth-century poet and katib, and great-uncle to the better known Muhammad b.

Yahya al-Suli (d. 335/945).191 The sources tell us that the family's roots were Khurasani; that Ibrahim's great- grandfather, Sul (or Sul Tekin'92), along with his brother, Fayruz, were "Turkish kings of Jurjan," who had em- braced Iranian custom and the Zoroastrian faith;'93 and that Suil was converted to Islam by Yazid b. al-Muhal- lab.'94 It appears that the family's presence in Jurjan and Dihistan was well established prior to Sul's time, so one

ought not exaggerate its Turkish identity or affiliation.195 As for Ibrahim's grandfather, Muhammad b. Sil, he

is described briefly as having been a partisan of the CAb- basid movement.'96 Al-Azdi identifies him as a mawla

190 Ta3rikh Baghdad, 13: 80. 191 On Ibrahim, see Ibn Khallikan, Wafaydt, 1: 44-47; Ibn

Taghribirdi, Nujum, 2: 378; al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ta-rikh

Baghdad, 6: 115-16; Yaqut, MuCjam, 1: 70-86. On the family connection with the later al-Suli, see, e.g., Ibn Khallikan, 45 = Ibrahim was the brother of Muhammad b. Yahya's grandfather, CAbd Allah b. al-CAbbas. Ibrahim is also cited frequently by al-Isfahani in the Aghdni; see the tarjama in Yaqut (op. cit., editor's notes). On Muhammad b. Yahya, see EI2 s.v. "al-Siuli" [Leder].

192 Ibn Khallikan, Wafaydt, 1:44, and Ibn Taghribirdi, Nujum, 2: 378, give the name in this form.

193 Yaiqut, Mucjam, 1:70: Wa-tamajjasd bacd al-Turkiyya wa-tashabbaha bi'l-Furs.

194 Yaqut, Mucjam, 1:70, no. 16, and Ibn Khallikan, Wafayiit, 1: 45, no. 11.

195 See Bosworth, Storm and Stress, 44 n. 148, who refers to "the ancient Iranized Turkish rulers of Gurgan and Dihistan."

196 Yaqut, MuCjam, 1: 71: wa-kdna Muhammad b. Sil min rijal al-dawla al-CAbbasiya wa-duCatiha. His role was minor;

253


of the Banu Khath'am.197 Prior to his death, presumably around 137/754-55, Ibn Sul carried out various mil-

itary198 and administrative'99 responsibilities for the new CAbbasid state.200

Yaqut goes on to refer to Ibrahim and his brother, CAbd Allah, as prominent bureaucrats.201 Ibrahim's

death, in Samarra, occurred in 243/857-58.202 While the

family's contacts with the Islamic/Near Eastern heart- land predated the CAbbasid period, there is at least the

suggestion that Ibrahim and his brother gained prominence because of their contacts with al-Ma'mun's administration.203 The brothers were proteges of al-Fadl b.

Sahl, the key figure in al-Ma'mun's early court. Accord-

the anonymous Akhbar al-dawla al-CAbbasiya, ed. CAbd al-CAziz al-Duri and CAbd al-Jabbar al-Muttalibi (Beirut: Dar al-TalIca lil-TabaCa wa-l-Nashr, 1970), mentions him only twice (221 = as one of the seventy ducat, 378 = commanding a group of 700 men near Nahawand). Yaqut, 1:71 states that he was killed by CAbd Allah b. CAli, a patriarch of the CAbbasid family and the head of a revolt against al-Mansur which was suppressed in 137/ 754 and during which, presumably, Ibn Siul met his end. Al- Tabari does not mention Ibn Sul in his account of the revolt. See Hugh Kennedy, The Early Abbasid Caliphate: A Political

History (London: Croom Helm, 1981), 58-60. 197 Tarikh Mawsil, 128, 141. 198 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 39-40; al-YaCqubi, Ta'rikh, 2: 429. 199 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, 3: 47, 81, 84. Al-Azdi, Ta-rikh Maw-

sil, 128, 141-50, 164, describes Ibn Sul's part in developments in Mosul in 133/750-51. Appointed as resident governor by the CAbbasid Yahya b. Muhammad, he took part in the suppression of an apparent anti-CAbbasid (read: pro-Umayyad) movement which culminated in the massacre of leading religious figures and others. Among the reasons for the troubles cited in al-Azdi was the city's refusal to accept a mawla (specifically of the Banu Kath'am) as resident governor.

2)0 His death is reported by al-Azdi, Ta'rikh Mawsil, 164. 201 Yaqit, Mucjam, 1: 71; wa-kana Ibrahim b. al-CAbbds wa-

akhuhu CAbd Allah min wujuh al-kuttdb. To date I have found no mention in the sources of their father, al-CAbbas b. Muhammad.

