Qays ibn al-Haytham al-Sulamī () () was an Arab commander and administrator in the service of the

Rashidun The Rashidun () are the first four caliphs () who led the Muslim community following the death of Muhammad: Abu Bakr (), Umar (), Uthman (), and Ali (). The reign of these caliphs, called the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), is considered i ...

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

and

Zubayrid Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (; May 624October/November 692) was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the Umayyads from 683 until his death. The son of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Asma bint Abi Bakr, and grandson of t ...

caliphates. Under the caliphs

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, played a major role ...

() and

Mu'awiya I Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

() he served at time as the sub-governor of

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

and the cities of

Nishapur Nishapur or Neyshabur (, also ) is a city in the Central District (Nishapur County), Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Ni ...

and

Marw al-Rudh Marw-Rud (, also ''Marw-Rudh'') or Marw al-Rudh (from ; ), locally used to be known by the older variants Marwarudh () and Marrudh (),"مرورود" in Dehkhoda Dictionary was a medieval settlement in Greater Khurasan, Khurasan. It was also known ...

. He was from a prominent Arab family in

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

and was a leader among the tribal nobility of that city until his death after 684.

Life

Qays ibn al-Haytham belonged to the

Banu Sulaym The Banu Sulaym () is an Arab tribe that dominated part of the Hejaz in the pre-Islamic era. They maintained close ties with the Quraysh of Mecca and the inhabitants of Medina, and fought in a number of battles against the Islamic prophet Muha ...

tribe, a component of the

Qays Qays ʿAylān (), often referred to simply as Qays (''Kais'' or ''Ḳays'') were an Arab tribal confederation that branched from the Mudar group. The tribe may not have functioned as a unit in pre-Islamic Arabia (before 630). However, by the ea ...

Mudar The Mudar () was a principal grouping of the northern Arab tribes. History The Mudar and Rabi'a are recorded in central Arabia in the Arabic histories of the pre-Islamic period; the kings of the Kindah bore the title of "king of the Ma'add ( ...

faction. He came from a prominent family in Basra, part of the Mudar ''ashraf'' (Arab tribal nobility). His full name is given as Qays ibn al-Haytham ibn Qays ibn al-Salt ibn Habib or Qays ibn al-Haytham ibn Asma ibn al-Salt. The 8th-century historian

Sayf ibn Umar Sayf ibn Umar al-Usayyidi al-Tamimi () was an 8th-century Islamic historian and compiler of reports who lived in Kufa. He wrote the ('The Great book of Conquests and Apostasy Wars'), which was the later historian al-Tabari's (839–923) main sour ...

names Qays's brother Amr as a participant in the

Muslim conquest of Iraq As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...

in 634, but this was deemed implausible by the historian

Khalid Yahya Blankinship Khalid Yahya Blankinship (born 1949 in Seattle, Washington) is an American historian who specialises in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies. Biography He graduated ( BA) in History from the University of Washington in 1973 and in the same year, whi ...

. According to

al-Baladhuri ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī () was a 9th-century West Asian historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and enjoyed great influence at the court of the caliph al ...

, an uncle of Qays, Asim ibn Qays ibn al-Salt, was appointed by

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari Abu Musa Abd Allah ibn Qays al-Ash'ari (), better known as Abu Musa al-Ash'ari () (died c. 662 or 672) was a companion of Muhammad and an important figure in early Islamic history. He was at various times governor of Basra and Kufa and was involv ...

governor of the town of Manadhir in the

Ahwaz Ahvaz (; ) is a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is home to Persians, Arabs and other groups such as Qashqai and Kurds. Languages spok ...

region after it was conquered from the

Sasanians The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

Rabi ibn Ziyad al-Harithi Rabi ibn Ziyad al-Harithi () was an Arab military leader, who served the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates. Biography In 651, Rabi ibn Ziyad invaded the Sasanian province of Sakastan. After some time, he reached Zaliq, a border town between Kirm ...

around 638. Qays was appointed by Caliph

() over the

district of

in 649/50. Before his assassination in 656, Uthman expanded Qays' governorship to the entire province of Khurasan. Qays appointed his paternal cousin,

Abd Allah ibn Khazim al-Sulami ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khāzim al-Sulamī () ( - died 692) was the Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad governor of Greater Khorasan, Khurasan between 662 and 665 and again in late 683, before becoming the nominal Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Zubayrid governor of th ...

