Al-Hasan ibn Sahl (; died 850/51) was an

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 ...

official and governor of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

for Caliph

al-Ma'mun Abū al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Hārūn al-Maʾmūn (; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name al-Ma'mun (), was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. His leadership was marked by t ...

(

reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., King of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-princes of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kin ...

ed 813–833) during the

Fourth Fitna The Fourth Fitna, Fourth Muslim Civil War, or Great Abbasid Civil War resulted from the conflict between the brothers al-Amin and al-Ma'mun over the succession to the throne of the Abbasid Caliphate. Their father, Caliph Harun al-Rashid, had name ...

. Hasan's father was an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

convert to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. Along with his brother, the future

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 ...

al-Fadl ibn Sahl Abu l-Abbas al-Fadl ibn Sahl ibn Zadhanfarukh al-Sarakhsi (; died 818), titled Dhu 'l-Ri'āsatayn (, "the man of the two headships"), was a famous Persian vizier of the Abbasid era in Khurasan, who served under Caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–832). He ...

, Hasan entered the service of the Barmakid

al-Fadl ibn Yahya Al-Fadl ibn Yahya al-Barmaki () (February 766 – October/November 808Zetterstéen (1987), p. 37) was a member of the distinguished Barmakid family, attaining high offices in the Abbasid Caliphate under Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809). Fadl was t ...

in the reign 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).Sourdel (1971), pp. 243–244 During the civil war of the

against Ma'mun's half-brother

al-Amin Abū Mūsā Muḥammad bin Hārūn al-Amīn (; April 787 – 24/25 September 813), better known by just his laqab of al-Amīn (), was the sixth Abbasid caliph from 809 to 813. Al-Amin succeeded his father, Harun al-Rashid, in 809 and ruled unt ...

(r. 808–813), he was entrusted with the supervision of the land tax (''

kharaj Kharāj () is a type of individual Islamic tax on agricultural land and its produce, regardless of the religion of the owners, developed under Islamic law. With the first Muslim conquests in the 7th century, the ''kharaj'' initially was synonym ...

'') office. After Ma'mun's troops captured the caliphal capital,

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 ...

, Hasan was sent west to assume the governance of

, while Ma'mun and Fadl remained in Marv. In early 815, the

Zaydi Zaydism () is a branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali's unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. Zaydism is one of the three main branches of Shi'ism, with the other two being Twelverism ...

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 ...

revolt of Ibn Tabataba and

Abu'l-Saraya Abu'l-Sarāyā al-Sarī ibn Manṣūr al-Shaybānī ( d. 18 October 815) was leader of a Zaydi revolt against the Abbasid Caliphate in Kufa and Iraq in 815. The revolt spread quickly across southern Iraq, and his agents even took over Mecca and Me ...

broke out at

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 ...

and spread quickly through southern Iraq. Hasan proved unable to confront it, and the rebels at one point threatened Baghdad itself before the intervention of the capable general

Harthama ibn A'yan Harthama ibn A'yan (; died June 816) was a Khurasan-born general and governor of the early Abbasid Caliphate, serving under the caliphs al-Hadi, Harun al-Rashid and al-Ma'mun. He played an important role in the victory of al-Ma'mun in the Abbasid ...

led to the suppression of the revolt.Kennedy (2004), p. 152 The domination of the Caliphate by Fadl and the Khurasanis around him however aroused great opposition among the old-established Arab aristocracy who advised al-Ma'mun to replace him with an Arab governor instead. The animosity between al-Hasan and the Arab aristocracy is reflected by the slogan: "We won't accept the Zoroastrian, son of the Zoroastrian al-Hasan b. Sahl, and we'll drive him out until he returns to Khurasan". Hasan ibn Sahl was forced to abandon the city, where various factional leaders shared power. A year later his brother al-Fadl was assassinated. Perhaps by the same party.Aptin Khanbaghi.
The Fire, the Star and the Cross: Minority Religions in Medieval and Early Modern Iran
'. I.B.Tauris; 22 February 2006. . p. 27. In July 817, after news reached the city that Ma'mun had chosen an Alid, Ali ibn Musa al-Rida, as his heir-apparent, the city appointed his uncle,

Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mahdī (; 779–839) was an Abbasid prince, singer, composer and poet. He was the son of the third Abbasid caliph, al-Mahdi, and the half-brother of the poet and musician Ulayya. Ibrahim was contemporary of Abbasid caliph al-Ha ...

, as Caliph.Kennedy (2004), pp. 151–153 Following Fadl's murder in 818 and Ma'mun's entry in Baghdad in 819, there were expectations that Hasan would succeed his brother as vizier of the Caliphate, but Hasan, shocked by Fadl's death, preferred to retire from politics and withdraw to his estates around

Wasit Wasit (, ) was an early Islamic city in Iraq. It was founded in the 8th century by the Umayyad viceroy of Iraq, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, to serve as the region's seat and as the garrison of the Syrian troops who enforced Umayyad rule there. It was ...

, where he remained until his death in 850/1. In 825, however, he married his daughter, Buran (807–884), to Ma'mun, and gave her as

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

the palace of Qasr al-Hasani, south of Baghdad, which thereafter became one of the caliphal residences.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hasan Ibn Sahl 8th-century births 850s deaths Abbasid governors of Iraq People of the Fourth Fitna 9th-century Iranian people 8th-century Iranian people People from Kufa Converts to Islam from Zoroastrianism 8th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate 9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate