Bugha al-Kabir (), also known as Bugha al-Turki (), was a 9th-century Khazar general who served 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 ...

Biography

He was of Khazar origin, and was acquired along with his sons as a military slave ('' ghulam'') by

al-Mu'tasim Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd (; October 796 – 5 January 842), better known by his laqab, regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim biʾllāh (, ), was the eighth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, ruling from 833 until his death in 842. ...

in 819/820.Gordon (2001), p. 19 He is first mentioned in 825, and then again in 835, when he led reinforcements in the fight against the Khurramite rebels of Babak Khorramdin. Bugha also participated in Mu'tasim's Amorium campaign in 838, where he led the rearguard, and later served as the Caliph's chamberlain.Pipes (1981), pp. 155–156 In 844/845, he suppressed a revolt of the Bedouin tribes of central

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

.Sourdel (1960), p. 1287 Next he played an important role in crushing the Armenian revolt of 850–855: in 852 he was entrusted by the Caliph

al-Mutawakkil Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (); March 82211 December 861, commonly known by his laqab, regnal name al-Mutawwakil ala Allah (), was the tenth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, rul ...

with its suppression. Setting out from his base at Diyar Bakr, he first focused on the southern half of Armenia, i.e. the regions of Vaspurakan and

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

, before moving north to Dvin,

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. During these campaigns, he also defeated the renegade Emir of Tiflis, Ishaq ibn Isma'il, and sacked and burned

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

. By the end of 853, he had subdued the country and made many Caucasian magnates and princes (the '' eristavi'' and '' nakharar'') captive, including Grigor-Derenik Artsruni, his uncle Gurgen and his father Ashot I, all sent to caliphal capital of Samarra.Gordon (2001), p. 90 Bugha was dispatched to the frontier ('' thughur'') against 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 ...

in 857/8, where he distinguished himself and where he remained for the next few years. He was thus absent from Samarra at the time of Mutawwakil's assassination, but returned immediately upon hearing of it. Following the death of Mutawwakil's heir, al-Muntasir, a few months later, Bugha and the other Turkic commanders of the Abbasid army selected al-Musta'in as his successor (see the "

Anarchy at Samarra The Anarchy at Samarra () was a period of extreme internal instability from 861 to 870 in the history of the Abbasid Caliphate, marked by the violent succession of four caliphs, who became Puppet ruler, puppets in the hands of powerful rival milit ...

"). Bugha died a few months later, in August 862, reportedly at an age of "over 90 unaryears". His son Musa, and his sons in turn, rose to the senior court and military offices in Samarra during the late 9th century.Kennedy (2001), p. 150

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bugha Al-Kabir 770s births 862 deaths 9th-century generals Generals of the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid governors of Arminiya 9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid ghilman