9th-century Abbasid governor and military commander
Isa ibn Yazid al-Juludi
(
Arabic
:
???? ?? ???? ???????
) was a ninth century military commander for the
Abbasid Caliphate
. He twice served as governor of
Egypt
, from 827 to 829 and again from 829 to 830.
Early career
[
edit
]
In
al-Tabari's
chronicle, Isa first appears in 813, near the end of
civil war between
the rival caliphs
al-Amin
(r. 809?813) and
al-Ma'mun
(r. 813?833), as one of the individuals in al-Amin's entourage.
Following al-Amin's execution in September 813, Isa entered into the service of
al-Hasan ibn Sahl
,
who had been appointed by al-Ma'mun as governor of Baghdad, and over the next several years he participated in the struggle to maintain al-Ma'mun's authority in the central lands of the caliphate.
In 815 Isa was dispatched, together with
Warqa' ibn Jamil
,
Hamdawayh ibn Ali
, and
Harun ibn al-Musayyab
, to recapture
Mecca
,
Medina
and the
Yemen
, which had fallen to
Alid
rebels. Warqa' and Isa's forces advanced against Mecca and, after linking up with the deposed governor of the Yemen, defeated the anti-caliph
Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq
and entered the city in early 816. A few months later Isa defeated a force sent to Mecca by
Ibrahim ibn Musa al-Jazzar
, who had seized control of the Yemen, and around the same time Muhammad ibn Ja'far agreed to surrender and abdicate. Isa then escorted Muhammad to al-Hasan ibn Sahl, leaving his son as his governor of Mecca.
[4]
Following al-Ma'mun's designation of the Alid
Ali ibn Musa al-Rida
as his successor in 817, Isa was dispatched to
Basra
to arrest the governor
Isma'il ibn Ja'far
, who had refused to obey the caliph's order to abandon the traditional Abbasid black clothing in favor of the Alid green. He then went to Mecca, where he delivered the oath of allegiance that the people were to give to Ali. Al-Ma'mun also appointed Ibrahim ibn Musa, who in the meantime had lost the Yemen to Hamdawayh ibn Ali, as governor of that province and instructed Isa to assist him in reconquering it. Isa, however, remained in Mecca and gave no support to Ibrahim, who was ultimately defeated by Hamdawayh in 818 and forced to return to Mecca.
[5]
In 820, al-Ma'mun ordered Isa to retake the Yemen from Hamdawayh, who was now considered a rebel. Isa marched south and defeated Hamdawayh on the field; the latter fled to
Sana'a
, but Isa pursued and captured him and took him back to al-Ma'mun.
[6]
That same year, Isa was appointed by the caliph to combat the
Zutt
, who had rebelled in
Iraq
and were raiding the environs of Basra and
Wasit
; al-Tabari provides no details of the campaign, but the Zutt remained active until 835.
[7]
Governorships of Egypt
[
edit
]
In 827, Isa participated in
Abdallah ibn Tahir's
reconquest of Egypt
,
which brought an end to the turmoil that had plagued that country since the outbreak of the civil war.
After Egypt was pacified and Abdallah departed in 827, Isa was appointed as his deputy governor of the province. When the caliph's brother
Abu Ishaq
(the future caliph al-Mu'tasim, r. 833?842) took Abdallah's place and assumed the governorship of Egypt in 828, he confirmed Isa as resident governor over the security and prayers. At the same time, however, Abu Ishaq transferred control of the provincial
taxes
, giving it to Salih ibn Shirzad.
[10]
Before long, the increased taxes and oppression that came with the re-imposition of caliphal authority in Egypt became deeply unpopular, and a rebellion broke out in the
Hawf
district in
Lower Egypt
. Isa responded to the uprising by sending his chief of
security
, his son Muhammad, with an army to fight the Hawfis. Muhammad, however, suffered a major defeat at
Bilbays
in April 829 and barely escaped with his life, while most of his men were killed. News of the defeat reached Abu Ishaq, who responded by dismissing Isa and appointing
'Umayr ibn al-Walid
in his place.
[11]
'Umayr's governorship came to a sudden end in May 829, when he lost his life in battle against the rebels. With 'Umayr dead, Abu Ishaq decided to re-appoint Isa as governor, and the latter took over affairs from 'Umayr's son Muhammad. Isa then set out in a fresh attempt to quell the rebellion, but the Hawfis defeated him at
Munyat Matar
in September 829, and he was compelled to retreat to
al-Fustat
after burning his baggage.
