Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Bakra
عبيد الله بن أبي بكرة
Sasanian-style coin issued by Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Bakra as governor of Sijistan, 698/9 CE
Diedc.698-699 CE
Bust, Sijistan
AllegianceUmayyad Caliphate
Years of service630–698
Battles/warsUmayyad campaign against the Zunbīls

Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Bakra (عبيد الله بن أبي بكرة, died c. 698-699 CE) was an Umayyad governor of Sijistan and a military commander.

Origins

He was the son of Abu Bakra, an Abyssinian slave and mawla (client or freedman) who had been a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and converted to Islam in 630.[1][2][3][4] Ubayd Allah's mother was an Arab. He was physically described as having "a dark and swarthy complexion".[1]

Governorship and military activities

He was appointed the deputy governor of Sistan in 671 by the governor of Iraq and the eastern Caliphate, Ziyad ibn Abihi.[1][4] During the early reign of Caliph Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705) Ubayd Allah supported the pro-Umayyad faction in Basra, one of the two principal garrison towns of Iraq, against its ruler at the time Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, the representative of his brother, the rival caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr.[4] He was reappointed over Sijistan a second time in 697/698 by Abd al-Malik's governor of Iraq and the east, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf.[1]

In 698, he was dispatched by al-Hajjaj to lead a 20,000-strong 'Army of Destruction' against the Zunbils in modern-day Afghanistan.[3] This corresponded to a resurgence of Islamic expansionism, following the second civil war (683–692).[3] His mission was to raid eastern Afghanistan, and restore the payment of tribute by the Zunbils.[1]

Trapped in the mountains, he was defeated through starvation and Zunbil attacks, and was forced to offer a large tribute, give hostages, including three of his sons, and take an oath not to invade Zunbil again.[1][3][5][6][7] He then retreated, with 5,000 of his men remaining, to the city of Bust.[3]

Signature "Ubayd Allah bin / Abi Bakrah" on his coinage (located vertically in front of the face of the ruler).

Ubayd Allah died soon after the abortive campaign.[3] He was succeeded as governor of Sijistan by his son Abu Bardha, who held the post for one or two years and is known to have minted coinage as well.[8]

Around 700, al-Hajjaj appointed an Arab noble from Kufa, Ibn al-Ash'ath, was tasked by al-Hajjaj with a renewed offensive against the Zunbils. After some initial successes, he reached an agreement with the Zunbils, who agreed to return the hostages captured from Ubayd Allah and resume paying the tribute at the original rate.[9] Afterward, he took his army back to Iraq and led a revolt against al-Hajjaj.[3]

Coinage

Before Ubayd Allah, Arab coinage from Sijistan was remarkably consistent in respecting former Sasanian designs. In contrast, the coinage of Ubayd Allah is characterized by a relatively erratic design, with marked iconographical changes. This attests to the deterioration of standard Sasanian iconography.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Bosworth, C.E. (1986). Encyclopedia of Islam. p. 761.
  2. ^ Pipes, Daniel (1980). "Black Soldiers in Early Muslim Armies" (PDF). The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 13 (1): 90. doi:10.2307/218374. ISSN 0361-7882.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Marozzi, Justin (13 May 2021). The Arab Conquests. Head of Zeus Ltd. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-83893-341-8.
  4. ^ a b c Crone, Patricia (1980). Slaves on Horses: The Evolution of the Islamic Polity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 140. ISBN 0-521-52940-9.
  5. ^ Hugh Kennedy (2010). The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In. Hachette UK. p. 128. ISBN 9780297865599.
  6. ^ Lari, Suhail Zaheer (1994). A History of Sindh. Oxford University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-19-577501-3. Also available in Pdf, page 17 ((cite book)): External link in |quote= (help)
  7. ^ Hoyland, Robert G. (2015). In God's Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire. Oxford University Press. pp. 151–152. ISBN 978-0-19-991636-8.
  8. ^ Sears, Stuart D. (1989). "A HYBRID IMITATION OF EARLY MUSLIM COINAGE STRUCK IN SIJISTAN BY ABȖ BARDHĀ'A". American Journal of Numismatics. 1: 160. ISSN 1053-8356.
  9. ^ Sears, Stuart D. (1989). "A HYBRID IMITATION OF EARLY MUSLIM COINAGE STRUCK IN SIJISTAN BY ABȖ BARDHĀ'A". American Journal of Numismatics. 1: 156. ISSN 1053-8356.
  10. ^ Sears, Stuart D. (1989). "A HYBRID IMITATION OF EARLY MUSLIM COINAGE STRUCK IN SIJISTAN BY ABȖ BARDHĀ'A". American Journal of Numismatics. 1: 149–151. ISSN 1053-8356.
Preceded byAbd al-Rahman ibn Samura Governor of Sijistan 671-673 Succeeded byAbbad ibn Ziyad Preceded byAbdallah ibn Umaiyah Governor of Sijistan 698-699 Succeeded byIbn al-Ash'ath
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