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Khalid ibn Barmak

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8th-century Abbasid-era official and governor

Khalid ibn Barmak
Sassanid-style silver half-dirham minted during Khalid's governorship ofTabaristan, 770/71
Born
Unknown

709
Died781/82
Occupation(s)Soldier and administrator
Years activec. 742–781/82

Khalid ibn Barmak (709[1]–781/82;Arabic:خالد بن برمك) was the first prominent member of theBarmakids, an importantBuddhist family fromBalkh, which converted toIslam and became prominent members of theAbbasid court in the second half of the 8th century. Khalid himself converted to Islam at theUmayyad court in the 720s, but joined the nascent Abbasid revolutionary movement inKhurasan, and played a significant role in theAbbasid Revolution that toppled the Umayyads. He enjoyed close relations with the first Abbasid caliph,al-Saffah, functioning as his chief minister and introducing innovations in record-keeping. Under al-Saffah's successor,al-Mansur, Khalid's influence decreased, but he still occupied significant provincial governorships inFars,Tabaristan, andMosul. As an administrator, he distinguished himself for his fairness, especially in matters of taxation, and was a popular governor. He appears to have briefly fallen into disgrace around 775, but he managed to recover, helped by the rapid rise of his son,Yahya. Khalid's ties to the Abbasid dynasty were soon strengthened when his grandson,al-Fadl ibn Yahya, became thefoster-brother of the future caliphHarun al-Rashid, while Yahya became the prince's tutor. Khalid died in 781/2, shortly after returning from an expedition against theByzantine Empire.

Origin

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The Barmakid family hailed fromBalkh, the capital ofTokharistan inKhurasan. The people of Tokharistan had a distinct identity: ruled byHephthalite and laterTurkic dynasties, they spoke the eastern IranianBactrian language, and were mostlyBuddhist. The Barmakids hailed from the family of guardians of the great and extremely wealthy Buddhist monastery, theNawbahar, which controlled most of the Balkh oasis, and may have been thede facto rulers of the area.[2] These guardians were known by a title that was rendered intoArabic asBarmak. Modern scholars consider that it originated fromSanskrit, either frompramukha ("chief") or fromparamaka ("supreme").[2][3] Historical traditions that assign the Barmakids aZoroastrian origin, and even make them descendants of the chief ministers of theSassanid dynasty, are later fabrications invented during the family's zenith.[3]

Tokharistan was attacked by the Muslims during their eastern expansion as early as about 663/4,[3] but was notdefinitely conquered until the reign of theUmayyad caliphHisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 724–743). Balkh was occupied and garrisoned in 725, and theNawbahar abandoned, though its structure remained in place for three more centuries.[2] The incumbent Barmak was brought with his son to the Umayyad court, where both converted to Islam;[2] the Barmak's son adopted the name Khalid ibn Barmak,[2] and became amawla (client) of theBanu Khuza'a tribe,[4] while his two brothers received the names Sulayman and al-Hasan.[3] He probably had another brother, Abu Ubayd Mu'awiya, who is mentioned as living inBaghdad in later years.[4]

During his stay in the Umayyad court, Khalid is known to have befriended the caliph's son,Maslama ibn Hisham, a notable military commander.[2]

Career under the Abbasids

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Abbasid Revolution

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Their stay at the Umayyad court was not long, and both Barmak and Khalid soon returned to Khurasan. At some point, Barmak went toGurgan, where he arranged Khalid's marriage to a daughter ofYazid ibn Bara.[5] Barmak disappears from the record after 725/6, but it is implied that he was responsible for Khalid's joining theHashimiyya movement in Khurasan.[5][2]

Khalid had joined the Hashimiyya by 742, and, as one of the few non-Arabs, was appointed one of the twentynuẓarāʾ, the second tier of the inner leadership.[2] In the guise of a cattle merchant, he engaged in missionary activity (daʿwa) in Gurgan,Tabaristan, andRayy.[5] During theAbbasid Revolution, he played an active role, gathering funds fromShi'a sympathizers, leading troops in the field,[2] and being entrusted by the Abbasid commanderQahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i with distributing the plunder to his army.[3] According to the 10th-century historianal-Jahshiyari, Khalid was placed in charge of redistributing the land tax (kharaj) of Khurasan byAbu Muslim, and did so with such fairness that he earned the gratitude of the Khurasanis.[6]

Under al-Saffah

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Al-Saffah's proclamation as caliph, fromBalami'sTarikhnama

After the establishment of theAbbasid Caliphate, Khalid won the favour of Caliphal-Saffah (r. 749–754).[5] Khalid was soon placed in charge of the fiscal departments of the land tax (diwan al-kharaj) and of the army (diwan al-jund), posts that he kept for the duration of al-Saffah's caliphate.[3][6] In short order, he reportedly assumed the supervision of all fiscal departments, thus becoming a kind of chief minister;[3][5] although often given the title of 'vizier' in historical sources,[7] he never actually held it.[3] He is credited with introducing the practice of keeping records in codices, rather than loose sheets as was the custom until then.[5][6]

