Tahir ibn Husayn | |
|---|---|
 Dirham under Tahir ibn Husayn governorship | |
| Governor ofKhurasan | |
| In office 821–822 | |
| Monarch | Al-Ma'mun |
| Succeeded by | Talha ibn Tahir |
| Governor of Mosul | |
| In office 813–814 | |
| Monarch | Al-Ma'mun |
| Preceded by | al-Hasan ibn Umar (812) |
| Succeeded by | Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Sailh (814–817) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Pushang, Abbasid Empire nowAfghanistan |
| Died | 822 |
| Children | Talha ibn Tahir Abdallah ibn Tahir |
| Parent | Husayn ibn Mus'ab |
| Relatives |
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Ṭāhir ibn Ḥusayn (Arabic:طاهر بن الحسين,Tahir bin al-Husayn), also known asDhul-Yamīnayn (Arabic:ذو اليمينين, "the ambidextrous"), andal-Aʿwar (Arabic:الأعور, "the one-eyed"), was a general and governor during theAbbasidCaliphate. Specifically, he served underal-Ma'mun during theFourth Fitna and led the armies that would defeatal-Amin, making al-Ma'mun thecaliph.
Tahir bin al-Husayn was then appointed governor ofKhorasan as a reward, which marked the beginning of theTahirids.
Tahir was born inPushang which was a village near the ancient city ofHerat inKhorasan. He was from a Persiandehqan[1] noble family who had distinguished themselves since theAbbasid Revolution, and were previously awarded minor governorships in eastern Khorasan for their service to theAbbasids.[2] His great-grandfatherRuzaiq was amawla ofTalha ibn Abd Allah al-Khuza'i, an Arab nobleman from theKhuza'a tribe, who served as the governor ofSistan. Ruzaiq's son Mus'ab was the governor of Pushang and Herat. Mus'ab's son, Husayn, who was the father of Tahir, continued to his father's role as the governor of Pushang and Herat.[3]
Under the governor of Khorasan,Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan, there were riots in the province because of the latter's cruelty and persecution of other noble families, which included the family of Tahir; Tahir was imprisoned for some time and was mistreated. When he was released he fought on the side ofHarthama ibn A'yan againstRafi ibn al-Layth in 808 when the latter rebelled atSamarkand, but when the Abbasidcaliph Harun al-Rashid deposed Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan, and sent general Harthama ibn A'yan against Rafi, he returned to obedience. During the event, Tahir lost an eye after an accident, which gained him the nicknameal-A'war ("the one-eyed"). Tahir seems to have been quickly offended if someone picked him about his eye, even threatening a poet, who had humiliated him about his lost eye in a poem. The caliphHarun al-Rashid later died in 809, and was succeeded by his sonal-Amin.
In 810, the caliphal-Amin, and his brother,Al-Ma'mun, came in conflict which each others, which later led to a civil war; in January 811, al-Amin formally began theGreat Abbasid Civil War when he appointed Ali ibn Isa as governor of Khurasan, placed him at the head of an unusually large army of 40,000, drawn from an elite group known asabna′, and sent him to depose al-Ma'mun. When Ali ibn Isa set out for Khurasan, he reportedly took along a set of silver chains with which to bind al-Ma'mun and carry him back to Baghdad.[4][5] The news of Ali's approach threw Khurasan into panic, and even al-Ma'mun considered fleeing. The only military force available to him was a small army of some 4,000–5,000 men, under Tahir. Tahir was sent to confront Ali's advance, but it was widely regarded as almost a suicide mission, even by Tahir's own father. The two armies met atRayy, on the western borders of Khurasan, and theensuing battle (3 July 811) resulted in a crushing victory for the Khurasanis, in which Ali was killed and his army disintegrated on its flight west.[4][6][7]
