Abu Hassan al-Muqallad ibn al-Musayyab ( ar, أبو حسن المقلد بن المسيب, Abū Ḥassān al-Muqallad ibn al-Musayyab), known with the

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

Husam al-Dawla ( ar, حسام الدولة, Ḥusām al-Dawla, lit=Sword of the State), was an Uqaylid chieftain. He succeeded his older brother,

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...

, as ruler 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 ...

, succeeding in expelling the

Buyid The Buyid dynasty ( fa, آل بویه, Āl-e Būya), also spelled Buwayhid ( ar, البويهية, Al-Buwayhiyyah), was a Shia Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran from 934 to 1062. Coupl ...

governor from the city. His attempts to create a centralized state failed, however, as he had to share power with his older brother

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...

, and respect the tribal customs of the Uqayl tribe. His ambitions led him to turn south, towards Buyid-held Iraq, where he came to control a number of towns around

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

, including

Kufa Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), 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 River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Naja ...

. In late 1000, he entered into negotiations for the capture of Baghdad, but was assassinated on 22 January 1001.

Origin

Al-Muqallad and the Uqaylids belonged to the

Banu Uqayl Banu Uqayl ( ar, بنو عُـقَـيـْل) are an ancient Arab tribe that played an important role in the history of eastern Arabia and Iraq. They belonged to the Banu Ka'b branch of the large Banu 'Amir confederation. The Banu 'Amir conf ...

, a northern Arab tribe. His brother

began the rise of the Uqaylids to power by exploiting the Kurdish raids into

Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the region has be ...

, and the weakness of the last

Hamdanid The Hamdanid dynasty ( ar, الحمدانيون, al-Ḥamdāniyyūn) was a Twelver Shia Arab dynasty of Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia and Eastern ...

rulers of

that forced them to turn to the Uqayl for military assistance. In the process, he seized several towns in Upper Mesopotamia, culminating in the capture of Mosul itself in , which he then ruled as the nominal vassal of the

emirs of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Succession disputes

When Muhammad died in 996, al-Muqallad and his older brother

fought over the succession. According to tribal custom, Ali, as the eldest, should have succeeded their father, and consequently he was also supported by the majority of the Uqayl tribe. Al-Muqallad turned to the Buyid emir

Baha al-Dawla Abu Nasr Firuz Kharshadh ( ar, أبو نصر فيروز خوارشاذ; died December 22, 1012), better known by his ''laqab'' of Baha al-Dawla ( ar, بهاء الدوله, Bahaʾ al-Dawla, Splendour of the State) was the Buyid amir of Iraq (988– ...

for support, promising an annual tribute in exchange. At the same time, he persuaded Ali to assist him in capturing Mosul, claiming that Baha al-Dawla had appointed him governor there. The two brothers successfully took Mosul from its Buyid governor,

Abu Ja'far al-Hajjaj Abu Ja'far al-Hajjaj ibn Ustadh Hurmuz was a Buyid general and governor. Hajjaj's father had served the Buyid emir Adud al-Dawla as a high official, while his brother Hasan initially served Adud al-Dawla's son Samsam al-Dawla. Hajjaj himself ente ...

, and agreed to rule it jointly. Al-Muqallad's agent in

was unable to prevent an open conflict with the Buyids, but it was soon settled against the payment of 10,000

gold dinar The gold dinar ( ar, ﺩﻳﻨﺎﺭ ذهبي) is an Islamic medieval gold coin first issued in AH 77 (696–697 CE) by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The weight of the dinar is 1 mithqal (). The word ''dinar'' comes from the L ...

s. Al-Muqallad received the honorific title (), the title of leader () of the Arab tribes, and the tax farms of Mosul,

, Qasr (possibly Qasr Ibn Hubayra), and al-Jami'ayn. While al-Muqallad remained in charge of Mosul and began recruiting a military force composed of Turks and

Daylamite The Daylamites or Dailamites (Middle Persian: ''Daylamīgān''; fa, دیلمیان ''Deylamiyān'') were an Iranian people inhabiting the Daylam—the mountainous regions of northern Iran on the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea, now comprisin ...

s, Ali lived as a traditional bedouin chieftain among the Uqayl tribesmen. Soon, however, the rift between Ali and al-Muqallad re-emerged. As the historian

