Gharib ibn Abdallah, surnamed al-Khal ('the Maternal Uncle'), was the brother of

Shaghab Shaghab () (died 933) was the mother of the eighteenth Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir (), and wielded a considerable influence over state affairs during the reign of her son. She was commonly referred to only as Umm al-Muqtadir (mother of al-Muqtadir) ...

, the influential mother of

Abbasid caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came ...

al-Muqtadir Abū’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Al-Mu'tadid, Aḥmad ibn Al-Muwaffaq, Ṭalḥa ibn Al-Mutawakkil, Jaʿfar ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn Al-Muqtadir bi'Llāh () (895 – 31 October 932 AD), better known by his regnal name a ...

(), and a powerful figure in his nephew's court. He was one of the most prominent military commanders of the time, and served as governor of the Syrian frontier 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 ...

in 910, and of

Eastern Arabia Eastern Arabia () is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province), and the United Arab ...

in 912. In the sources, he is often mentioned in tandem 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 ...

, as the most powerful men of the state. When he died in 917, the entire court attended his funeral. His offspring also attained prominent roles at court, especially his son, Harun ibn Gharib al-Khal.

References

Sources

* * {{cite book , last = El Cheikh , first = Nadia Maria , chapter = The Harem , pages = 165–185 , title = Crisis and Continuity at the Abbasid Court: Formal and Informal Politics in the Caliphate of al-Muqtadir (295-320/908-32) , location = Leiden , publisher = BRILL , year = 2013 , isbn = 978-90-04-25271-4 , chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cUodAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA165 9th-century births 917 deaths 10th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate Generals of the Abbasid Caliphate Governors of the Abbasid Caliphate