202 Yaqut, MuCjam, 1: 72. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ta'rikh

Baghdad, 6: 116, gives the same date. 203 Sourdel, Vizirat, 1: 235, citing various of the biographical

dictionaries, refers to the family tie between the Sili family and another member of al-Ma'mun's circle, CAmr b. Mascada. The latter is said to have been Ibrahim's cousin (ibn Camm); see al- Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ta'rikh Baghdad, 12: 199. Sourdel refers to him as being of Caucasian origins, though none of the sources I have consulted makes such a claim nor, given the connection made between him and the original Sul, does the assertion seem to follow. See Yaqut, Mujam, 5: 2131.

ing to Yaqut, Ibn Sahl devoted much attention to pro- moting the two men.204 Anecdotes regarding relations with other members of the Samarran court suggest that Ibrahim went on to wield his greatest influence in al- Mutawakkil's administration.205

But the members of the Suili family had been Muslims far longer than al-Fath b. Khaqan's, and Muhammad b. Sil had participated in the CAbbasid revolution. They were Banawis, in other words, like the son of Khalid b.

Barmak, who also proceeded to a career in the bureau-

cracy. Al-Fath b. Khaqan's career probably reflects the fact that his father was a tribal leader allied to the caliph rather than enslaved by him. The sources indicate no sense of solidarity between such Turks, who were fully part of educated, elite circles, and the slave soldiers of Samarra.

The family of Yahya b. Khaqan was also Banawi, it would seem, though probably of Iranian rather than Turk- ish origin. They too switched to the civil administration instead of staying in the army after the revolution.

They were, in sum, Baghdadis rather than Samarrans in

origin, and several members of the family appear to have remained in Baghdad after the establishment of Samarra. The duration of their service in the civil administration is not often appreciated. As seen above, members of Yahya b. Khaqan's family served in high- level posts in the bureaucracy, where they are last heard

of, it would seem, toward the end of the reign of al-

Muqtadir. Just as there is no sign of solidarity between Turkish members of the administration and the Turkish

army, so too there is none between the Banawis in the

bureaucracy and the descendants of the original AbnaD

who, it appears, remained part of the Khurasani Jund.206

204 Mucjam, 1: 71-72: wa-Ibrahim wa-akhuhu CAbd Allah

min sandaic Dhi al-Ri'asatayn al-Fadl b. Sahl wa-ittasald bi-hi

fa-rafaca minhumd wa-tanaqqala Ibrahim fi al-a'mdl al-jalila wa'l-dawawin.

205 Yaqut's sketch of Ibrahim's affairs include accounts of his

dealings with Ibn al-Zayyat, an influential wazir later brought down by al-Mutawakkil, and with Ibn al-Mudabbir, later finance minister in Egypt and rival of Ahmad b. Tulun. Ibrahim's rise to influence must be understood against the backdrop of Samarran

politics, in other words. Al-Tabari (3: 1379), as noted by Sour- del (Vizirat, 1: 273-74), indicates that he was al-Mutawakkil's choice to replace Abi al-Wazir Ahmad b. Khalid as head of a

key finance office. 206 In the army the Abna' are last heard of in 255/869, when

al-Muhtadi appears to have attempted to use them in conjunction with other forces against the Samarran Turks. See Crone, "CAbbasid Abna'," 4-5.

254

GORDON: The Khdqdnid Families of the Early 'Abbasid Period25

Instead, there are several indications of links with the scholarly, traditionist circles of Baghdad (see B. 10), notably with Ibn Hanbal, himself a Banawi, 207 and Ibn

207 See Ff2 s.v. "Ahmad ibn Hanbal"' [Laoust].

al-Mubarak (see B. 4), who hailed from Khurasan. It is impossible to tell the extent to which these links affected the careers of the Khaqanid family members who continued to move in courtly circles.

Table 1 A. Khciqdn CUrtiij and family

1. Khaqain CUrtJij (d. 233/847)

2. Muzahim (d. 254/868)

4. Ahmad (d. 25)4/869)

3. J afar 5. Al-Fath (dt. 247/86 1)

6. Muhammad

B. Yahyi db.Khiiq7n andfamily

5ubayh b. Marztiq

Mtisd

Khaqan

1. Yahya (d. 240/854) 2. CAbd al-Rahman

8. i-Abd Allah 9. Zaarityad

3. Ahmiad

10U. CAbDd al-Rahman

11. Abti Muzahim

12 S on

13. cUbayd Allah (d. 262/876)

4. Muhammad

5. IAhmad

15. Ahmad 16. Muhammad (d. 3 12/924)

17. CAbDd Allah (d. 3 14/926)

19 -CAb-d al-Wahhab

6. Ahminad (?)

7 . DK,haqan (?)

14. Mtisa (d. 325/936)

18. CAbd al-Wahid

255

the khaqanid families of teh early abbasid period

Documents

prominent families

khaqanid families

khqnid families

family of khaqan curtuj

khaqan curtfuj

family of yahya

early cabbasid caliphate

available information