Abū Shujā' Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Rūdhrāwarī, also known by the honorific "Zaḥīr al-Dīn", was an 11th-century government official and author who served as

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 ...

for the

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

twice, once briefly in 1078 and the second time from 1083/4 until 1094. He wrote a continuation to

Miskawayh Ibn Miskuyah ( Muskūyah, 932–1030), (Arabic: مِسْكَوَيْه، أبو علي محمد بن أحمد بن يعقوب مسكويه الرازي) full name Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb Miskawayh al-Rāzī was a Persian c ...

's history ''Tajārib al-umam''. He also wrote a '' diwan'' of poetry, of which about 80 verses survive.

Biography

Abu Shuja al-Rudhrawari was born in

Kangavar Kangavar () is a city in the Central District of Kangavar County, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Kangavar is in the easternmost part of Kermanshah province, on the modern road from Hamad ...

in 1045 (437 AH). His father was originally from the Rudhrawar district near

Hamadan Hamadan ( ; , ) is a mountainous city in western Iran. It is located in the Central District of Hamadan County in Hamadan province, serving as the capital of the province, county, and district. As of the 2016 Iranian census, it had a po ...

, hence the name "Rudhrawari". His first term as vizier was very short in 1078 (471 AH), after the dismissal of the Banu Jahir. His second term in office was much longer: he was appointed in December 1083 or January 1084 (

Sha'ban Shaʽban ( ') is the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. It is called the month of 'separation', as the word means 'to disperse' or 'to separate' because the pagan Arabs used to disperse in search of water. The fifteenth night of this month ...

, 476 AH) and stayed in office until April or May 1091 (

Safar Safar (), also spelt as Safer in Turkish, is the second month of the lunar Islamic calendar. Most of the Islamic months were named according to ancient Sabean/Sabaic weather conditions; however, since the calendar is lunar, the months shift ...

or Rabi' I, 484 AH). In 1091, an altercation broke out in

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 ...

involving Ibn Samha, a Jewish commercial agent of the

Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

vizier

Nizam al-Mulk Abū ʿAlī Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī Ṭūsī () (1018 – 1092), better known by his honorific title of Niẓām al-Mulk (), was a Persian Sunni scholar, jurist, political philosopher and vizier of the Seljuk Empire. Rising from a low position w ...

, and a Muslim carpet seller. In response, Abu Shuja promulgated a harsh anti-''

dhimmi ' ( ', , collectively ''/'' "the people of the covenant") or () is a historical term for non-Muslims living in an Islamic state with legal protection. The word literally means "protected person", referring to the state's obligation under ''s ...

'' edict on behalf of the caliph, enforcing them to wear a '' ghiyar'' to distinguish them from Muslims. These resitrictions were especially harsh and intended to be as humiliating as possible to dhimmis. Based on the accounts of

Ibn al-Jawzi Abu al-Faraj Jamal al-Din Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Hasan Ali Al-Jawzi also known as Ibn al-Jawzi (16 June 1201) was a Muslim jurisconsult, preacher, orator, heresiographer, traditionist, historian, judge, hagiographer, and philologist who played ...

and

Obadiah the Proselyte Obadiah the Proselyte (Hebrew: ), also known as Johannes of Oppido (Italian: ) was an early-12th-century Italian convert to Judaism. He is best known for his memoirs and the oldest surviving notation of Jewish music, both unique survivals. Biograph ...

, an Italian convert to Judaism who was in Iraq around 1120, the distinguishing features included the ''

zunnar Zunnar (also spelled "zunar" or "zonar"; ') was a distinctive belt or girdle, part of the clothing that Dhimmi (e.g. Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians) were required to wear within the Islamic caliphate regions to distinguish them from Muslims. ...

