As-Saffah
Encyclopedia
Abu al-`Abbās `Abdu'llāh ibn Muhammad as-Saffāh, or Abul `Abbas al-Saffah (Arabic
: أبو العباس عبد الله بن محمد السفاح, As-Saffah السفّاح literally means The Shedder of Blood), (born 721 C.E - died 754 C.E) was the first Abbasid caliph
(750 - 754).
As-Saffah was the head of one branch of the Banu Hashim
, who traced their lineage to Hashim, a great-grandfather of Muhammad
, via al-Abbas, an uncle of the prophet. The Banu Hashim had great support from the camp of Ali
, the fourth caliph, who had died in 661. As narrated in many Hadith
(both Sunni and Shia traditions), they believed that in end times another great leader or mahdi
would appear in the family to which Prophet Muhammad and Ali belonged, who would liberate Islam
. The half-hearted policies of the late Umayyad
s to tolerate non-Arab Muslims and Shi'as had failed to quell unrest among these minorities.
This unrest led to revolt during the reign of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
in Kufa
, a prominent city in southern Iraq
. Shi'ites revolted in 736 and held the city until 740, led by Zayd ibn Ali
, a grandson of Husayn
and another member of the Banu Hashim. Zayd's rebellion failed, and 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.
As-Saffah chose to focus on Khurasan
, an important military region comprising eastern Iran
, southern parts of the Central Asian republics of Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Tajikstan-Kyrgyzstan and northern Afghanistan. In 743, the death of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham provoked a civil war in the Islamic Empire. Abu al-`Abbas, supported by Shi'as and the residents of Khurasan, led his forces to victory over the Umayyads and ultimately deposed the last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II
, in 750. The civil war was marked by millennial
prophecies encouraged by the beliefs of some Shi'as that as-Saffah was the mahdi. Prominent Islamic scholars wrote works such as the Jafr telling faithful Muslims 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 of Persia as a sign of mourning.
sources in the year 750, Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah (Al-Saffah), the founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, launched a massive rebellion against the discriminatory Umayyad Caliphate from the province of Khurasan
near Talas
. After eliminating the entire Umayyad family and his decisive victory at the Battle of the Zab
. Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah and his forces marched into Damascus and founded a new dynasty. Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah sent his forces to Central Asia
, Sindh
, Arabia, Anatolia
, Egypt
and North Africa
; his forces confronted many regional powers and consolidated the realm of the Abbasid Caliphate.
Concerned that there would be a return of Umayyad power, as-Saffah 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 ar-Rahman I
, escaped to al-Andalus
(Spain), where the Umayyad caliphate would endure for three centuries. For his ruthless efforts to eliminate the Umayyad family, Abu al-`Abbas `Abdu’llah gained the epithet al-Saffah, which means 'the slaughterer' or 'shedder of blood'.
After the victory over the Umayyads, Abu al-`Abbas's short 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-Saffah is widely viewed by historians as having been a mild victor. Jews
, Nestorian Christians, and Persians were well-represented in Abu al-`Abbas's government and in succeeding Abbasid administrations. Education was also encouraged, and the first paper mill
s, staffed by skilled Chinese
prisoners captured at the Battle of Talas
, were set up in Samarkand
.
Equally revolutionary was Abu al-`Abbas'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-Saffah selected the gifted Abu Muslim
as his military commander, an officer who would serve until 755 in the Abbasid army.
As-Saffah turned back on his promises to the Shi'a community in claiming the Caliphate for himself. The Shi'a had hoped that their imam
would be named head of the Caliphate, inaugurating the era of peace and prosperity the millennialists had believed would come. The betrayal alienated Abu al-`Abbas's Shi'a supporters, although the continued amity of other groups made Abbasid rule markedly more solvent than Umayyad.
Abu al-`Abbas `Abdu’llah as-Saffah died of smallpox
on June 10, 754, only four years after deposing the Umayyads. He appointed his brother Abu Ja'far al-Mansur and then Isa ibn Musa
as his successors.
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
: أبو العباس عبد الله بن محمد السفاح, As-Saffah السفّاح literally means The Shedder of Blood), (born 721 C.E - died 754 C.E) was the first Abbasid caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
(750 - 754).
As-Saffah was the head of one branch of the Banu Hashim
Banu Hashim
Banū Hāshim was a clan in the Quraysh tribe. Muhammad, was a member of this clan; his great-grandfather was Hashim, for whom the clan is named. Members of this clan are referred to by the Anglicised version of their name as Hashemites, or Huseini or Hasani...
, who traced their lineage to Hashim, a great-grandfather of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, via al-Abbas, an uncle of the prophet. The Banu Hashim had great support from the camp of Ali
Ali
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
, the fourth caliph, who had died in 661. As narrated in many Hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
(both Sunni and Shia traditions), they believed that in end times another great leader or mahdi
Mahdi
In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on Earth for seven, nine or nineteen years- before the Day of Judgment and, alongside Jesus, will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny.In Shia Islam, the belief in the Mahdi is a "central religious...
would appear in the family to which Prophet Muhammad and Ali belonged, who would liberate Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. The half-hearted policies of the late Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
s to tolerate non-Arab Muslims and Shi'as had failed to quell unrest among these minorities.