, as his deputy governor and left the province for Basra to assess the political situation in the wake of Uthman's death; however, Ibn Khazim, using a diploma he previously obtained from the governor of Basra,

Abd Allah ibn Amir Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿĀmir ibn Kurayz `Abd Allah ibn `Amir (; 626–678) was a Rashidun Caliphate politician and general. He served as the Governor of Basra from 647 to 656 AD, during the reign of Rashidun Caliph Uthman ib ...

, declared himself governor and remained in the post until his dismissal by Caliph

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

(). Qays was angered by his cousin's ruse and reportedly stated: "I had a better right than Abd Allah to be the son of bd Allah's motherAjla." When

acceded to the caliphate in 661, Qays was reappointed governor of Khurasan by the order of Ibn Amir or the caliph himself. He remained in the post for two years. He was again replaced by his cousin Abd Allah after failing to quell a revolt at Qarin and briefly imprisoned in Basra until his mother intervened on his behalf. He was later made the deputy governor of Basra by Ibn Amir when the latter visited Mu'awiya's court in Syria in 664. After

Ziyad ibn Abihi Abu al-Mughira Ziyad ibn Abihi (; ), also known as Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan (), was an administrator and statesman of the successive Rashidun and Umayyad caliphates in the mid-7th century. He served as the governor of Basra in 665–670 and ultimat ...

was appointed governor of Basra in 665, he appointed Qays as governor of

in Khurasan. In 678/79, Ziyad's son

Abd al-Rahman Abdelrahman or Abd al-Rahman or Abdul Rahman or Abdurrahman or Abdrrahman ( or occasionally ; DMG ''ʿAbd ar-Raḥman'') is a male Arabic Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and '' ...

was made governor of Khurasan by Mu'awiya. By then, Qays had become the leader of the Banu Sulaym faction of Basra, one of five tribal divisions of the city's garrison. Abd al-Rahman appointed Qays his deputy and had him enter the province ahead of him. Afterward, Qays arrested the powerful tribal chief Aslam ibn Zur'a al-Kilabi. During the reign of Caliph

Yazid I Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (; 11 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from April 680 until his death in November 683. His appointment by his father Mu'awiya I () was the first ...

(), in 680/81, the caliph's new appointee over Khurasan, Abd al-Rahman's brother Salm, dispatched his lieutenant al-Harith ibn Mu'awiya al-Harithi to settle matters for him in the province before his arrival. Al-Harith arrested and imprisoned Qays and put his son Shabib in shackles. Qays later returned to Basra where he continued as a nobleman of the Sulaym and the wider Mudar confederation (which was opposed to the

Azd The Azd (Arabic: أَزْد), or Al-Azd (Arabic: ٱلْأَزْد), is an ancient Tribes of Arabia, Arabian tribe. The lands of Azd occupied an area west of Bisha and Al Bahah in what is today Saudi Arabia. Land of Azd Pre-Islamic Arabia Pre- ...

– Rabi'a confederation). Together with a Basran tribal noble from the Azd–Rabi'a faction, al-Nu'man ibn Suhban al-Rasibi, Qays was an arbitrator for selecting the successor of

Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad () was the Umayyad governor of Basra, Kufa and Khurasan during the reigns of caliphs Mu'awiya I () and Yazid I (), and the leading general of the Umayyad army under caliphs Marwan I () and Abd al-Malik (). He virtually ...

as governor of Basra following Ubayd Allah's expulsion in the aftermath of Yazid's death in 683. Basra and most of the Caliphate recognized the

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

-based, anti-Umayyad

Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (; May 624October/November 692) was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the Umayyads from 683 until his death. The son of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Asma bint Abi Bakr, and grandson of ...

as caliph. Qays was dispatched with the Basran security forces to stamp out an attempt by supporters of

al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi Al-Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd al-Thaqafi (; – 3 April 687) was a pro-Alid revolutionary based in Kufa, who led a rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate in 685 and ruled over most of Iraq for eighteen months during the Second Fitna. Born in Ta' ...

, the pro-Alid ruler of

Kufa Kufa ( ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...

, to gain control of Basra. He died after 684.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{Authority control 680s deaths Banu Sulaym 7th-century Arab people Governors of the Rashidun Caliphate People of the Second Fitna Umayyad governors of Khurasan