Layth ibn Tarif (Arabic: ليث بن طريف) was an 8th-century freedman commander and governor for the Abbasid Caliphate.
Layth ibn Tarif ليث بن طريف | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Sindh | |
| In office 782–785 | |
| Monarch | Al-Mahdi |
| Preceded by | Sufyah ibn 'Amr al-Taghlibi |
| Succeeded by | Muhammad ibn Layth |
| In office 786–780s | |
| Monarch | Harun al-Rashid |
| Preceded by | Muhammad ibn Layth |
| Succeeded by | Salim al-Yunusi Burnusi |
| Personal details | |
| Died | Abbasid Caliphate |
| Parent | Tarif |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Abbasid Caliphate |
| Service | Abbasid army |
| Years of service | 770s – 780s |
| Rank | Military officer |
Biography
editWilhelm Barthold misidentified him as the son of Nasr ibn Sayyar, the last Umayyad governor of Khurasan,[1] but according to the Kitab al-Aghani and other sources, Layth and his brother Mu'alla were the sons of a certain Tarif, a slave or client (mawla) of the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur (r. 754–775). Layth and his brother were purchased as slaves by al-Mansur and given to his heir al-Mahdi (r. 775–785), who set them free.[1]
Layth is first mentioned as commanding an army against the king of Farghana under al-Masnur, while al-Mahdi sent him against the Iranian rebel al-Muqanna.[1] Later al-Mahdi appointed him as governor of Sind. He was recalled during the brief reign of al-Hadi (r. 785–786), but reinstated to the post by Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809).[1] Either he or Layth ibn al-Fadl were governors of Dinawar in 796/7.[1]
References
editSources
edit- Crone, Patricia (1980). Slaves on Horses: The Evolution of the Islamic Polity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52940-9.