'', necklaces with a pendant saying "dhimmi", and distinct black and/or red shoes. Obadiah also wrote that every Jewish woman had to wear a small brass bell either around her throat or on her shoe, so that the noise would serve to mark her as Jewish. Based Obadiah's account, these distinctions had the effect of singling out Jews for special physical and verbal abuse. The edict specifically stated that these restrictions also applied to government officials. According to Ibn al-Athir, many dhimmi government officials went into hiding due to the edict. Ibn Samha was upset at Abu Shuja's actions and wrote to Nizam al-Mulk. Besides being Ibn Samha's employer, Nizam al-Mulk also wanted to put the Seljuk sultan's authority on the caliph. Nizam al-Mulk was able to pressure the caliph into firing Abu Shuja. According to Ibn al-Jawzi, he was dismissed from office on Thursday, 9

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

, 484 AH (25 October, 1091 CE). According to

Ibn Khallikan Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ibrāhīm bin Abū Bakr ibn Khallikān (; 22 September 1211 – 30 October 1282), better known as Ibn Khallikān, was a renowned Islamic historian of Kurdish origin who compiled the celebrated biographical encyclopedi ...

, this happened instead on Thursday, 19 Safar, 484 AH (12 April, 1091 CE). According to

, he was put under house arrest and then exiled to Rudhrawar, where he lived for a while before going on hajj in 1094. In 1094 (478 AH) he went on a pilgrimage 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 ...

, and he ended up spending the last year of his life as a '' mujawir'' in

Madinah Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

until his death in June 1095 (

Jumada II Jumada al-Thani (), also known as Jumada al-Akhirah (), Jumada al-Akhir (), or Jumada II, is the sixth month of the Islamic calendar. The word ''Jumda'' (), from which the name of the month is derived, is used to denote dry, parched land, a lan ...

, 488 AH). He was buried at the Baqi al-Gharqad cemetery in Madinah.

Legacy

Al-Rudhrawari was highly esteemed by later Muslim sources, who praised him both for his piety and generosity as well as his literary ability. According to

Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani Muhammad ibn Hamid (; 1125 – 20 June 1201), commonly known as Imad al-Din al-Isfahani (), was a historian, scholar, and rhetorician. He left a valuable anthology of Arabic poetry to accompany his many historical workshttp://www.crusades-encyc ...

, "No vizier had ever displayed such zeal as he for the service of religion and the observance of the law. In all affairs connected with religion he was strict and severe, but in temporal matters, easy and indulgent. Never did he incur the slightest reprehension for remissness in his duty towards God."

Ibn al-Sam'ani Ibn al-Samʿānī (, 1113–1166), full name Abū Saʿd ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn Abī Bakr Muḥammad ibn Abi ʾl-Muẓaffar Manṣūr al-Tamīmī al-Marwazī al-Shafiʿī al-Samʿānī, nicknamed ''Tāj al-Islām'' (Crown of Islam) and ''Qiwām al-D ...

praised him for his "consummate merit, vast intelligence, dignified conduct, and unerring foresight." Ibn al-Hamadani credited him with helping restore some of the Abbasid caliphate's prestige and respect. The memory of the edict attributed to Abu Shuja was particularly powerful among the Jewish community. Besides Obadiah the Proselyte, its effects were also mentioned in a heavily fictionalized Judeo-Arabic epistle found in the

Cairo Geniza The Cairo Geniza, alternatively spelled the Cairo Genizah, is a collection of some 400,000 Judaism, Jewish manuscript fragments and Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid administrative documents that were kept in the ''genizah'' or storeroom of the Ben Ezra ...

that is a retelling of the

Book of Esther The Book of Esther (; ; ), also known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the wikt:מגילה, Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Hebrew Bible. It is one of the Five Megillot, Five Scrolls () in the Hebr ...

. It depicts a period of extended hardship by the Jewish community which it blames on Abu Shuja: "the root of these calamitites was an evil man named Abu Shuja".

Notes

References

{{Reflist 1045 births 1095 deaths Viziers of the Abbasid Caliphate 11th-century historians from the Abbasid Caliphate 11th-century poets People from Kermanshah province