[12]
Following Isa's defeat, the caliph al-Ma'mun decided that reinforcements were needed in Egypt and ordered Abu Ishaq to head to the province. Abu Ishaq arrived in Egypt with four thousand
Turkish
troops and quickly defeated the rebels in October 829. After entering Fustat in November, where he received the homage of Isa and the local notables, he continued securing the province and executed the leaders of the rebellion. By the following year the Hawfis had been pacified and Abu Ishaq departed for
Syria
in February 830, taking with him a large number of prisoners.
[13]
Isa did not retain the governorship of Egypt following Abu Ishaq's campaign; he was dismissed and
Abdawayh ibn Jabalah
was appointed in his place.
[14]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Al-Tabari 1985?2007
, v. 32: pp. 27-39, 49;
Al-Ya'qubi 1883
, p. 544;
Geddes 1963?1964
, pp. 101?02.
- ^
Al-Tabari 1985?2007
, v. 32: p. 83;
Al-Ya'qubi 1883
, pp. 544?46;
Geddes 1963?1964
, pp. 102-04, who notes that Isa's refusal to assist Ibrahim was "perhaps indicative of his lack of sympathy with the Caliph's new policy toward the Si'ites."
- ^
Al-Ya'qubi 1883
, pp. 553?54;
Geddes 1963?1964
, pp. 104?05.
- ^
Al-Tabari 1985?2007
, v. 32: p. 106;
Bosworth 2002
, p. 574.
- ^
Al-Kindi 1912
, pp. 184?85;
Ibn Taghribirdi 1930
, pp. 204?05;
Al-Ya'qubi 1883
, p. 561;
Kennedy 1998
, pp. 82?83.
- ^
Al-Kindi 1912
, p. 185;
Ibn Taghribirdi 1930
, p. 205;
Al-Tabari 1985?2007
, v. 32: p. 178;
Al-Ya'qubi 1883
, p. 567;
Kennedy 1998
, p. 83.
- ^
Al-Kindi 1912
, pp. 186?88;
Ibn Taghribirdi 1930
, pp. 207?08;
Al-Tabari 1985?2007
, v. 32: pp. 181-82;
Al-Ya'qubi 1883
, p. 567;
Kennedy 1998
, p. 83.
- ^
Al-Kindi 1912
, pp. 188?89;
Ibn Taghribirdi 1930
, pp. 208?09;
Al-Tabari 1985?2007
, v. 32: p. 182;
Al-Ya'qubi 1883
, p. 567;
Kennedy 1998
, p. 83.
- ^
Al-Kindi 1912
, p. 189;
Ibn Taghribirdi 1930
, p. 209;
Al-Ya'qubi 1883
, p. 567.
References
[
edit
]
- Bosworth, C.E.
(2002).
"Al-Zutt"
. In
Bearman, P. J.
;
Bianquis, Th.
;
Bosworth, C. E.
;
van Donzel, E.
&
Heinrichs, W. P.
(eds.).
The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition
. Volume XI: W?Z
. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 574?575.
ISBN
978-90-04-12756-2
.
- Geddes, C.L. (1963?1964). "Al-Ma'm?n's ??'ite Policy in Yemen".
Wiener Zeitschrift fur die Kunde des Morgenlandes
. 59?60: 99?107.
JSTOR
23888344
.
- Ibn Taghribirdi, Jamal al-Din Abu al-Mahasin Yusuf
(1930).
Nujum al-zahira fi muluk Misr wa'l-Qahira, Volume II
. Cairo: Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya.
- Kennedy, Hugh
(1998).
"Egypt as a province in the Islamic caliphate, 641-868"
. In Petry, Carl F. (ed.).
The Cambridge History of Egypt, Volume 1: Islamic Egypt, 640?1517
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 62?85.
ISBN
0-521-47137-0
.
- Al-Kindi, Muhammad ibn Yusuf
(1912). Guest, Rhuvon (ed.).
The Governors and Judges of Egypt
(in Arabic). Leyden and London: E. J. Brill.
- Rekaya, M. (1991).
"Al-Ma'mun b. Harun al-Rashid"
. In
Bosworth, C. E.
;
van Donzel, E.
&
Pellat, Ch.
(eds.).
The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition
. Volume VI: Mahk?Mid
. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 331?339.
ISBN
978-90-04-08112-3
.
- Al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir
(1985?2007). Ehsan Yar-Shater (ed.).
The History of Al-?abar?
. Vol. 40 vols. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
- Al-Ya'qubi, Ahmad ibn Abu Ya'qub
(1883). Houtsma, M. Th. (ed.).
Historiae, Vol. 2
. Leiden: E. J. Brill.