This unrest led to revolt during the reign of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik 10th Umayyad caliph who ruled from 723 until his death in 743. When he was born in 691 his mother named him after her father....
in Kufa
Kufa
Kufa is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000....
, a prominent city in southern Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Shi'ites revolted in 736 and held the city until 740, led by Zayd ibn Ali
Zayd ibn Ali
Zayd ibn ‘Alī was the grandson of Husayn ibn Alī, the grandson of Muhammad. Zayd was born in Medina in 695. His father was the Shī‘ah Imam ‘Alī ibn Husayn "Zayn al-Abidīn"...
, a grandson of Husayn
Husayn
Hussein , is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", "handsome" or "beautiful"...
and another member of the Banu Hashim. Zayd's rebellion failed, and 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.
As-Saffah chose to focus on Khurasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
, an important military region comprising eastern Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, southern parts of the Central Asian republics of Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Tajikstan-Kyrgyzstan and northern Afghanistan. In 743, the death of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham provoked a civil war in the Islamic Empire. Abu al-`Abbas, supported by Shi'as and the residents of Khurasan, led his forces to victory over the Umayyads and ultimately deposed the last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II
Marwan II
Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan or Marwan II was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 744 until 750 when he was killed. He was the last Umayyad ruler to rule from Damascus.In A.H. 114 Caliph Hisham appointed Marwan governor of Armenia and Azerbaijan. In A.H...
, in 750. The civil war was marked by millennial
Millennial
Millennial may refer to:* Millennium * Millennialism* The Millennial Generation...
prophecies encouraged by the beliefs of some Shi'as that as-Saffah was the mahdi. Prominent Islamic scholars wrote works such as the Jafr telling faithful Muslims 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 of Persia as a sign of mourning.
Abbasid rule
According to ArabArab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
sources in the year 750, Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah (Al-Saffah), the founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, launched a massive rebellion against the discriminatory Umayyad Caliphate from the province of Khurasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
near Talas
Talas
-Places:*Talas River Kyrgyzstan and Karakhstan;*Talas Valley*Talas Alatau*Talas , an ancient Silk Road city in Kazakhstan*Talas, Kyrgyzstan, a modern town in Central Asia*Talas Province, Kyrgyzstan...
. After eliminating the entire Umayyad family and his decisive victory at the Battle of the Zab
Battle of the Zab
The Battle of the Zab took place on the banks of the Great Zab river in what is now Iraq on January 25, 750. It spelled the end of the Umayyad Caliphate and the rise of the Abbasids, a dynasty that would last until the 13th century.-Background:A serious rebellion had broken out in 747 against...
. Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah and his forces marched into Damascus and founded a new dynasty. Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah sent his forces to Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, Arabia, Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
; his forces confronted many regional powers and consolidated the realm of the Abbasid Caliphate.
Concerned that there would be a return of Umayyad power, as-Saffah 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 ar-Rahman I
Abd ar-Rahman I
Abd al-Rahman I, or, his full name by patronymic record, Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu'awiya ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan was the founder of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba , a Muslim dynasty that ruled the greater part of Iberia for nearly three centuries...
, escaped to al-Andalus
Andalus
Al-Andalus Ensemble is an award-winning husband and wife musical duo that performs contemporary Andalusian music. The ensemble features Tarik Banzi playing oud, ney and darbuka, and Julia Banzi on flamenco guitar...
(Spain), where the Umayyad caliphate would endure for three centuries. For his ruthless efforts to eliminate the Umayyad family, Abu al-`Abbas `Abdu’llah gained the epithet al-Saffah, which means 'the slaughterer' or 'shedder of blood'.
After the victory over the Umayyads, Abu al-`Abbas's short 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-Saffah is widely viewed by historians as having been a mild victor. Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, Nestorian Christians, and Persians were well-represented in Abu al-`Abbas's government and in succeeding Abbasid administrations. Education was also encouraged, and the first paper mill
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
s, staffed by skilled Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
prisoners captured at the Battle of Talas
Battle of Talas
The Battle of Talas in 751 AD was an especially notable conflict between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang Dynasty for control not only of the Syr Darya region, but even more...
, were set up in Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
.
Equally revolutionary was Abu al-`Abbas'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-Saffah selected the gifted Abu Muslim
Abu Muslim
- External links :* *...
as his military commander, an officer who would serve until 755 in the Abbasid army.
As-Saffah turned back on his promises to the Shi'a community in claiming the Caliphate for himself. The Shi'a had hoped that their imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
would be named head of the Caliphate, inaugurating the era of peace and prosperity the millennialists had believed would come. The betrayal alienated Abu al-`Abbas's Shi'a supporters, although the continued amity of other groups made Abbasid rule markedly more solvent than Umayyad.
Abu al-`Abbas `Abdu’llah as-Saffah died of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
on June 10, 754, only four years after deposing the Umayyads. He appointed his brother Abu Ja'far al-Mansur and then Isa ibn Musa
Isa ibn Musa
Isa ibn Musa was a nephew of the first 'Abbassid Caliph, as-Saffah, who nominated him as heir after as-Saffah's brother, al-Mansur....
as his successors.