Tahir's unexpected victory was decisive: al-Ma'mun's position was secured, while his main opponents, theabna′, lost men, prestige and their most dynamic leader.[8] Tahir now advanced westwards, defeated anotherabna′ army of 20,000 underAbd al-Rahman ibn Jabala after a series of hard-fought engagements nearHamadan, and reachedHulwan by winter.[7][8][9] Al-Amin now desperately tried to bolster his forces by alliances with Arab tribes, notably theBanu Shayban ofJazira and theBanu Qays of Syria. The veteranAbd al-Malik ibn Salih was sent to Syria to mobilize its troops along with Ali ibn Isa's son, Husayn. However, al-Amin's efforts failed due to the long-standing intertribal divisions between Qaysis andKalbis, the Syrians' reluctance to get involved in the civil war, as well as the unwillingness of theabna′ to cooperate with the Arab tribes and to make political concessions to them.[7][8] These failed efforts to secure Arab support backfired on al-Amin, as theabna′ began to doubt whether their interests were best served by him.[8] In March 812, Husayn ibn Ali led a short-lived coup against al-Amin in Baghdad, proclaiming al-Ma'mun as the rightful Caliph, until a counter-coup, led by other factions within theabna′, restored al-Amin to the throne.Fadl ibn al-Rabi, however, one of the main instigators of the war, concluded that al-Amin's case was lost and resigned from his court offices.[7] At about the same time, al-Ma'mun was officially proclaimed caliph, while hisvizierFadl ibn Sahl acquired the unique title ofDhu 'l-Ri'asatayn ("he of the two headships"), signifying his control over both civil and military administration.[7]
In spring 812, Tahir, reinforced with more troops underHarthama ibn A'yan, resumed his offensive. He invadedKhuzistan, where he defeated and killed theMuhallabid governorMuhammad ibn Yazid, whereupon the Muhallabids ofBasra surrendered to him. Tahir also tookKufa andal-Mada'in, advancing on Baghdad from the west while Harthama closed in from the east.[7] At the same time, al-Amin's authority crumbled as supporters of al-Ma'mun took control ofMosul,Egypt and theHejaz, while most of Syria,Armenia andAzerbaijan fell under the control of the local Arab tribal leaders.[8][10] As Tahir's army closed on Baghdad, the rift between al-Amin and theabna′ was solidified when the desperate Caliph turned to the common people of the city for help and gave them arms. Theabna′ began deserting to Tahir in droves, and in August 812, when Tahir's army appeared before the city, he established his quarters in the suburb of Harbiyya, traditionally anabna′ stronghold.[8]
The Islamic scholarHugh N. Kennedy characterized the subsequentsiege of the city as "an episode almost without parallel in the history of early Islamic society" and "the nearest early Islamic history saw to an attempt at social revolution", as Baghdad's urban proletariat defended their city for over a year in a vicious urbanguerrilla war.[11][12] Indeed, it was this "revolutionary" situation in the city as much as famine and the besiegers' professional expertise, that brought about its fall: in September 813, Tahir convinced some of the richer citizens to cut thepontoon bridges over theTigris that connected the city to the outside world, allowing al-Ma'mun's men to occupy the city's eastern suburbs. Tahir then launched a final assault, in which al-Amin was captured and executed at Tahir's orders while trying to seek refuge with his old family friend Harthama.[10][13]
Tahir was afterwards transferred out of the public eye to an unimportant post inRaqqa. However, he was later recalled from the post, and was rewarded with the governorship ofKhorasan. Tahir then began consolidating his authority over the region, appointing several officials to certain offices, includingMuhammad ibn Husayn Qusi, who was appointed as the governor ofSistan. Tahir later declared independence from the Abbasid empire in 822 by omitting any mention of al-Ma'mun during a Friday sermon.[3] However, he died the same night. According to some sources, he was poisoned by the orders of al-Ma'mun.[14] Nevertheless, al-Ma'mun appointed Tahir's son to continue at his father's post. Tahir is said to have said his last words inPersian, his native language.[3]
| New title | Governor ofKhurasan 821–822 | Succeeded by |
| Ancestors |
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| Governors ofBaghdad(820–891) | ||
| Governors ofKhurasan(821–873) | ||
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