Salm ibn Qutayba al-Bahili

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Abu Abd Allah Salm ibn Qutayba ibn Muslim al-Bahili[1] was an 8th-century Arab who served as governor and military commander for both the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates.

Salm ibn Qutayba al-Bahili
Umayyad Governor of Basra
In office
745 – September/October 749
MonarchMarwan II
Deputyof Yazid ibn Umar ibn Hubayra
Abbasid Governor of Rayy
In office
750s–763
MonarchAl-Mansur
Abbasid Governor of Basra
In office
763–763/4
MonarchAl-Mansur
Succeeded byMuhammad ibn Sulayman
Personal details
Died766
RelationsBahila (tribe)
Children
Parent
Military service
AllegianceUmayyad Caliphate,
Abbasid Caliphate
Years of service740s – 766
RankCommander

Salm was the son of the distinguished Bahila general Qutayba ibn Muslim, who as governor of Khurasan conquered Transoxiana for the Umayyad Caliphate.[2][3]

According to al-Tabari, when Yusuf ibn Umar became governor of Iraq in 738, he considered making Salm governor of Khurasan, but Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik rejected his choice, and Nasr ibn Sayyar was appointed instead.[4][5] During the civil war, he served as governor of Basra under Yazid ibn Umar ibn Hubayra.[5][6] In September/October 749, as the forces of the Abbasid Revolution entered Iraq, the Abbasid commander al-Hasan ibn Qahtaba appointed Sufyan ibn Mu'awiya ibn Yazid ibn al-Muhallab as governor over Basra and sent him to take over the city. Salm, aided by the troops of the Qays and Mudar at his disposal, confronted the advance guard under Sufyan's son Mu'awiyah, who was killed. Sufyan then abandoned his march on Basra. Salm retained control of the city until he received news of Yazid ibn Umar's death, whereupon he abandoned it.[7]

After the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate in 750, Salm served under Caliph al-Mansur as governor of Rayy and Basra.[5] During the Alid revolt of 762–763 he served as governor of Rayy, and was asked by al-Mansur to come to assist in suppressing the uprising.[8] In 763, he was appointed governor of Basra,[9] keeping his post until his replacement by Muhammad ibn Sulayman ibn Ali during the next year (146 AH, 763/4 CE).[10] He died in 766.[1]

His sons, Amr, Muthanna, Sa'id, Ibrahim, and Kathir, and their offspring, continued to occupy several high offices as governors and military commanders in the early Abbasid regime.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b McAuliffe 1995, p. 164 (note 797).
  2. ^ Bosworth 1986, pp. 541–542.
  3. ^ Crone 1980, pp. 136–137.
  4. ^ Blankinship 1989, pp. 187, 190–191.
  5. ^ a b c Crone 1980, p. 137.
  6. ^ Williams 1985, p. 143.
  7. ^ Williams 1985, pp. 143–145.
  8. ^ McAuliffe 1995, pp. 164, 277–278.
  9. ^ McAuliffe 1995, p. 292.
  10. ^ Kennedy 1990, p. 12.
  11. ^ Crone 1980, pp. 137–138.

Sources

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