Khalid apparently benefited from a substantial education, and some previous administrative experience, although the origin of the latter is unknown; he may have acquired it at the Umayyad court, or alongside his father at Balkh.[2] His eloquence was such that al-Saffah initially mistook him for an Arab.[5] His relationship with the caliph was very close: his daughter Umm Yahya was suckled by al-Saffah's wife, while in turn his own wife was made the foster-mother to al-Saffah's daughter, Raytah.[3][4][5]

Under al-Mansur

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Khalid remained head of the land tax department for at least a year into the reign ofal-Mansur (r. 754–775), but court intrigues instigated by the vizierAbu Ayyub al-Muryani meant that he was soon relegated to the provincial government ofFars, which he headed for about two years.[3] His tenure there was successful, restoring order by expelling rebelliousKurds from the province, and governing with wisdom and generosity.[5] According to a well-known, but likely fabricated, story, he persuaded the caliph to not destroy the Sassanid-era palace ofTaq Kasra atCtesiphon, arguing that its ruined state was a testament to the superiority of Islam.[3][8][9] In 764/65, he was involved in the intrigues that resulted inIsa ibn Musa's renunciation of succession to the caliphate.[3]

Map of the Abbasid Caliphate and its provinces in the late 8th century

Khalid then spent about seven years as governor ofTabaristan;[3] coins with his name, in theArab–Sassanid style, are known from 766/67–772.[10] Succeeding the tyrannicalRawh ibn Hatim,[10] his tenure was successful: he maintained friendly relations with the local autonomous ruler,Wandad Hurmuzd, captured the fortress of Ustunavand nearDamavand, founded the town of al-Mansura, and was well liked by the local inhabitants.[3][11] However, his attempts to spread Islam were quickly undone after his departure, and the settlements he founded were destroyed by theBavandid rulerSharwin I.[11] Around the same time, Khalid's grandson,al-Fadl ibn Yahya, was made foster-brother of one of the sons of Caliphal-Mahdi (r. 775–785), the futureHarun al-Rashid (r. 786–809).[3]

In 775, shortly before al-Mansur died, Khalid fell out of favour for some unknown reason, and was obliged to pay a heavy fine of three milliondirhams, within a short notice. He was saved only by his network of friends at court, who were visited by his son,Yahya ibn Khalid, and surreptitiously forwarded him the necessary sums.[3][12] But following Kurdish uprisings inMosul, Khalid was pardoned and appointed governor of the city.[3] His restoration to favour probably was also the result of the rapidly rising fortunes of Yahya, who was by then one of the chief figures of the Abbasid government.[13]

Under al-Mahdi

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When al-Mahdi came to the throne, Khalid was appointed again to govern Fars,[14] where he distinguished himself for redistributing the land tax and abolishing an onerous tax on orchards.[6] At the same time, he was given the area of Shammasiya in East Baghdad as his fief. There the Barmakids built their palaces, and Khalid's name survived for centuries in the 'Market of Khalid the Barmakid'.[5][15]

Around 778, Yahya was appointed as tutor to the prince Harun.[16] In 780, Khalid and his son Yahya distinguished themselves at the siege of theByzantine fortress Samalu, an expedition which was led by Harun under the auspices of Yahya.[16] He died shortly after, in 781/82, at about 75 years of age.[16][5]

Of his sons, Yahya became an all-powerful vizier under Harun al-Rashid, whileMuhammad became Harun al-Rashid's chamberlain and served as a provincial governor. Likewise, Yahya's sons enjoyed high offices, until the abrupt, and still poorly understood, fall of the family in 803.[5][17][18]

Family tree

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Family tree of the Barmakids
Source:Barthold, W. &Sourdel, D. (1960)."al-Barāmika". InGibb, H. A. R.;Kramers, J. H.;Lévi-Provençal, E.;Schacht, J.;Lewis, B. &Pellat, Ch. (eds.).The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition.Volume I: A–B. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1033–1036.OCLC 495469456.

References

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  1. ^Bosworth 1994, p. 271.
  2. ^abcdefghijvan Bladel 2012.
  3. ^abcdefghijklmnopqBarthold & Sourdel 1960, p. 1033.
  4. ^abcCrone 1980, p. 176.
  5. ^abcdefghijklAbbas 1988.
  6. ^abcdMottahedeh 1975, p. 69.
  7. ^Le Strange 1922, p. 38.
  8. ^Kennedy 2006, p. 39.
  9. ^Le Strange 1922, pp. 38–39.
  10. ^abMalek 2017, p. 106.
  11. ^abMadelung 1975, p. 202.
  12. ^Kennedy 2006, pp. 39–40.
  13. ^Kennedy 2006, p. 41.
  14. ^Barthold & Sourdel 1960, pp. 1033–1034.
  15. ^Le Strange 1922, pp. 200–201.
  16. ^abcBarthold & Sourdel 1960, p. 1034.
  17. ^Crone 1980, pp. 176–177.
  18. ^Barthold & Sourdel 1960, pp. 1034–1035.

Sources

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Further reading

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People ofKhorasan
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Philosophers
Islamic scholars
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