Abu Abdallah Ya'qub ibn Dawud () (died 802) was a close confidant of the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

Caliph

al-Mahdi Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr (; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his regnal name al-Mahdī (, "He who is guided by God"), was the third Abbasid Caliph who reigned from 775 to his death in 785. He succeeded his ...

(r. 775–785) and

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

of the Caliphate for a period of three years (779/80–782/3).

Biography

Ya'qub was born to a family known for its

Alid The Alids are those who claim descent from Ali ibn Abi Talib (; 600–661 CE), the fourth Rashidun caliph () and the first imam in Shia Islam. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The main branches are the ...

sympathies, and participated in the failed

Alid revolt of 762–763 The Alid revolt of 762–763 or Revolt of Muhammad the Pure Soul was an uprising by the Hasanid branch of the Alids against the newly established Abbasid Caliphate. The Hasanids, led by the brothers Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, Muhammad (called " ...

. He was subsequently imprisoned until released by al-Mahdi, who endeavoured to heal the dispute between the Abbasids and the Alids, soon after his accession.Moscati (1960), p. 103 He quickly became one of the Caliph's closest advisors, placing his contacts with the Alids in the service of Mahdi's conciliatory policy, although it is reported that he first gained the Caliph's favour by betraying another Alid sympathizer who planned to escape. He was raised to the vizierate in 779–80 and played an ever-increasing role in the caliphal administration until his abrupt fall from power in 782/3. In the words of Islamic scholar

Hugh N. Kennedy Hugh Nigel Kennedy (born 22 October 1947) is a British medievalist and academic. He specialises in the history of the early Islamic Middle East, Muslim Iberia and the Crusades. From 1997 to 2007, he was Professor of Middle Eastern History at th ...

, "never before had a member of the bureaucracy established such control over policy-making". In this way, Ya'qub became the antecedent of a series of powerful civil officials that dominated the government at

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, who came to prominence with the

Barmakids The Barmakids ( ''Barmakiyân''; ''al-Barāmikah''Harold Bailey, 1943. "Iranica" BSOAS 11: p. 2. India - Department of Archaeology, and V. S. Mirashi (ed.), ''Inscriptions of the Kalachuri-Chedi Era'' vol. 4 of ''Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum' ...

and reached the apex of their power in the early 10th century. Nevertheless, his increasing power and his pro-Alid policies brought about his downfall, after his enemies got to the Caliph himself. Allegedly the Caliph tested his loyalty by handing over to him an Alid supporter and ordering his execution. When Ya'qub instead let him escape, he was dismissed from his offices and imprisoned.Kennedy (2004), p. 137 He was released from prison on the accession of

Harun al-Rashid Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ar-Rāshīd (), or simply Hārūn ibn al-Mahdī (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Hārūn al-Rāshīd (), was the fifth Abbasid caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from September 786 unti ...

(r. 786–809), and journeyed to

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 ...

, where he spent his final years until his death, probably in 802.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ya'qub Ibn Dawud 8th-century births 802 deaths Viziers of the Abbasid Caliphate Prisoners and detainees of the Abbasid Caliphate 8th-century government officials