al-Saffah

For the archaeological site in Oman, seeal-Saffah, Oman.

al-Saffāḥ السفّاح
Amir al-Mu'minin Khalifat Rasul Allah
as-Saffah's proclamation as caliph, from a 14th-century illustrated manuscript ofBalami'sTarikhnama
1stAbbasid Caliph
Reign	25 January 750 – 8 June 754
Predecessor	Dynasty established Marwan IIasUmayyad caliph
Successor	al-Mansur
Born	c. 721 al-Humayma,Jordan
Died	8 June 754 (aged 33) al-Anbar,Iraq
Burial	Anbar
Spouse	Umm Salama bint Ya'qub al-Makhzumi
Issue	Muhammad al-Abbas Rayta
Names Kunya:Abu'l-Abbas Given name:Abd Allah Laqab:al-Saffah Nasab:Abd AllahibnMuhammad ibn Ali ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim
Dynasty	Abbasid
Father	MuḥammadibnʿAlīibnʿAbd Allāh
Mother	Rayta bint Ubayd Allah
Religion	ShiaIslamKaysanites

Abu al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibnMuḥammadibnʿAlīibnʿAbd Allāhibnʿal-ʿAbbās(Arabic:أبو العباس عبد الله ابن محمد ابن علي,romanized:Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī‎; 721/722 – 8 June 754),known by hislaqabal-Saffah(Arabic:السفّاح,romanized:al-Saffāḥ), was the first caliph of theAbbasid Caliphate,one of the longest and most importantcaliphatesinIslamic history.

Hislaqabal-Saffāḥ(السفّاح) means "the Blood-Shedder". It may refer to his ruthless tactics, or perhaps it was used to instill fear in his enemies.

Family origins and earlier history

As-Saffāḥ, born inHumeima(modern-dayJordan), was head of one branch of theBanu Hāshimfrom Arabia, a subclan of theQuraysh tribewho traced its lineage toHāshim,a great-grandfather ofMuhammadvia'Abbās,an uncle of Muhammad, hence the title "Abbasid" for his descendants' caliphate. This indirect link to Muhammad's larger clan formed sufficient basis for as-Saffah's claim to the titlecaliph.

As-Saffah was the son ofMuhammad ibn Aliand his mother, Rayta, was the daughter of a certain Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah.

As narrated in manyhadith,many believed that in the end times a great leader ormahdiwould appear from the family of Muhammad, to which Ali belonged, who would deliverIslamfrom corrupt leadership. The half-hearted policies of the lateUmayyadsto tolerate non-Arab Muslims andShi'ashad failed to quell unrest among these minorities.

During the reign of late Umayyad CaliphHisham ibn Abd al-Malikthis unrest led to a revolt inKufain southernIraq,mainly by the town's slaves. Shi'ites revolted in 736 and held the city until 740, led byZayd ibn Ali,a grandson ofHusaynand another member of the Banu Hashim. Zayd's rebellion was put down by Umayyad armies in 740. The revolt in Kufa indicated both the strength of the Umayyads and the growing unrest in the Muslim world.

During the last days of the Umayyad caliphate, Abu al-‘Abbās and his clan chose to begin their rebellion inKhurasān,an important, but remote military region comprising easternIran,southern parts of the modern Central Asian republics ofTurkmenistan,Uzbekistan,Tajikistan,Kyrgyzstanand northernAfghanistan.In 743, the death of the Umayyad CaliphHishāmprovoked a rebellion in the east. Abu al-`Abbās, supported by Shi'as and the residents of Khurasān, led his forces to victory over the Umayyads. The civil war was marked bymillennialprophecies encouraged by the beliefs of some Shi'as that as-Saffāḥ was themahdi.In Shi'ite works such as theal-Jafrfaithful Muslims were told that the brutal civil war was the great conflict between good and evil. The choice of the Umayyads to enter battle with white flags and the Abbasids to enter with black encouraged such theories. The color white, however, was regarded in much ofPersiaas a sign of mourning.

Family tree

AbbasidCaliphatewas founded by a dynasty descended fromMuhammad's uncle,Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib(566–653CE), from whom thedynastytakes its name.

