Bishr al-Afshini () was a military commander 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 ...

and the governor (''

wali The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...

'') of Tarsus from 912/3 until at least 918.

Life

According to

al-Tabari Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present- ...

, he was a

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

and originally a servant of

Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj () also known as Muhammad al-Afshin (died 901), an Iranian appointed general of al-Mu'tadid, He was the founder of Sajid dynasty and governor of Azerbaijan, from 889 or 890 until his death. He was the son of Abi'l-Saj Devd ...

, who was also nicknamed "

Afshin Afshin () is a common Persian language, Persian given name derived from Avestan. Afshin was used by the Sogdians. Historically, it was the title of the rulers of Principality of Ushrusana in Transoxiana before the Muslim conquest of Persia.. Etym ...

". He first appears in summer 906, during a ceremony in which he was bestowed a robe of honour by Caliph

al-Muktafi Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Muktafī bi'Llāh (; 877/78 – 13 August 908), better known by his regnal name al-Muktafī bi-Llāh (), was the caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate f ...

. A little later, in October 906, during the Qarmatian assault on

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 ...

, he is mentioned as one of the officers of the central caliphal army sent to the city's aid, but were routed before the city by the Qarmatian rebels. In the year 912/3 he was appointed as governor of Tarsus and the

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

n borderlands ('' thughur'') with the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, succeeding

Rustam ibn Baradu Rustam ibn Baradu () or Rustum ibn Bardu, nisba (onomastics), surnamed al-Farghani ("from Ferghana Valley, Farghana"), was a military commander for the Abbasid Caliphate and the governor (''wali'') of Tarsus (city), Tarsus from August 905 to 912/3. ...

. In summer 914 he received the assistance of an army of 2,000 horsemen sent from

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 ...

under Abu Umayr Adi ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Baqi for one of the customary summer raids (''ṣā’ifa'') into Byzantine territory, but the two commanders were unable to carry out the raid, instead postponing it until winter. In his report to the Caliph after the raid, Bishr claimed that he had captured no less than 150 Byzantine commanders and some 2,000 captives in all. In autumn 917 he oversaw, along with the Abbasid commander-in-chief

Mu'nis al-Muzaffar Abū'l-Ḥasan Mu'nis al-Qushuri (; 845/6–933), also commonly known by the surnames al-Muẓaffar (; ) and al-Khadim (; 'the Eunuch'), was the commander-in-chief of the Abbasid army from 908 to his death in 933 CE, and virtual dictator and king ...

, a

prisoner exchange A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners: prisoner of war, prisoners of war, spy, spies, hostages, etc. Sometimes, cadaver, dead bodies are involved in an exchange. Geneva Conven ...

with the Byzantines at the Lamos River. In 918, he launched another raid into Byzantine territory, capturing a few forts and taking booty. He may also be identified with Bishr al-Khadim ("the Eunuch") who was named governor of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

and

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

in 933 and was killed in the same year by Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid.

References

Sources

* * {{s-end 9th-century births 10th-century deaths Abbasid governors of Tarsus Eunuchs from the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid people of the Arab–Byzantine wars