Al-Ḥurr ibn Yūsuf al-Qurashī al-Umawī () (died 731) was an early eighth century
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
statesman. During the caliphate of his relative
Hisham
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, هشام بن عبد الملك, Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; 691 – 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743.
Early life
Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrat ...
() he served as a governor of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
(724–727) and was afterwards placed in charge of
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
, where he remained until his death. He is known for having undertaken a number of large-scale building projects in Mosul, including some of the city's most significant developments completed during the
Marwanid
The Marwanids or Dustakids (983/990-1085, ) were a Kurdish Sunni Muslim dynasty in the Diyar Bakr region of Upper Mesopotamia (present day northern Iraq/southeastern Turkey) and Armenia, centered on the city of Amid (Diyarbakır).
Territory
Th ...
period.
Career
Family
Al-Hurr was descended from a collateral branch of the Umayyad dynasty, his grandfather
Yahya ibn al-Hakam having been the brother of the fourth Umayyad caliph
Marwan ibn al-Hakam
Marwan ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As ibn Umayya ( ar, links=no, مروان بن الحكم بن أبي العاص بن أمية, Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ ibn Umayya), commonly known as MarwanI (623 or 626April/May 685), was the fo ...
(). His father, Yusuf, had served as a governor of Mosul during the reign of
Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan
Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam ( ar, عبد الملك ابن مروان ابن الحكم, ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam; July/August 644 or June/July 647 – 9 October 705) was the fifth Umayyad caliph, ruling from April 685 ...
(). One of al-Hurr's aunts, Amina bint Yahya, was married to Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, while another aunt (or, according to the historian
al-Azdi, sister), Umm Hakim, was similarly wed to the same caliph and later proved instrumental in procuring al-Hurr's appointment to Mosul.
Among al-Hurr's children, Yahya ibn al-Hurr briefly served as acting governor of Mosul following his father's death and remained in ownership of properties in the region until he was executed by
Isma'il ibn Ali in the aftermath of the
Abbasid Revolution
The Abbasid Revolution, also called the Movement of the Men of the Black Raiment, was the overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE), the second of the four major Caliphates in early History of Islam, Islamic history, by the third, the A ...
. Another son, Ubaydallah, reportedly joined
Abdallah ibn Marwan ibn Muhammad in fleeing to
Nubia
Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...
after the death of the last Umayyad caliph
Marwan II
Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam ( ar, مروان بن محمد بن مروان بن الحكم, Marwān ibn Muḥammad ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam; – 6 August 750), commonly known as Marwan II, was the fourteenth and last caliph of ...
in 750. Salama ibn al-Hurr became a poet and took up residence among the
Bedouins
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arabs, Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert ...
in the
Arabian
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
desert; he was later killed by the
Kharijite
The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the c ...
rebel
al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Shaybani
Al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Qays al-Shaybānī ( ar, الضحاك بن قيس الشيباني) was the leader of a widespread but unsuccessful Kharijite rebellion in Iraq against the Umayyad Caliph Marwan II from 745 until his death in battle in 746.
...
.
Governor of Egypt
In 724 al-Hurr was appointed by Hisham as governor of Egypt as a replacement for his second cousin
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ( ar, محمد بن عبد الملك ابن مروان, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān; died 750) was an Umayyad dynasty, Umayyad prince, the son of Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, Abd al-Malik (), ...
. Arriving in Egypt in early May, he assumed control over matters of security, but the province's finances were separately managed by
Ubaydallah ibn al-Habhab.
During al-Hurr's governorship, Ibn al-Habhab attempted to impose additional taxes on the populace, adding at least one carat (1/24th) to each
dinar
The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread.
The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...
levy. This move caused the outbreak of a widespread revolt in
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt ( ar, مصر السفلى '; ) is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, ...
in 725–726, with the residents of
Natu,
Tumayy,
Qurbayt,
Turabiyya, and the eastern
Hawf rising in up an event later described by the historian
Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Kindi
Abu Umar Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Kindi ( ar, أبو عمر محمد بن يوسف الكندي) (January 18, 897 – October 16, 961) was a prominent Arab historian.
Biography
A descendant of the tribe of Banu Kindah, al-Kindi was born in Egyp ...
as the first
Coptic
Coptic may refer to:
Afro-Asia
* Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya
* Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century
* Coptic alphabet ...
rebellion against the Arabs. In response, al-Hurr relocated to
Damietta
Damietta ( arz, دمياط ' ; cop, ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ, Tamiati) is a port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, an easter ...
in order to lead operations against the rebels, and after three months of inflicting heavy casualties on the insurgents he succeeded in restoring order in the province.
While in Egypt al-Hurr also worked with Hisham to resettle a group of Syrian Arabs to the eastern
Delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also re ...
and built a covered market street on new land created from a recession of the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
. In 726 he briefly departed the province to meet with the caliph in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, leaving his prefect of police
Hafs ibn al-Walid ibn Yusuf al-Hadrami to manage affairs during his absence. He remained as governor until 727, when a dispute between him and Ibn al-Habhab caused the latter to write a letter of complaint to the caliph; in response al-Hurr agreed to step down from office and was replaced by Hafs.
Governor of Mosul
A short time after his dismissal from Egypt, al-Hurr received an appointment from Hisham for the governorship of Mosul. Al-Azdi dates the start of al-Hurr's governorship to 724–725, but as this overlaps with his tenure in Egypt modern historians instead place his appointment in 727 or later.
While in Mosul al-Hurr initiated a building program for several major private and public developments, putting him in line with a long Marwanid tradition of investing in improvement projects for the city. Among these were the construction of a new palace located near the city markets which al-Hurr intended to have serve as the governor's residence. The large complex, called ''al-Manqusha'' or the Decorated Palace, was so-named for its ornamentation made up of teak, alabaster, and other materials. The palace at least partially survived into the 13th century, when it was reported by the chronicler
Ali ibn al-Athir
Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ash-Shaybānī, better known as ʿAlī ʿIzz ad-Din (Arabic), Dīn Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī ( ar, علي عز الدین بن الاثیر الجزري) lived 1160–1233) was an Arab people, ...
as being in a ruined state.
The largest single development begun by al-Hurr was for the cutting of a canal that ran from the
Tigris
The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
to the center of Mosul, an undertaking characterized by
Chase F. Robinson as "the most impressive building project" completed in the city in the early Marwanid period. The canal, which was known as the Uncovered River (''al-nahr al-makshuf''), was laid out to increase the accessibility of drinking water for the city, and thousands of laborers and planners were brought in to participate in its excavation. The cost of the project was enormous and paying for it required the use of the entirety of the provincial revenues, with the result that no money was forwarded to the central government during its construction. Work on the canal continued after al-Hurr's death and the project was finally completed in 738–739.
Al-Hurr died in 731 and was buried in Mosul. Upon his death his son Yahya inherited his palace as well as numerous houses, inns, and estates, and his family retained ownership of extensive properties in the Mosul area for the duration of the Umayyad era.
[; . The extent of these properties were such that the area they were located in came to be known as "al-Hurr." The family was later dispossessed of their estates in the region following Yahya ibn al-Hurr's execution.]
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurr ibn Yusuf
731 deaths
8th-century Umayyad governors of Egypt
Year of birth unknown
8th-century Arabs
Umayyad governors of Egypt
Umayyad dynasty
Umayyad governors of Mosul