Hashim ibn Abd-Manaf

Abd al-Muttalib

al-Abbas(Prophet'suncle)

Abdallah ibn Abbas

Ali ibn Abdallah

Muhammad ibn Ali

Ibrahim

as-Saffah

al-Mansur

Caliphate

In early October 749 (132 AH), Abu al-'Abbās as-Saffāh's rebel army enteredKufa,a major Muslim center in SouthernIraq.As-Saffah had not been yet declared caliph. One of his priorities was to eliminate hisUmayyadrival, caliphMarwan II.The latter was defeated in February 750 at a battle on the(Great) Zab rivernorth ofBaghdad,effectively ending the Umayyad caliphate, which had ruled since 661 AD. Marwan II fled back toDamascus,which didn't welcome him, and was ultimately killed on the run in Egypt that August. As-Saffah would go on to become the first Abbasid caliph, but he did not come forward to receive the pledge of allegiance from the people until after the Umayyad caliphand a large number of his princes were already killed.

In one far-reaching, historic decision, as-Saffāh establishedKufaas the new capital of the caliphate, ending the dominance of Damascus in the Islamic political world, andIraqwould now become the seat of'Abbassidpower for many centuries.

Dirhamof as-Saffah,Kufaminted, Dated (133AH) 751 CE

Later tales recount that, concerned that there would be a return of rival Umayyad power, as-Saffāh invited all of the remaining members of the Umayyad family to a dinner party where he had them clubbed to death before the first course, which was then served to the hosts.The only survivor,Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu'awiya,escaped to the province ofal-Andalus(Spain), where the Umayyad dynasty would endure for three more centuries in the form of theEmirate of Córdobaand the subsequentCaliphate of Córdoba.Another version is that as-Saffāḥ's new governor to Syria,'Abd Allāh ibn 'Ali,hunted down the last of the family dynasty, with only Abd al-Rahmān escaping. Ultimately, 'Abbasid rule was accepted even in Syria, and the beginning of the new Islamic dynasty was considered "free from major internal dissensions."

As-Saffāh's four-year reign was marked with efforts to consolidate and rebuild the caliphate. His supporters were represented in the new government, but apart from his policy toward the Umayyad family, as-Saffāh is widely viewed by historians as having been a mild victor.Jews,Nestorian Christians,and Persians were well represented in his government and in succeeding Abbasid administrations. Education was also encouraged, and the firstpaper mills,staffed by skilledChineseprisoners captured at theBattle of Talas,were set up inSamarkand.

Equally revolutionary was as-Saffāh's reform of the army, which came to include non-Muslims and non-Arabs in sharp contrast to the Umayyads who refused any soldiers of either type. As-Saffāh selected the giftedAbu Muslimas his military commander, an officer who would serve until 755 in the Abbasid army.

Not all Muslims accept the legitimacy of his caliphate, however. According to laterShi'ites,as-Saffāh turned back on his promises to the partisans of theAlidsin claiming the titlecaliphfor himself. The Shi'a had hoped that theirimamwould be named head of the caliphate, inaugurating the era of peace and prosperity the millennialists had believed would come. The betrayal alienated as-Saffāh's Shi'a supporters, although the continued amity of other groups made Abbasid rule markedly more solvent than that of the Umayyads.

Caliph Abu al-`Abbās `Abdu’llāh as-Saffāḥ died ofsmallpoxon 8 June 754 (13Dhu al-Hijja136 AH), only four years after taking the title of caliph. Before he died, as-Saffah appointed his brotherAbu Ja'far al-Mansurand, following him, the caliph's nephewIsa ibn Musaas his successors; ibn Musa, however, never filled the position.

Abbasid Military Activities

Main article:Battle of Talas

During his reign a great battle took place in 751 known as the Battle of Talas orBattle of Artlakhwas a military engagement between theAbbasid Caliphatealong with their ally theTibetan Empireagainst the ChineseTang dynasty.In July 751 AD, Tang and Abbasid forces met in the valley of theTalas Riverto vie for control over theSyr Daryaregion of central Asia. After several days of stalemate, theKarluk Turksoriginally allied to the Tang defected to the Abbasids and tipped the balance of power, resulting in a Tang rout.

The defeat marked the end of Tang westward expansion and resulted in Muslim control ofTransoxianafor the next 400 years. Control of this region was economically beneficial for the Abbasids because it was on theSilk Road.Historians debate whether or not Chinese prisoners captured in the aftermath of the battle brought paper-making technology to the Middle East, where it eventually spread to Europe.