Hugh N. Kennedy Hugh Nigel Kennedy (born 22 October 1947) is a British medieval historian 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 Histo ...

remarks, the two men represented two different worlds and concepts of government. While Ali "stood for traditional bedouin leadership and relied on the military power of the tribe", al-Muqallad, with his contacts with the Buyid court and its military system based on Turkish and Daylamite troops, pursued a centralized government "very much in the Hamdanid mould". The conflict between the two brothers erupted in early 997. Despite lavish gifts, al-Muqallad was unable to secure the backing of more than 2,000 Uqayl tribesmen, while 10,000 flocked to Ali's cause instead. However, the clash was avoided through the intercession of their sister, Rahila, who "in a very traditional gesture, had threatened to shame herself in front of the whole tribe" unless they came to terms, as Kennedy writes. The brothers reconciled, and Ali was released and restored to his domains. Al-Muqallad then turned on his brothers' erstwhile ally, the ruler of

Wasit Wasit ( ar, وَاسِط, Wāsiṭ, syr, ‎ܘܐܣܛ) is an ancient city in Wasit Governorate, south east of Kut in eastern Iraq. History The city was built by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in c. 702 CE on the west bank of the Tigris across from the his ...

, Ali ibn Mazyad, but his campaign was cut short after being informed that Ali planned to seize Mosul in his absence. Through the mediation of Hasan, again the brothers reconciled, and Ali was named as deputy of al-Muqallad for Mosul during the latter's absences from the city. The compromise between al-Muqallad and Ali had far-reaching consequences for the Uqaylid emirate. It ensured that the Uqayl tribesmen, rather than a standing force of professional troops, would be the backbone of the dynasty throughout its existence.

Intrigues in Iraq and death

Al-Muqallad himself devoted most of his attention to his interests in Iraq, where he quickly managed to take over control of Anbar and

Tikrit Tikrit ( ar, تِكْرِيت ''Tikrīt'' , Syriac: ܬܲܓܪܝܼܬܼ ''Tagrīṯ'') is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. , it h ...

, as well as the settlement of al-Sindiya, located almost at the gates of Baghdad. In Kufa, al-Muqallad replaced the hitherto ruling

Khafaja Khafaja or Khafajah ( ar, خفاجة, also known as Al-Khafaji and Khafaji) is one of the major Arab tribes (especially in Iraq and Egypt) as well Saudi Arabia , Syria and Jordan .Ulyan ibn Thimal. Evidently the appointment was part of a Buyid strategy to counter the threat of the Khafaja with the Uqaylids, but al-Muqallad managed to maintain good relations with the Khafaja, and even enlisted him in his own campaigns. At the same time, by virtue of his expansion into Iraq came into conflict with another Arab tribe, the

Banu Asad Banu Asad ibn Khuzaymah ( ar, ابن أسد بن خزيمة ) is an Arab tribe. They are Adnanite Arabs, powerful and one of the most famous tribes. They are widely respected by many Arab tribes, respected by Shia Muslims because they have buri ...

, under Ali ibn Mazyad, who raided the Uqaylid territories. In 997–998, al-Muqallad launched a campaign into the Kurdish areas to the northwest, culminating in the capture of the towns of Daquqa and Khanijar in September/October 1000. At about the same time, in 999/1000, Ali died, and was succeeded by a younger brother, al-Hasan. With assistance from the Khafaja, al-Muqallad expelled Hasan from Mosul, securing sole control of the city for himself. Boosted by his successes, al-Muqallad set his sights on capturing Baghdad itself. It was during negotiations with the Buyids' army commanders that he fell victim to assassination by one of his own Turkish slave-soldiers at Anbar on 22 January 1001. Due to the loose tribal structure of the Uqaylid regime, his power base quickly crumbled, allowing the Buyids to recover. Al-Muqallad was succeeded by his son, Qirwash, but not before yet another succession struggle between Qirwash and his uncle, Hasan, was resolved via compromise. Qirwash would spend the next few years in trying to keep his father's acquisitions across Iraq.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muqallad ibn Musayyab 10th-century births 1001 deaths 10th-century Arabs 11th-century Arabs Uqaylid dynasty Emirs of Mosul Murdered monarchs History of Kufa