Dawud ibn Isa ibn Musa al-Hashimi () was the ninth century member of the cadet branch Abbasid house. He served as the governor of Medina and Mecca from 811 to 815 for the Abbasid Caliphate.

Career

Dawud was the son of

Isa ibn Musa ʿĪsā ibn Mūsā ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿal-ʿAbbās (; –783/4) was a nephew of the first two Abbasid caliphs, al-Saffah () and al-Mansur (). He served as governor of Kufa in Iraq for fifteen years and led the suppress ...

. His father was an important and powerful Abbasid official. His brothers were also influential in the Abbasid government. His distant cousin, caliph

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 ...

appointed him in 811. He remained as governor throughout the reign of al-Amin however due to 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 ...

, Later switched his allegiance to the rival

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 ...

; . probably in 812. In Mecca, Dawud ibn Isa reminded worshippers that al-Amin had destroyed Harun ar Rashid's succession pledges and led them in swearing allegiance to al-Mamun. Dawud then went to Marv City and presented himself to al-Ma'mun. Al-Ma'mun confirmed Dawud in his governorship of Mecca and Medina. During the

Siege of Baghdad The siege of Baghdad took place in early 1258. A large army commanded by Hulegu, a prince of the Mongol Empire, attacked the historic capital of the Abbasid Caliphate after a series of provocations from its ruler, caliph al-Musta'sim. Within ...

in the

, things were getting worse and

Tahir ibn Husayn Ṭāhir ibn Ḥusayn (, ''Tahir bin al-Husayn''), also known as Dhul-Yamīnayn (, "the ambidextrous"), and al-Aʿwar (, "the one-eyed"), was a general and governor during the Abbasid Caliphate. Specifically, he served under al-Ma'mun during the ...

(al-Ma'mun's general) pushed into the city, al-Amin sought to negotiate safe passage out. Tahir ibn Husayn reluctantly agreed on the condition that al-Amin turn over his scepter, seal and other insignia of the caliphal office. Al-Amin, reluctant to do so, tried to leave on a boat. Tahir ibn Husayn noticed the boat and sent his men after the Caliph, who was captured and brought to a room where he was executed. His head was placed on the al-Anbar Gate. Al-Tabari quotes Tahir's letter to the new Caliph al-Ma'mun informing him of al-Amin's capture and execution and the state of peace resulting in

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 ...

. Al-Ma'mun then became the Caliph. In 815, Medina was occupied on behalf of the pro-Alid rebel Abu al-Saraya al-Sari ibn Mansur The Abbasid government appointed as governor Harun ibn al-Musayyab, who was dispatched by the general Ali ibn Abi Sa'id. The rebels succeed in taking the city because Dawud, was reluctant to confront the rebels and shed blood in the sacred city, even while the local garrison commander, Masrur al-Kabir, favoured confronting them. In the end, Dawud ibn Isa abandoned the city with part of the Abbasids' followers, and Masrur al-Kabir, his forces depleted and fearful of the pilgrims joining the rebels, followed within days.

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawud ibn Isa 780s births 820s deaths 9th-century Arab people 9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasids Abbasid governors of Mecca Abbasid governors of Medina Governors of the Abbasid Caliphate People of the Fourth Fitna