The numbers of combatants involved in the Battle of Talas are not known with certainty; however, various estimates exist. The Abbasid army (200,000 Muslim troops according to Chinese estimates, though these numbers may be greatly exaggerated) which included contingents from theirTibetanally met the combined army of 10,000 Tang Chinese and 20,000 Karluk mercenaries (Arab records put the Chinese forces at 100,000 which also may be greatly exaggerated).

In the month of July 751, the Abbasid forces joined in combat with the Tang Chinese force (the combined army of Tang Chinese and Karluk mercenaries) on the banks of the Talas river.

Modern view of Talas River, which starts in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan and winds down into Kazakhstan. On the right side of the river is the city ofTaraz.

The Tang army was subjected to a devastating defeat. The Tang dynasty's defeat was due to the defection ofKarlukmercenariesand the retreat ofFerghanaallies who originally supported the Chinese. The Karluk mercenaries, two-thirds of the Tang army, defected to the Abbasids during the battle; Karluk troops attacked the Tang army from close quarters while the main Abbasid forces attacked from the front. The Tang troops were unable to hold their positions, and the commander of the Tang forces,Gao Xianzhi,recognized that defeat was imminent and managed to escape with some of his Tang regulars with the help ofLi Siye.Out of an estimated 10,000 Tang troops, only 2,000 managed to return from Talas to their territory in Central Asia. Despite losing the battle, Li did inflict heavy losses on the pursuing Arab army after being reproached byDuan Xiushi.After the battle, Gao was prepared to organize another Tang army against the Arabs when the devastatingAn Shi Rebellionbroke out in 755. When the Tang capital was taken by rebels, all Chinese armies stationed in Central Asia were ordered back toChina properto crush the rebellion.

Also in 751, theByzantine EmperorConstantine Vled an invasion across the frontier of the Caliphate. The Byzantines captured Theodosiopolis (Erzurum) and Melitene (Malatya), which was demolished. There was no serious attempt to retain control of the captured cities, except forCamachum(modernKemah, Erzincan), which was garrisoned.

Succession

As-Saffah died after a five-year reign andal-Mansurtook on the responsibility of establishing the Abbasid caliphate by holding on to power for nearly 22 years, from Dhu al-Hijjah 136 AH until Dhu al-Hijjah 158 AH (754 – 775).Al-Mansur was proclaimed Caliph on his way toMeccain the year 753 (136 AH) and was inaugurated the following year.Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad took the name al-Mansur ( "the victorious" ) and agreed to make his nephewIsa ibn Musahis Heir to the Abbasid caliphate. This agreement was supposed to resolve rivalries in the Abbasid family, but al-Mansur's right to accession was particularly challenged by his uncleAbdullah ibn Ali.Once in power, caliph al-Mansur had his uncle imprisoned in 754 and killed in 764.

Legacy

Al-Saffah was the First Arab caliph from the CaliphalAbbasid dynasty.He nominated his brotherAbu Ja'far Abdallahasheir,because his own son was too young to succeeded to the Caliphate. His brother nominated his son (al-Saffah's nephew) as heir. Al-Saffah's nephew nominated his two sons as heir. Even though al-Saffah's son never ascended to Caliphate, his children remained influential. In 761, his nephew Muhammad (future caliphal-Mahdi) marriedRaytaas his first wife after his return from Khurasan.She gave birth to two sons,Ubaydallahand Ali.His elder grandson, Ubaydallah was appointed as governor ofArminiyahand the northwestern provinces in 788/9.He was later appointed to two brief stints as governor of Egypt, in 795 and 796. His second grandson, Ali was the uncle and father-in-law of sixth Abbasid caliph al-Amin through his daughterLubana.

See also

• al-Mahdi,nephew and son-in-law of as-Saffah.
• Ubaydallah ibn al-Mahdian Abbasid Prince and Grandson of as-Saffah.
• Sulayman ibn Ali al-Hashimian Abbasid governor of Basra from 750 to 755.
• Battle of the Zaba battle that took place on 25 January 750. It spelled the end of the Umayyads and the rise of the Abbasids
• Abbasid Revolutionwas the overthrow of the Caliph Marwan II by as-Saffah.

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External links

• Works by or aboutAs-SaffahatWikisource