Ibn Banu () was the nominal governor of al-Bahrain for the

Abbasid dynasty The Abbasid dynasty or Abbasids () were an Arab dynasty that ruled the Abbasid Caliphate between 750 and 1258. They were from the Qurayshi Hashimid clan of Banu Abbas, descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The Abbasid Caliphate is divid ...

, serving there in 903.

Career

The Muslim historian al-Tabari's ''Annals'' only mentions Ibn Banu once. He appears to have been a military commander who was posted to al-Bahrain in an attempt to expel the

Qarmatians The Qarmatians (; ) were a militant Isma'ili Shia movement centred in Al-Ahsa in Eastern Arabia, where they established a religious state in 899 CE. Its members were part of a movement that adhered to a syncretic branch of Sevener Ismaili ...

under Abu Sa'id Jannabi there. He is recorded as having sent a message to the central government 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 ...

, describing how he had launched a surprise attack on a Qarmatian stronghold and successfully overwhelmed its defenders. In October 903 another message was received from him, stating that he had attacked

al-Qatif Qatif Governorate ( ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a list of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Damma ...

. His troops routed the Qarmatians and killed their commander, who was identified as Abu Sa'id's designated successor. They then prevailed against al-Qatif and entered it. Ibn Banu is not subsequently mentioned, but the Abbasid reconquest of al-Qatif was short-lived, as the Qarmatians were soon back in control of the oasis.Rentz, p. 764

Notes

References

* *{{The History of al-Tabari, volume=38 Generals of the Abbasid Caliphate Governors of the Abbasid Caliphate 10th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate